Matilda

I’ve been curious for some time with Roald Dahl. Many of my friends like his books, and some recommended me to at least give him a try. I’m not a big fan of children books, although time to time I still read several, but I think I should really try one of Dahl’s children fictions. I found this copy of Matilda last year in a second hand book kiosk, and so I have been delving for a week into children’s world… :)

Matilda is a little girl with brilliant mind. Born from parents who are ignorance to their kids does not hinder little Matilda to educate herself. From age 3, she has already read newspaper; and because her father refused to provide her books, she goes to public library and sits there every afternoon to read books. At age 4! And not just children books—which she consumed in just a few moments—she reads adult classics like Great Expectations, Pride and Prejudice, The Sound and the Fury, Grapes of Wrath, and many others. At age 4!

However, far from being treated with special care, Matilda meets challenges both at home and in school. At home, there are her parents; while in school there is the wicked Headmistress who (also) despises kids. Being bullied and distrusted by these three adults forces Matilda to use her brilliant brain to create a coup d’état.

My immediate response while reading this is ‘impossible’ and ‘exaggerating’. But then, Matilda is a children book, and to read this kind of book one needs to borrow children’s mind which is full of imagination. However, still as a child I don’t think I would have liked Matilda. She’s the kind of naughty girls whom I don’t like even when I was a kid.

One thing that annoyed me most is how Matilda abused her father because she doesn’t approve of his cheating way of doing business. Dahl has made parent abuse looks like heroic act! I’m just wondering, is this book really meant for children reading? I would ban this book if I were at an elementary school council! Mr. Dahl, it’s shame on you for teaching children to do that to her parents, not for self-protection, but just to punish! Where does the ‘honor thy father and mother’ commandment go?

Over all, I don’t feel sympathy with Matilda. Yes, she was often misunderstood by the elders, and it’s shame on them!, but still, it doesn’t give her right to use her intelligence to do mischievous things. The book is quite funny sometimes, and actually the story flows nicely. Dahl is good in telling the story, but beyond that, it’s just annoying and harsh.

Three stars for Matilda, and I don’t think I would ever read anything from him again. Apart from the light reading which I sometimes need, It’s such a waste…

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I read Puffin Books paperback edition

*This book is counted as:*

12^th book for 2013 TBR Pile Challenge

5^th book for Fun Year With Children Literature

19^th book for What's In a Name Reading Challenge2013

10^th book for New Authors Reading Challenge 2013

56^th book for The Classics Club Project

The Life of Saint Teresa of Ávila: First Level (Grammar Stage)

What are the central events in the writer’s life?

I know that I should have written only the most important events for this inquiry, but to refresh my memory, and really…there are a lot of important events in Teresa’s life that is so valuable, I finally rambled over this quite a long post. :)

