What is meant by "The minister looked at her, for an instant, with all that violence of passion, which [...] was, in fact, the portion of him which the Devil claimed, and through which he sought to win the rest"?

Question

What is meant by "The minister looked at her, for an instant, with all that violence of passion, which [...] was, in fact, the portion of him which the Devil claimed, and through which he sought to win the rest"?

The devil was trying to take hold of him now
The minister's former sin was weakness that the devil was trying to exploit
Th minister was fighting the devil

Answer 1

The correct interpretation of this passage is that the minister was fighting the devil. The phrase "with all that violence of passion" indicates that the minister was experiencing intense emotions, which were fueled by the devil's influence. The mention of the devil claiming a portion of him suggests that the minister's soul was under attack by demonic forces, and he was struggling to resist being consumed by them.