Anthony Comstock expended great time and energy on arresting and prosecuting physicians, midwives, and pharmacists. What do you think are his real motivations? What drives him? Do any of his reasons continue to have validity today?

Anthony Comstock expended great time and energy on arresting and prosecuting physicians, midwives, and pharmacists, and at one point had an eye on Sophie and Anna. What do you think are his real motivations? What drives him? Do any of his reasons continue to have validity today?

My Dad had a saying that "revelation is a dangerous thing" meaning that it often imbues those who possess it with the notion that they can extend their beliefs to others. Anthony Comstock is a great example of this notion. On one level, it seems he truly believes his dogma but also enjoys the notoriety and public attention. Oddly enough this has great resonance today.

I think one of his motivations was fear - fear that times were changing, that the predictable worldview that he held onto tightly, particularly the roles of women and men as related to reproduction, was changing and he wanted to stop that from happening.

I looked at the character of Anthony Comstock as one who has an enormous ego - he enjoyed the power he believed he had, and he sought to increase it in any way possible - including seeing his name in print. Clearly those engaged in the medical profession at this time in history, including midwives and pharmacists and especially physicians, enjoyed great influence and respect. Comstock's ego encouraged him to work diligently to arrest and prosecute as many in these areas as possible - thereby lifting him to be their equal and perhaps even greater in the eyes and minds of many.

I'm glad I will never meet Anthony Comstock in person. I feel that he was motivated by great personal needs for personal attention for himself and great power over others and what they do. He was an overly moral man on the surface, but I would bet had secret compartments to his own private life, as the Victorians were notorious for having.

The question and the one on the Catholic Church are quite leading. I think we are meant to see this man as not supportive of independent women, women of color in particular and women in the unseemly profession of medicine. Those are all quite true. However, I suspect abortions and other illegal surgeries were also major foci of his, no matter who performed them. He shares the morality of the day with most of society. Has he motivations more than that? Who knows--neither his character nor his case load is delineated well enough to tell.

I think he was a despicable character but necessary to the plot. Unfortunately, there are still people out there today who are prejudiced, egotistical, and refused to accept change in society because it would undermine his power and authority.