Lorena Estevez
October 5, 2015
Acting II
Agnes of God by John Pielmeier
Agnes of God is about a young, simple-minded nun Sister Agnes who gets pregnant and her newborn child is found dead in a wastebasket in her room. Sister Agnes claims to not remember the conception or the birth so psychiatrist Dr. Martha Livingston is appointed by the court to determine whether Sister Agnes is fit to stand trial for the murder of the baby. When it comes time to question about who the father is, who is never mentioned in the play, it becomes a mystery of it all as that the nuns lead a sequestered life and so it seems there are no men who could possibly have been the father other than old Father Metineau. Dr. Livingston a lapsed Catholic is determined to get to the bottom of this. She meets her match in the convent's mother superior, Mother Miriam Ruth, who seems determined to protect the fragility of Sister Agnes and the story she says of her immaculate conception. Agnes is not concerned with the solution to the gruesome murder; it merely uses the suspense generated as the backdrop for a much wider debate between science and rationality on one hand, and religious faith on the other.
As the story progresses we learn that Mother Miriam has got it into her head that Sister Agnes is something of a saint.
…show more content…
But if Agnes really was a saint, and God really conceived her child, why would God have it murdered? Which leads us on to that troubling question of why God creates us only to let us die. What disappoints most about the play in the end is the story. Debates between the forces of science and religion need a robust airing, today more than ever, but Agnes of God doesn't seem to do justice to the light-year leaps forward that that debate has taken in the past decade. This play may have been groundbreaking in its day, but set against today's ethical dilemmas, it seems withered and weak. Different plays make people feel different things.
That is the purpose the playwright wrote it to make you feel something or provoke something inside of you while reading or watching it. John Pielmeier really did provoke something inside of me while reading Agnes of God. I consider myself to be someone with a stable faith, someone who tries her best with her faith but maybe not always at 100%. As I was reading this play I was thinking a lot of my old school and all the sisters that I used to know. Specifically I was thinking of this one sister that one time in a moment of vulnerability was talking to me about how she will always want to have a child of her own even though she
can’t. This play makes me question a lot of the things that I grew up on. Growing up I didn’t really know much else, but that sisters, priests, and brothers were all supposed to be abstinent. However, if an incident like this were to occur wouldn’t I would assume that as Jesus always did you have to forgive them for what they have done. The part that I question is that murder is a bigger sin than going against you vow to abstinent, especially if you assume that the baby was conceived by God. So then why is the Mother trying to hard to prove the doctor wrong? This play makes you think outside of the play itself.
of Father Damien, a persona that she inhabited for the rest of her life. Therefore, Agnes
Throughout history there have been many cases of women who possess strong powers and a passion for God, especially in the Middle Ages. One woman that fit into that category was Margery Kempe, a fifteenth-century visionary, who was a controversial figure in the Christian faith. Margery insisted that Jesus talked to her, while many people thought that she was being possessed by the devil. During the time of The Middle Ages many stories of women saints were being exposed with many differences from Kempe’s life, however there were some surprising similarities as well. Medieval female saints and martyrs were intended to be chaste if they were single and virtuous if they are married. They were also extremely devoted and pure to Christ, not giving in to any temptations. Kempe seems to be tempted by men, but then immediately followed by shame. On the other hand she posse’s qualities the saints share like, visions, passion, a desire to be chaste and, commitment. Saint Margaret of Antioch is one of the saints that appear often in “The Book of Margery Kempe”. She is a martyr who death occurred sometime in the late thirteenth century. Unlike the
..., you are also one of my children, one of my own son!" Has god in mercy as a person who commits a crime. Her clever use of god, gave her instead of desperation, if she was a bit stupid, as inappropriate people is humorously said, "if the rest of my life every minute someone endless shoot at her, she will be a good woman". An abandoned god's people in front of the person a abandoned by god dressed as god, only.
Jacopo del Sellaio’s Virgin, Child, and St. John is a characteristically iconographic tempera panel painting of Madonna, the Christ Child, and the infant St. John from the early renaissance, dating to the early 1480s. Sellaio was a Florentine painter under the apprenticeship of Sandro Botticelli, which reflects through his style and symbolism in the painting. In this work, he depicts a classically devotional scene filled with biblical symbolism. Sellaio’s Virgin, Child, and St. John expresses Mary’s loving role as Christ’s mother, the protective power and warmth of her maternal bond, and the significance of the birth of Christ.
In analyzing this story, there are several other interesting facts that merit further exploration. For instance, throughout the story all references to the little convent girl use black or dark references. But, when plunging to her death, the author describes the little convent girl as a "flutter of white petticoats, a show of white stockings". What is the significance of the sudden color change? Also, Since the reader must assume that the little convent girl is Catholic, what can be concluded about a proper catholic committing suicide?
How would a woman achieve the role of Saint during medieval times when their visionary legitimacy is questioned? For Margery Kempe, trying to prove herself as a viable candidate through martyrdom is a difficult task. Throughout her story, she is constantly having to prove herself to her community and to the church hierarchy, but it always comes at a cost. Consequently, Margery is ridiculed, taunted, and accused of many negative things, yet she stands firm in her belief that her gifts are real. The physical threats she receives, such as being burned, are all part of her performance. Although these gifts of visions and miracles are questionable, she is able to mold them in order to achieve her spiritual goals. In The Book of Margery Kempe, translated and edited by Lynn Staley, Margery gives the performance of a lifetime by using her visionary gift to spiritually manipulate her community and the church
Joan of Arc can be seen through the eyes of two very different of thinking. One would be that she was a witch and possessed, and the other would be that she was a true saint.
