Owen Meany Wedding Scene Analysis

Tabitha Wheelwright does not have a normal life. When she has a wedding where strange things occur, this is not shocking. In A Prayer for Owen Meany, the author John Irving uses many literary elements to create a sense of mystery and plot twists to tell an astounding story of the character Owen Meany. The wedding scene in the novel involves many important characters, eerie symbols, and foreshadowing. The wedding scene gathers many characters that make monumental impacts throughout the book. Owen Meany himself is the factor of many symbols and foreshadowing. As Simon said to Owen earlier in the scene, Owen looks as if he is dressed for a funeral instead of a wedding. His dark suit maybe the nicest piece of clothing he owns, but it is still eerie because the readers know that Tabitha will die soon after this. Owen is manipulative in this scene too. First, he steals Hester’s panties, so she is forced to beg for them back. Then, he refuses to

On the outside, at least from what Johnny notices, she looks like a very happy bride. Which the novel gives us no reason to believe that she doesn’t love Dan. However, there are very good possibilities that she may feel guilty or afraid. The guilt would be from hiding to Johnny and Dan who Jonny’s father was. With Rev. Merrill as one of the pastors preforming the ceremony, Tabitha couldn’t let that affect her on the outside. She even wore a white dress to symbolize purity, which is not normally acceptable to a woman who had conceived outside of marriage. She may also be afraid that Reverend Merrill would do or say something about their previous relationship. The reason she waited so long to marry Dan is because she wanted to make sure that Reverend Merrill wouldn’t tell Johnny that he was his father. She is so afraid about this knowledge becoming known that she waited fives years to marry someone she loved. That is