• Teresa’s soul was aroused since childhood, thanks to the parents’ good virtues. (age 7)
• Lost her virtues through bad company – entered an Augustinian convent in spite of her bitter aversion. (age 14)
• Returned to good virtues – had serious illness; poor health – out from the convent to stay with her sister. (age 16+)
• Finally took the habit at the Convent of Incarnation, 3^rd November 1536. (age 21)
• Feeling great joy for serving God – her health worsens – went to another town for treatment.
• Suffered the inability of meditating, always needed books to pray – been misguided by her confessor. (age 23)
• Asked God to send illness and patience to endure it. God granted it, the treatment worsen her illness, she endured great pain with great patience, almost died.
• Teresa was paralyzed for almost three years, but endured it with great joy.
• She regretted her sins, took St. Joseph as her patron, and through him, God granted her prayers.
• Teresa fell again in sin from amusements and vanity, having too much freedom in the convent.
• She had a friendship with a woman – one day Christ appeared before her looking severe and warned her that the friendship displeased Him. She disobeyed still; then had a vision of a strange toad which she believed to be another God’s warning.
• For some times she stopped communing with God (meditation).
• Her father died from illness.
• Guided by her father’s confessor, Teresa began to pray again – still led two lives: divine and worldly ones.
• However, during those follies, Teresa felt that God veiled her sins from public because He must have known how Teresa longed to serve Him.
• Teresa was tormented when God granted graces to her despite of her sins.
• Teresa saw in her mind an image of Christ terribly wounded; it moved her deeply; that she called up that image in meditations which helped her a lot.
• Teresa had difficulties to stay in meditation because her thoughts were wondering; she needed an actual image to induce mental recollection in mind.
• She began reading St. Augustine’s Confessions; it helped her to incline more to spiritual graces and stayed away from things that did her harm.
• Teresa wrote the contents of this book to her confessors, but warned him to only publish till chapter 10, and left the rest in secret.
• She taught us how to do mental prayer (meditation) in 4 stages, and how to hinder the devils from taunting us. The higher the stage, the more intimate we would be to God.
• 5 or 6 years stretched along from Teresa’s first to third stages of prayer.
• People accused her of making innovations in prayer – Teresa was disturbed by it – abandoned again her prayer.
• Father Barron, a Dominican Friar, woke her up from sins – she realized how God is never tired of forgiving sinners like her.
• Whenever Teresa had an ecstasy from her 4^th stage of prayer (when God enraptured her), her body would be lifted from the ground. Along with the raptures, Teresa experienced distress from terrible loneliness – she longed to die, to be united to God – her body also suffered great pain – she accepted all happily as the way of Cross.
• After 20 years of prayer and avoiding sins, Teresa was afraid that she might be deceived by the devil. She then sought spiritual directors to guide her.
• To one of her five teachers from the Society of Jesus she confided that despite of her sins, God granted her much favours – the teachers concluded that it was from evil spirit, not God – they instructed her to resist herself from the raptures.

Cuzco School: The Second Conversion of Saint Teresa. ca. 1694

• Teresa used to keep her earthly friendship, however one day God told her in her ecstasy that He wanted her to converse not to men, but with angels – on this, she gave up her friendship and everything for God.
• Two years after Teresa was instructed to resist God’s favours, she sensed Christ’s presence at her side, though she couldn’t see him; so real the experience, it convinced Teresa that it was not the devil – her new confessor confirmed, he was Peter of Alcantara (later on a Fransiscan saint).
• Teresa often had the ‘vision’ from God (she could see Him—parts of His body or His whole body).
• People doubted that a sinner like Teresa could have such favours from God – her confessors were also unwilling to take her confession.
• St. Teresa kept welcoming the visions, though her confessors told her to stop it.
• But God reassured her by giving a token of jeweled cross and advice to deal with her opposition.
• Now the raptures began to bring great pain to Teresa’s soul like being pierced by an arrow, but at the same time the pain felt sweet—it is a combination of pleasure and pain, which disturbed Teresa.
• She was visited by Friar Peter of Alcantara who understood her experience and comforted that it came from God.
• Teresa was tormented several times by the devils, which is permitted by God. During these times Teresa was greatly tormented and only relieved after sprinkling holy water to the devils – it happened because she wanted to save another soul, so she asked God to switch the devils to her soul instead – the other soul was saved at last.
• One day Teresa had a vision of hell, she experienced its torment for a few seconds but that terrified her forever.
• She thought of what kind of penance she ought to do to avoid hell.
• God commanded her, in a vision, to found a convent of St. Joseph’s and He promised to watch over it.
• The plan was opposed by many people but God encouraged Teresa to go on – He inspired the oppositions that at the end they were willingly to help the realization.
• The Provincial suddenly changed his mind, and so the project was cancelled – Teresa was persecuted once more by her colleagues.
• God commanded her to obey her superiors – she was sure that the project will be realized nonetheless.
• The present Rector of The Society of Jesus was succeeded by a more spiritual one – under whom the project was resumed.
• God supported Teresa with encouragement and the means of building the convent, including money which she didn’t have any.
• St. Joseph and St. Clare appeared to her when she was distressed of doing everything alone – They promised to help her. St. Mary has even asked Her Son to help her; which He did.
• Teresa was able to save souls of clerics as well as her relatives by the help from God in visions.
• God insisted that the convent should be built on the principle of poverty.
• Finally Teresa was sent by God in secrecy at a perfect time to finalize the sanction and authority of the convent foundation, against her superiors’ knowledge.
• The convent of St. Joseph was founded on 1562.
• It was under greater enclosure and the new nuns were taken without dowry under the rule of poverty.
• Only four hours after that, the devils put her into spiritual battle again, planting the idea that she must have been wrong to disobey her Provincial – again God helped her and convinced her to lead the nuns.
• People who at first opposed her, began to give their consent.
• In the new convent, Teresa’s virtues much progressed – she often got visions from Saints and souls of dead ones being transported to Heaven, or being torn by the devils, according to their deeds while on earth.
• God gave her a vision to encourage her that He won’t ever abandon her at trials – also a vision of Heaven with its Throne and Angels.
• When she doubted (again!) whether the vision was from God, He rebuked her in an apparition.
• Teresa also had a vision of Virgin Mary’s assumption.
• Finally Teresa was strictly enclosed in her convent, completely out of the world and devoted her life solely to God.

