Prohibition of Alcohol

The Prohibition of Alcohol, as embodied by Liza Hamilton, is a strict and uncompromising moral code that governs the Hamilton household. Liza, a devout Presbyterian, regards the consumption of alcohol in any form as a crime against a properly outraged deity. This rule is not merely a personal preference but a deeply held conviction that shapes the family's daily life and interactions, creating a persistent tension between her iron will and the natural inclinations of her husband and children.

Liza's Unyielding Stance

Liza Hamilton's prohibition is absolute and without exception. She believes that drinking alcohol is a sin, and she resists its enjoyment by anyone else. When her husband Samuel is very ill and asks for a glass of whisky to ease his suffering, she refuses, asking, "Would you go to the throne of God with liquor on your breath? You would not!" This response illustrates her conviction that even medicinal use is unacceptable, as it would compromise one's spiritual state before God. Her stance is so well-known that neighbors who visit the Hamilton forge, where Samuel often works, take care to hide their whisky bottles from her disapproving eye, and they chew green wild anise to cover the whisky breath. The men drop their cursing in Samuel's presence, not from restraint but automatically, as though the forge were not the place for it, indicating the pervasive influence of Liza's moral atmosphere.

The Family's Response and Subversion

The result of Liza's prohibition is that her husband Samuel and all her children develop a "good lusty love for a drink." This subversion is a direct reaction to her rigid control, creating a dynamic where the forbidden becomes more desirable. The family's enjoyment of alcohol is not merely a matter of taste but a quiet rebellion against Liza's authority. This tension is a recurring theme in the Hamilton household, where Liza's strict moral code clashes with the more liberal and joyful nature of her husband, Samuel. The prohibition thus becomes a source of conflict and a defining feature of their relationship.

The Irony of Liza's Later Life

A significant irony in Liza's story is that in her old age, when her elimination slows down, a doctor advises her to take a tablespoon of port wine for medicine. She forces down the first spoonful, making a crooked face, but finds it not so bad. From that moment, she never draws a completely sober breath. She always takes the wine in a tablespoon, always as medicine, but after a time she is doing over a quart a day and becomes a much more relaxed and happy woman. This late-life reversal underscores the hypocrisy and the human cost of her earlier, absolute prohibition, suggesting that even the most rigid moral codes can be bent by necessity and the passage of time.

Thematic Significance

The Prohibition of Alcohol in the Hamilton household serves as a microcosm of the novel's larger exploration of good and evil, freedom and constraint. Liza's rule represents a rigid, external morality that seeks to control human behavior through fear and prohibition. The family's response, however, demonstrates the futility of such an approach, as it only strengthens the desire for the forbidden. The rule also highlights the conflict between Liza's dour Presbyterianism and Samuel's more joyful, life-affirming philosophy. Ultimately, the prohibition is a failed attempt to impose a simplistic moral order on the complex and often contradictory nature of human desire, a theme that resonates throughout the novel's examination of the human condition.