Complete in Him
Kratzer, Elizabeth Cary. Complete in Him. Delhi, India: Facsimile Publisher, (1913) 2020.
This work of fiction is one of few literary works illustrating several elements of the practice of Christian Science, especially as it was understood in the early years after Eddy’s death. The story line features a young college-age woman who is not well, spends vacation time with her friend, and is introduced to a young man who rouses her sexual, manipulative feelings. She learns of Christian Science through her friend’s mother and wrestles with the intensity of her misguided feelings through her understanding of the newfound spiritual philosophy. After attending church and studying the Bible and Eddy’s Science and Health, she finds moral courage and strength when her boyfriend’s engagement to another is exposed. Her physical healing follows. Through her spiritual maturity, she heals others. Though the young woman is happy about her friend’s marriage, she is content to remain single. Both the Victorian-age story and style of practicing Christian Science, written over a century ago, sound antiquated for a modern reader. But it does provide historians a valuable resource for understanding the application of the new teachings in that historical context. The heroine’s thought-process expresses an early 20th-century application of the new Science in relation to sexual morality, character weaknesses, and physical ailments.
ISBN-10: 0469689242
ISBN-13 (Hardcover): 978-0469689244