Reverend Curtis Hartman Character Analysis in Winesburg, Ohio

The forty-year-old pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Winesburg. Hartman is “quiet and unpretentious” and is a dedicated minister who is well-liked by the townspeople. Despite this, he feels limited in his role at the church and wishes that he could connect more freely and openly with God. Hartman develops an obsession with the young schoolteacher Kate Swift and is thrown into a crisis of faith over his sexual temptation. After deciding that he will give himself over to sin, he has a change of heart when he sees Kate naked and praying in her bedroom. This experience results in a spiritual epiphany for Hartman, who declares to a confused George Willard that Kate is an “instrument of God.”

Reverend Curtis Hartman Character Timeline in Winesburg, Ohio

The timeline below shows where the character Reverend Curtis Hartman appears in Winesburg, Ohio. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Reverend Curtis Hartman , the pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Winesburg, is well-liked and respected by the... (full context)

Reverend Hartman spends his Sunday mornings praying in the room in the bell tower of the church.... (full context)

Kate Swift has a “sharp tongue” and an unladylike reputation around town. She reminds Reverend Hartman of women in the novels he read in college, and he assumes that her time... (full context)

Reverend Hartman is quickly thrown into a dilemma over Kate. At first, he only wants to reach... (full context)

Although Reverend Hartman is confident that God will intercede on his behalf and free him from his obsession... (full context)

Coming of Age, Independence, and Manhood Theme Icon

After months of deliberation, Reverend Hartman decides that he will give himself over to sin because otherwise he would be a... (full context)

On the same bitterly cold day leading up to Reverend Hartman ’s revelation in “The Strength of God,” George Willard is glad that the weekly newspaper... (full context)

...awake—George working in the Winesburg Eagle office, Kate leaving for a walk through town, and Reverend Hartman waiting in the bell tower. (full context)

...what people are thinking if he wants to be a writer. On the night, before Reverend Hartman waits to catch a glimpse of Kate in the bell tower, she meets with George... (full context)

On the night of the blizzard, while Reverend Hartman waits for Kate, she goes to the Winesburg Eagle office and has a deep, hour-long... (full context)

This moment of frustration is when Reverend Hartman bursts in on George, overlapping with the same moment from the minister’s point of view... (full context)