Give your book your own title and subtitle

A God’s Servant’s Story: In Which St. Teresa of Avila Becomes One of His Most Faithful Servants Despite Of Her Sins and Weaknesses.

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Scene on Three (7): The Life of Saint Teresa Ávila

From the autobiography of a saint which I just finished reading, I would like to share one of the scenes which has lasted longer in my mind than the rest.

“One day when I was at prayer, I found myself, without knowing how, plunged, as I thought, into hell. (…) The entrance seemed to me like a very long, narrow passage, or a very low, dark, and constricted furnace. The ground appeared to be covered with a filthy wet mud, which smelt abominably and contained many wicked reptiles. At the end was a cavity scooped out of the wall, like a cupboard, and I found myself closely confined in it. But the sight of all this was pleasant compared with my feelings. There is no exaggeration in what I am saying.  (…) I felt a fire inside my soul, the nature of which is beyond my powers of description, and my physical tortures were intolerable. I have endured the severest bodily pains in the course of my life, the worst, so the doctors say, that it is possible to suffer and live. (…) But none of them was in any way comparable to the pains I felt at that time, especially when I realized that they would be endless and unceasing. But even this was nothing to my agony of soul, an oppression, a suffocation, and an affliction so agonizing, and accompanied by such a hopeless and distressing misery that no words I could find would adequately describe it. To say that is was as if my soul were being continuously torn from my body is as nothing. The fact is that I can find no means of describing that inward fire and that despair which is greater than the severest torments or pains. (…) In that pestilent spot, deprived of all hope of comfort, it was impossible for me to sit or lie down; there was no room to do so. I had been put in what seemed a hole in the wall, and the very walls, which are hideous to behold, pressed in on me and completely stifled me. There is no light there, only the deepest darkness.”

Yep, it is hell, and it is really frightening. Teresa of Ávila said that she was brought there for merely several seconds. Can you imagine how will it feel to be there forever? It really made me want to go to a confession right away; but instead…well…I flipped through many pages of the book, kept reading… :) But seriously, I wish to stick this picture in my mind, to remind me everytime I seem to be falling into sin.

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Jadi bagaimana cara berpartisipasi dalam Scene on Three :

• Tuliskan suatu adegan atau deskripsi pemandangan/manusia/situasi/kota dan sebagainya ke dalam suatu post.
• Jelaskan mengapa adegan atau deskripsi itu menarik, menurut versi kalian masing-masing.
• Jangan lupa cantumkan button Scene on Three di dalam post dengan link menuju blog BacaanB.Zee.
• Masukkan link post kalian ke link tools yang ada di bawah post Bacaan B.Zee, sekalian saling mengunjungi sesama peserta Scene on Three.
• Meme ini diadakan setiap tanggal yang mengandung angka tiga, sesuai dengan ketersediaan tanggal di bulan tersebut (tanggal 3, 13, 23, 30, dan 31).

