When Tom Walker first encounters "Old Scratch" as he is
commonly called, they have a long conversation, but even though the devil offers to
place wealth within Tom's power, Tom refuses the conditions
because
He was
determined not to do so to oblige his wife; so he flatly refused, out of the mere spirit
of contradiction.
Tom
determines not to please his "termagant wife"; so, the more she talks, the more he
becomes resolute not to "be damned to please her." Angered by her husband, Tom's wife
decides to drive the bargain with the devil herself, and sets out with the silver teapot
and spoons in her apron. However, when she does not return, Tom ventures out to learn
the fate of his wife. What he finds is her apron in a tree with a vulture hovering over
it; inside the apron are her liver and heart.
Finally, Tom
encouters the black man in the woods one evening and they haggle over the terms of the
"pirate's treasure." In addition to asking for Tom's soul, Old Scratch demands that Tom
become a slave trader, but Tom refuses because this is even below his moral code. Then,
the devil suggests that Tom become a usurer, a position that appeals to Tom's "tastes."
Thus, they shake hands and strike their bargain, and Tom makes a fortune in the great
speculating fever which soon breaks out in the country. Tom soon becomes a rich and
powerful man. Of course, as he ages, Tom has a "lurking dread that the Devil, after
all, would have his due." And, he does.
No comments:
Post a Comment