A Tale Of A Tub

Peter is one of the brothers in “The Tale of a Tub” sections. His character is supposed to symbolize the Roman Catholic Church. He is the first to diverge from his father’s will by altering his coat, and he makes the rules that convince his brothers to add to them, too. He begins to call himself “Lord Peter” and takes control of their father’s will, altering it as he sees fit. Peter tells his brothers what they can and cannot do, restricting them to rules that he has made. He begins to invent things, sells medicines and cures, and also lies all the time. He is very arrogant and is always in a standoff with his brothers. He is representative of the Catholic Church because he was the first brother to be in control. Peter also is very wealthy, as well as demanding. He wants to be the only one in charge and expels when they displease him, showing the Catholic Church as a domineering force in society.

Martin is another of the three brothers. His character symbolizes Protestantism, or the Church of England. He is the brother who is more careful about the way that he takes the added adornments off his coat. His theories differ from Catholicism, but not so much that the coat needs to be torn to shreds. He advises moderation when Jack tears at his coat, to no avail. He is involved in the wars between the brothers and deals with the various monarchs that back the respective religions that they represent. Martin is a stand in for Protestantism—Swift’s own religion. He was named for Martin Luther, the writer of the 95 Theses, the work that incited the Reformation. In his moderation and relative sanity, Martin shows the author’s bias toward Protestantism. 

Jack is the third brother. His character is a symbol for Puritanism. When he and Martin break away from Peter, he roughly pulls the adornments from his jacket, leaving holes that he must sew up. Tellingly, Jack is the most extreme. He believes in predestination and dislikes music and painting. He also goes crazy, travels abroad, preaches, and founds an Aeolist sect filled with people who are supposedly divinely inspired.

Henry VIII wars with Martin. However, after wishing to get divorced so that he could marry Ann Boleyn, he has a falling out with Peter. His desire for an annulment of his first marriage resulted in his leaving the Catholic Church. Then he appointed himself the head of the Church of England.

The man who the Bookseller addresses and praises in a letter at the beginning of the book, Lord Somers was a writer before he became a lawyer and Lord Chancellor. He might have been receptive to Swift’s discussions of writers and literature. He also might have been able to provide financial backing for the printing of the book, which the Bookseller would have been interested in.