The Life of Saint Teresa of Ávila: Review

I haven’t read many autobiographies, so I was rather gambling when I bought this autobiography of one of the most famous Catholic Saints: Teresa of Ávila. Firstly because autobiography is usually serious; and this one, particularly, is religious. Tough combination! But I don’t know why, this one is tempting me since I put it in my WEM Project, and so….I dared myself to read it. In the end, it is so worth it! Although Teresa’s writing is not quite chronologic—she used to return to the past things related with the current issue that she might have forgotten, or which she thinks now is important, while is wasn’t then—and she seems to have difficulties to make things more clearly. But maybe this is because she had restriction (from God or from her superiors at that time). But above all, her autobiography is really inspiring.

I usually do the three levels inquiries for WEM, but this time I go directly to review. I will still do the inquiries after this, though :). Now about the book…..

Teresa of Ávila (Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada) was born at Ávila in 1515, into a family with good virtues, which I believe is the solid foundation of her own devotion to God in the age of six or seven. Her mother taught her to pray. Unfortunately, at age 14, Teresa began to lose her virtues through bad friends’ influences and amusements of the world. Scared that she might fall to sin, her parents took her to a convent, although with her bitterly aversion. The secluded convent seemed to bring back Teresa’s virtues, however she began to suffer from heart disease, and this forced her father to bring her out, and put her in her relative’s.

Teresa took the habit at the Convent of the Incarnation on 3^rd November 1536, when she was 21 years old. Here she began to have great joy to serve God. Meanwhile, her health got worsened, and so she must be brought out of town for treatment, which unfortunately didn’t work as expected. It seemed that God deliberately sent the illness for her to endure, and she did endure it with patience. She was paralyzed for almost three years, yet she endured the great torment with joy. At this stage she regretted her former sins, and took St. Joseph as her advocate to God. However, once again she fell to sins because the convent provided too much liberty for a restless nun like her. One day Christ appeared before her, looking severe, telling her that her friendship with her current friend displeased Him. While she still disobeyed, God appeared in another vision.

Teresa was weary of her sin, that she lost her previous joy in virtuous things. She abandoned her communing with God (meditation). Through her confessors’ guidance, Teresa returned to her prayers, but she still lived two lives: the earthly and the divine ones. But during those times, God never ceased to veil her sins from public, as He knew that Teresa, deep in her heart, always longed to serve Him. For twenty years Teresa fell and rose in her spiritual life, again and again; this state disturbed her, but thank God, He gave her courage to keep praying, because praying helps us to be nearer to Him, as He will bear so long for us to come to Him.

Reading St. Augustine’s Confessions has helped her to incline more to spiritual graces and to stay away from things that did her harm. She taught us that there are four stages in prayer; the higher the stage the more intimate we would be with God. After 5 or 6 years exercising to 3^rd stage of praying, Teresa was being accused and attacked by people who said that it’s only her innovations. She was disturbed by this fuss, and fell again to sins, until a Dominican Friar woke her up from it, and she realized how God is never tired to forgiving sinners.

Teresa now often had an ecstasy, when God enraptured her. She was afraid at first whether it was not a deception from the devils, however in many visions and appearances God convinced her that it was from Him. God gave her favours in the raptures and visions; He even brought her to visit Hell and Heaven. The ‘tour’ to Hell was very horrible, that she couldn’t even describe it in words. Not only the tortures to body—she felt greater pain than she had ever endured on earth—but also the torture of soul, which was still much more painful than of the body. With these favours, Teresa began to incline to save souls, with the guidance from God.

