Archive · 27 Oct 2025
Franzen's 'Crossroads' Explores Faith, Family, and Moral Dilemmas
In Jonathan Franzen's novel, 'Crossroads,' a family in the 1970s faces a crisis of faith.
The father, a minister, struggles with his own doubts and desires.
The mother deals with her own past trauma and marital issues.
Their children, Clem, Becky, and Perry, also grapple with moral dilemmas concerning war, love, and drugs.
The story explores how the family's beliefs are tested during difficult times, questioning the role of faith, marriage, and personal choices.
It's about how they find their way through these challenges.
The novel centers on the Hildebrandt family in the early 1970s facing a crisis of faith.
Russ, the father, struggles with his faith and is attracted to a parishioner.
Marion, the mother, battles a spiritual crisis and explores her troubled past.
The children, Clem, Becky, and Perry, face their own moral dilemmas.
The book examines themes of faith, marriage, war, and the search for meaning.
- Who
- The Hildebrandt family
- What
- Experiencing crises of faith and morality.
- When
- Early 1970s
- Where
- New Prospect, a fictional town in the Chicago suburbs.
- Why
- Exploring the impact of religion on personal relationships and challenges to faith.
- Author
- Jonathan Franzen
- Novel Title
- Crossroads
- Setting
- Early 1970s, New Prospect (fictional)
- Main Themes
- Faith, family, morality, crisis of faith
- Protagonist
- The Hildebrandt family
- Characters facing crises
- Russ, Marion, Clem, Becky, Perry