William represents pure evil. The fact that he seemed to enjoy killing people and not feeling remorseful, William must have scared himself. What a suffering human being that must be.
Living in that time period, religion was a fearful experience to keep people in line and to obey the laws I think.
William must have fought internally with himself, because he knew what he did was wrong, he knew he would go to hell and so he feared it.
That is an interesting statement you make in regard to his Mother's boils and ugly face. Maybe William's mother helped him become evil as well.

I would expect anyone back in those days who believed in heaven/hell at all would be very very afraid of it. Heck, many people today are only "good" because they fear hell. William believed and was smart enough to know the things he did were things that people were dragged into hell for.

I think as a child his mother routinely terrified him with stories of hell in the afterlife as a means of controlling him. So much so, that it became a kind of brain washing which never left him. (Talk about your dysfunctional families!) Regan was a very clever, manipulative, politically astute character, so perhaps she recognized the power the church enjoyed by generating the fear of hell in the afterlife and decided to put it to her own use. I wouldn't put it past her.

In the thread drwolseley referred to, I called William a psychopath. I'm no psychologist, so I thought I'd better look up the exact meaning of the word on dictionary.com before using it and here it is:
psy·cho·path
n. A person with an antisocial personality disorder, manifested in aggressive, perverted, criminal, or amoral behavior without empathy or remorse.

That's our boy!

Peridot: Your comments on Regan are quite interesting. I always had the same impression - that Regan manipulated William throughout his childhood with such remarks. Question then - Does Follett ever say that this is the case? Or did you just draw the same conclusion that I did?

William, the psychopath, that's what I'll think of him from now on as I continue to read. He fits that description very well.

***Spoiler***

Being more specific than the discussion so far, I thought I'd use a spoiler alert for this response.

I don't think Follett said in so many words that William was tormented by his mother with threats of hell, but in Regan's death scene and shortly thereafter he comes very close to it. In the copy of Pillars that I have (borrowed from my younger son since I always give away any copy I buy when I come across someone who hasn't read the book) the episode I'm referring to is on pages 792-797, shortly after the beginning of part V. Because his mother is the only other thing William seems to fear, I assumed that the two were connected...

****Spoiler*****
Hi,
I've just joined the board. I have been trying to read past posts to catch up. I read the book when it first came out in paper back years ago. I have just finished re-reading it this evening.
Follett does say that his mother threatened him with hell when when he misbehaved as a youngster. I tried to find the exact place, but couldn't. Labeling William as a psychopath is perfect.

One specific reference why William is so afraid of Hell is on page 417: William's mother had given him nightmares when he was small by telling him what the devils did to people in Hell...burning...poking...cutting... Great bedtime stories for a parent to nurture a child!

***Spoiler*** Part II

I stand corrected!!

Just awhile ago while listening to the audio version, I came to the "stone the cat" incident where William recalls how his mother tormented him with dreadful images of hell when he was a child. It's at this point that Waleran recognizes that he can use William's fear to manipulate him.

I'm trying to finish a crocheted tablecloth for a Christmas gift and on a chance checked with my library today to see if the audio set they have was available. It took so many tapes to record the book that it's split up into three parts (as opposed to the five parts in the book). Part I was checked out, but II & III were available. So now I can crochet while I listen and hopefully make good progress!

Thanks for posting, Justmejo!

Thank you for that. I thought there might be something linking to the two - and therefore leaving me with the impression I had, but I was not quite sure. REF: Audio. I have the book on CD and it still took 4 CDs to do so. I listened to it a couple of years ago when my husband and I were on a trip and it was a great way to pass the time on such a long drive.

I purchased the audio version of WWE and it contains 36 CDs. They're arranged in 6 "booklets" of 6. Both books make awesome traveling companions!

Makes me wish that I had a long trip coming up!!!

Bonnie and all, since I'm only on the page 100, I have gotten to the other passages you are referring to, however my thoughts were exactly what you have written. Many people, including today, have been scared into believing whatever it is they believe, and therefore act accordingly, or not.

I agree with the fact that William surrounds himself or the world surrounding him resembles his idea of hell. However, I do think that William does have a sense of morality, thus he knows that his actions are morally wrong. To put it bluntly, he is a pervert, and knows that his perversions are wrong,but chooses to act upon his compulsions. This is why he always goes to Bishop Bigod to have his sins absolved.

Also as a child his mother scarred him with visions of hell's torments and tormentors so he really didn't form his own opinion of hell, just the opinion of hell that his mother wanted him to see. It's kind of ironical that Regan spent so much time trying to build up her son's moral character, trying to put the fear of God into him, when he turned out to be such a pathetic soul. William's behavior is almost predictable, but he is one of those characters that you love to hate and Mr. Follet never disappoints the reader with William's actions.

The person who seemed to mold and shape William's inner life was his mother. To me, William and Lady Hamleigh were the yin/yang expression of similiar inner forces - lives trapped in their own self-loathing, resentment and envy. The development of their Consciences were stalled at the level of their inability for compassion and awareness of others outside their own level of pain. "Fear of Hell" was the only limitation their Consciences could administer in an attempt to reign in their inner and outer destructive forces. Towards the end of the novel, William reflected on his mother's influence - instilling a fear of hell along with her brutal discipline. In spite of her cruel manipulations, when she was on her deathbed she attempted to communicate her desire for a priest to William who was too stunned to understand. His mentor; his pillar of strength; his co-conspirator who advanced his career - it was beyond his conception that she could be vulnerable to death.

William's emotional fear of mockery was far greater than his fear of hell, especially in a moment of passion. His paranoidal illusions of others laughing at what he perceived as his weaknesses compelled him towards violence. Being laughed at and humiliated were greater torments than the images of hell. The pain in the moment was tangible and real - "hell" was a concept until the temporary relief of his anguish was subdued through some kind of carnage against another. After the instant gratification through eliminating one kind of torment, the fear of hell would replace his previous fears and anguish.

There was a possibility of William's "fear of hell" to carry him to a higher level of Consciousness. When facing his Conscience-striken soul, he sought the guidance of the church only to be maipulated by a clergyman (Waleran) motivated by self-interest. Waleran promised a quick-fix to William's moral crisis - "Absolution" through supporting Waleran in his self-serving designs. Waleran's abuse of power inhibits William's opportunity for possible change and growth, albeit a very low beginning. William's "fear of hell" was his only possiblity to be lead to redemption. It was his Conscience's futile attempt to save him.