God commanded her to found a convent of St. Joseph’s. Through so many obstacles (that distressed Teresa so much, since, as usual, she was torn between God’s promise that everything would be OK as this was His wish, and her own thoughts that she was deceiving herself and others—which was clearly came from the devils), the convent was finally founded on 1562. During the process, Teresa received much opposition from others, including her colleagues and superiors, and even her confessors. However, as this was a work from God—and God was extra patience to convince the stubborn Teresa about it—the new convent was finally established. People opposed it because it was a reformation of convent’s standard system. St. Joseph’s convent took poverty as its main rule, and this they did not accept dowry from new members—as the standard of convents at that time—and strictly closed the convent from outer world so that the nuns could focus their devotion mainly to God. It really fitted Teresa, whose sins were mostly from her connection with the outer world.

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From this autobiography, I learned that Saints are ordinary people like us; that although they have achieved higher step in spirituality: 1) They still sinned every now and then. 2) It doesn’t mean that the devils stop tempting them; the tighter your relation with God is, the bolder the devils would tempt and attack you. They become even more aggressive now that the chance to snatch the souls from God is smaller. The only consolation we get from God, is that He won’t let us fall if we put 100% trust in His protection and keep on praying. That is very relieved, but we almost always forget it during trials! :)

People who oppose Catholic and other Christian Church often attack us by saying: If God loves us, why, while we are so devoutly to him, that He let the devils tempt and attach us, that we must suffer much? Oh yes, God do let them do it, as I read from Teresa’s words. God allows the devils to do that to test our strength and to make us realize of His power to save us from harm. That’s why, we mustn’t retreat from our virtuous life when trials come, but strengthen it with more prayers and with humility.

One important fact that astonished me is the powerful effect of Holy Water. Teresa told us that one day a devil appeared to her when she was praying; she was afraid, so she raised a cross to it, and it soon went away. However, a moment later it re-appeared. Teresa did the same action twice more, but the devil kept coming. So, Teresa reached for Holy Water, and sprinkled it to the devil, and this time it vanished and never returned. So great is the power of the Holy Water!

There are so many valuable things I got from this inspiring book, a book which Teresa has written by the guidance of God. Teresa then submitted the manuscript to a Reverence to be published. She died on October 1582, but not before she founded many more St. Joseph’s convents (the Carmelite nuns). Forty years after her death, Teresa was canonized by Pope Gregory XV, and was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI.

Last but not least, here’s a lovely quote to help us all living this hard lives….

“For in this life we cannot always remain in the same state. Sometimes we are fervent, and at other times not; sometimes we are restless and at other times calm in spite of temptations. He told me to trust Him and not be afraid.”

In fact, Teresa’s life was like that, she was not a perfect human being, but she kept loving God, did her best to please Him, and put her trust in Him. We are not perfect either, and we might not become Saints, but we can do our best to reach the eternal life as long as we put trust in Him to guide us.

Four and a half stars for this autobiography, for although it is very inspiring, but so tough in reading, with the small fonts and Teresa’s inconsistent writing and sometimes full of ramblings.

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I read Penguin Classics paperback edition

*This book is counted as:*

5th book for Baca Bareng BBI – September theme: biography

8^th book for Back To The Classics 2013

55^th book for The Classics Club Project

WEM Self Project

Scene on Three (6): Hamlet

I am now reading one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies: Hamlet. This scene is taken from the beginning of Act one, where some officers were on night watch together with Horatio (Hamlet’s friend). It was near twilight, when they saw the ghost of the late King appeared. However, before they brought it into conversation, the cock crowed, and the ghost disappeared. Apparently ghosts or spirits would immediately disappeared when cocks begin to crow. Shakespeare connected this to (a myth?) that two thousand years ago, when Christ was born, the cocks crowed all night long, and no spirit dared to appear. I’m just amazed at this scene, which feels so tranquil and so divine…. I think this scene would appear in my mind every time I sing Silent Night from now on! Oh, but if the cock crowed all night long, it was not that silent then? :)

“Some say that ever ‘gainst that season comes

Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated,

The bird of dawning singeth all night long;

And then, they say, no spirit dare to stir abroad;

The nights are wholesome; then no planet strikes,

No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm;

So hallow’d and so gracious is the time.”

