Forsaken

While reading "The Forsaken Merman" by Matthew Arnold, I considered the merman and the sea as representations of the Old Religion, and that the chapel was the New Religion. In this way, the message of the poem is how the New Religion condemns the Old Religion even if a person feels more comfortable on one path than the other. (Of course I'm biased.) Margaret went to the church out of fear for her soul, leaving her lover and her children behind. Then she is unable to hear their pleas for her return because she feels obligated to the church in order to save her soul. To me, this represents the church's use of fear to gain control over a huge number of people. In the Old Religion, no one is going to damn you for believing differently. In the end, "The Forsaken Merman" is a tragedy about the forsaken religion. But despite popular belief, the Old Religion is still alive and well.