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Jadi bagaimana cara berpartisipasi dalam Scene on Three :

• Tuliskan suatu adegan atau deskripsi pemandangan/manusia/situasi/kota dan sebagainya ke dalam suatu post.
• Jelaskan mengapa adegan atau deskripsi itu menarik, menurut versi kalian masing-masing.
• Jangan lupa cantumkan button Scene on Three di dalam post dengan link menuju blog BacaanB.Zee.
• Masukkan link post kalian ke link tools yang ada di bawah post Bacaan B.Zee, sekalian saling mengunjungi sesama peserta Scene on Three.
• Meme ini diadakan setiap tanggal yang mengandung angka tiga, sesuai dengan ketersediaan tanggal di bulan tersebut (tanggal 3, 13, 23, 30, dan 31).

Kidnapped

Right after reading few chapters of Kidnapped, I instantly saw the similarity with Treasure Island. The strange thing is, I totally forgot at that time that Treasure Island is also Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure story! No wonder that those two are so alike, although Kidnapped is much more than just an adventure story.

David Balfour is a seventeen year Scottish lad that has just become an orphan. It was at 1751, when Scotland suffered from the dispute between the Lowlander and Highlander (Jacobites). His dead father left him a letter and instruction to be brought to the house of Shaws, who appeared to be David’s uncle. Imagining that he was having a situation there, Ebenezer Balfour treated him badly; he tried to murder him but failed; then he conspired with a captain of a brig to kidnap David and sell him as a slave. All was done so that David could never touch his inheritance.

David was a prisoner on board of Covenant, a brig of the villain Captain Hoseason and his gang. He saw the injustice and even a murder done by them. Fortunately, another ship wrecked, and a survived gentleman was taken into Covenant. The gentleman was a Highlander and enemy of the Campbell (King’s agent), called Alan Breck Stewart. Having overheard the Captain and the crew’s plan to murder Alan, David made an alliance with Alan to fight them back. Unfortunately the ship wrecked, and David, separated from others, was washed ashore in the inhabited isle of Earraid, where he cast away for several months, but then managed to return to the land.

Reunited with Alan, David accidentally witnessed the murder of Colin Roy Campbell, and wrongly accused. So now, Alan and David, having come from different clan (David is a Lowlander) were now in the same ‘ship’. Through difficulties and dangers they both fled. And through this journey and adventure, an intimate bound of friendship was built upon David and Alan. The question is, how would it end, considering that they were supposed to be enemies?

One most interesting aspect of this adventure story is the historical setting and facts. Many of the characters (especially those involved in the dispute of Lowlander and Highlander) were really exist in the history of Scotland, including Alan Breck himself. Through David’s eyes, Stevenson brought us to witness and learn one of Scottish histories during the Jacobite rising. Another strong point that makes Kidnapped not an ordinary adventure story, is the Scottish atmosphere that we’d find throughout the story. I was having difficulties of understanding many Scottish idioms and dialect in the first chapters, but along the way, I began to be familiar with it, and I think, overall, the Scottish nuance has added a unique value to this book.

One thing (and an important one, at least for me) that didn’t fit my expectation is the ending. Adventure stories, just like mysteries, used to have a conclusive ending. Anyway, adventures’ pace is set such that it will reach climax at the end, and that—I believe—is the chief point of writing an adventure story. Unfortunately, Stevenson did not provide that conclusive ending for Kidnapped. I read elsewhere that there are two possibilities: 1) Perhaps Stevenson was worried that his ending might contradict the history; or: 2) Kidnapped was planned to be followed by a sequel; and thus the hanging ending was applied to curious the readers.

Whatever the real reason, the ending is so dissatisfying and so abrupt that at first I was suspicious that my ebook was corrupted or something. Well, it was clearly what Stevenson has put is the real ending, and it forced me to take back a half star from the rating I originally gave this book. Three and a half stars finally, for Kidnapped, and I really wish it has a better ending!....

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*I read ebook version from Gutenberg Project*

*This book is counted as:*

4^th book for Fun Year Event With Children Literature

7^th book for Historical Fiction Challenge 2013

7^th book for Back to the Classics 2013

54^th book for The Classics Club Project

Saint Joan: Final Review

There are so many plays I had wanted to read for this last freebie month of Let’s Read Plays; but at the end I picked George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan. And what a perfect choice I’ve made! I loved Joan, I loved the play, and I loved Shaw’s writing, right from the beginning.

Shaw opened the play from Robert de Baudricourt’s farm, whose hens have been failing to produce any eggs for several days. His men believe that a maid who has been stubbornly stay there was the culprit. The maid is Joan—a peasant girl who asked Baudricourt to equip her with arms and suits, and send her to raise a siege in Orleans during the Hundred Years’ War. How can a seventeen year old girl want to go to a war? Joan isn’t an ordinary girl, for she is chosen by God for the mission. She claims to hear voices of St. Catherine, St. Margaret, and Michael the Archangel, that God has sent her. Something in Joan moves Baudicourt to provide what she wants, and right after that, a miracle happens, the hens laid eggs, and that convinces Baudicourt that Joan is indeed guided by God.

Joan goes to the Dauphin, the young Charles who is waiting to be crowned. Joan wins Charles’ heart; she encourages him to send her to lead his army. He equips and sends her to the battle. In the battle another miracle happens after Joan’s arrival, ensuring Dunois—the chief commander—to let The Maid to lead the army. They win the battle, and Charles is coroneted as King Charles VII. It’s from this battle that Joan is nicknamed The Maid of Orleans. Unfortunately, there are many people who dislike Joan’s conduct. The landlords and the Church authorities have their own reasons to stop Joan’s mission, and so she is captured at last and brought to trial for heresy. As we all know, Joan was then accused of committing heresy, and burnt on the stake as her execution. However, twenty five years later a new trial was being held, which cleared the heresy accusation. Joan then canonized as Saint in 1920.

Retelling a known history might not be an easy job, but Shaw has done it very beautifully. Although we already know the plot, it is very enjoyable to read the play. Joan’s warm, innocent, honest and blunt character is the soul of the play. She made us see what is needed to be God’s servants: humility. Because it is when we are free of personal ego, that God could fill our soul with divine things. The Church authorities in this play are busy with rules, gospels, laws, and doctrines, that they forget what is most important for the Church, that is God’s voices. It is instead in an ordinary peasant girl that He pleased to grant it: Joan.

Although she is only a peasant girl, and never had the opportunity to learn theology or things like that, Joan could match the Chaplain, Bishop and Archbishop’s arguments when debating about God’s voices. For Joan, God’s will is above everything, so no matter how strange His instruction is, she would follow without asking. The intellectual men, on the other hand, are proud with their knowledge and ability, that when they see something they don’t understand, it obviously comes from the devils.

Like I said, this play is very enjoyable. The dialogs are lively and full of emotion; the plot is smooth; and Shaw’s description of the scenes and settings are very clear, as if we are watching the play being performed on stage. Although it is a tragedy, Shaw could be quite funny at times that is enough to make you smile. I like to read Joan’s innocence; her dialogs are sometimes naïve, funny, but also full of virtues. The ending is quite surprising; I won’t even believe that there would be ghosts in a saint story if I haven’t read this play. But I think it just emphasizes the main theme and adds the irony; a perfect way to conclude the whole tragedy. The soldier’s appearance in the ‘ghosts’ conference’ is also quite hilarious! ;)

Five stars for Saint Joan, and it made me want to read Shaw’s other plays. You can also read my deeper analysis of the play here and here.

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*I read ebook version from Gutenberg Project*

*This book is counted as:*

12^th book for Let’s Read Plays (September) theme: Freebie

18^th book for What's In a Name Reading Challenge 2013

5^th book for Books on France 2013 Reading Challenge

9^th book for New Authors Reading Challenge 2013

6^th book for Historical Fiction Challenge 2013

53^rd book for The Classics Club Project

The Well-Educated Mind Self Project