Similar to Ambrosio who does not possess the characteristics of an effective abbot, Agnes does not have the traits to be a devoted nun. A nun who truly serves the Lord chooses that path out of genuine interest. It is clear from Agnes’ disinterest that her passion meanders outside of the convent. It is learned that since infancy Agnes has been expected to take the habit. Her aunt claims, “Donna Inesilla vowed, that if she [Agnes] recovered from her malady, the child then living in her bosom, if a girl, should be dedicated to St. Clare (134).” Agnes’ journey to the convent is carved from a multitude of poor intentions. First, all through her life it is ingrained in her mind that because of the curing of her physical ailment, it is necessary she join the convent. Similar to Ambrosio’s experience, a life predestined for the monastery is not guaranteed to be a successful one. The convent represents an awaiting payment and a consolation prize. Later, when the abbot discovers Agnes’ secret she admits, “I believed him [Raymond] forever lost to me, and threw myself into a convent from motives of despair” 70. The convent should be entered a first choice, not a backup plan. Agnes chooses the convent to run from her true desires— her love, Raymond. Agnes says, “Long before I took the veil, Raymond was the master of my heart: he inspired me with the purest, the most irreproachable passion” 70. Agnes’
In Lousie Erdrich short story, “Saint Marie” (1934), she makes a very clear point that even the most loyal and well-disciplined can become corrupt. In this chapter from the book Love Medicine, Marie is young 14 year old girl. The young girl has been born and raised into the Catholic faith. Marie has gone to the convent for Sunday school for several years. With years in the making, she decided to join the Sacred Heart Convent. There were many nuns at the convent but one stood out the most. This nun was Sister Leopolda. Sister Leopolda was a violent, evil, and Satan-obsessed. Many had hatred for her; although, some found her quite pleasant. However, one day, Marie has a vision of the devil that causes her to smile. That smile
Leonardo’s da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” is a very famous and worshipped oil painting. It was a Renaissance masterpiece full of perspective. Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint “The Last Supper,” his technique and style, however, were entirely up to him. The setting of the painting was the refectory, the dining hall, of the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. The painting portrays Leonardo’s visual interpretation of the night before Christ was betrayed by one of his disciples. Christ called his disciples together to eat and tell them that he knew what was coming.
The grandmother is trying to connect with The Misfit because she could sense the inner struggle he was experiencing, which is revealed in their conversation. The grandmother is not in the least concerned with God at this point, but tries to connect with the Misfit any way she can. The grandmother recognizes the Misfit as one of her own children and reaches out to touch him. It’s the moment of grace for her anyway. She reaches out because she has been touched by the Grace that comes through him in his particular suffering (Hendricks 207). After feeling like all hope was gone, “She found herself saying, "Jesus. Jesus," meaning, Jesus will help you, but the way she was saying it, sounded as if she might be cursing” (O’Connor 384). It seems that the grandmother is displaying a good Christian spirit, but she's 'taking the name in vain', putting her further into the category of the damned. O’Conner, further strengthens the grandmother’s façade of Christanity, when she instantly forms into a real believer, “If you would pray,” the old lady said, “Jesus would help you” (O’Conner 384). O’Conner also suggest the possibility of dramatic transformation in a person. Having just lost all of her family and threatened with death herself, the Grandmother appears to undergo a sudden and miraculous change of heart: she reaches out lovingly to the
Sister Agnes Walsh was a good woman. She risked her life to save a poor family. She wasn’t paid, wasn’t bribed, wasn’t forced to. She saved them out of the goodness of her heart.
Even though the grandmother brings up Jesus a lot with The Misfit, she does not seem as deeply devoted in a religious way. The reader can suppose this due to the fact that she never mentions it in the story, and only brings Jesus when she is in need of savior. As she grew up religion had place in her live due to the social classes and rules of being a lady. This is because due to her notions, a respectable lady like her had to believe in a merciful God. Even supposing she was a lady the reader can notice that her faith is not very devoted. O'Connor provides us with an example in regardless to the grandmothers faith. When she writes,Well whatever faith she has is shattered by the fact that she is in shock of what is happening in her surroundings.
The Prioress' Tale is overtly a religious tale centered around Christian principles and a devotion to the Virgin Mary, but within the warm affection that the Prioress shows for her Christian faith is a disquieting anti-Semitism that will be immediately obvious to the modern reader. The tale is an overwrought melodrama, replete with scenes of such banal sentimentalism and simplistic moral instruction. The tale is an unabashed celebration of motherhood. The guiding figure of the tale is the Virgin Mary, who serves as the exemplar for Christian values and the intervening spirit who sustains the murdered child before he passes on to heaven. Her mortal parallel is the mother of the murdered boy, who dearly loves her son and struggles to find the boy when he is lost.
“I had seen paintings before, but never so many” thinks Griet as she first enters (Chevalier 17). This is the first step in her awakening of artistic expression. Of course, Griet’s father was a tile painter so she has seen her fair share of paintings but not the amount or kind that is in this home. She sees a “picture of Christ on the Cross […] Christ had thrown his head back in pain, and Mary Magdalene’s eyes were rolling. I lay in bed gingerly […] every detail was fixed in my mind” (Chevalier 30). Griet is not used to seeing works of this intensity, especially religious ones, and is made uncomfortable by it. It depicts Jesus as he is being crucified, which disturbs her. As Brieber explains in his article, “context affects the experience of art, the amount of time people spend on art, and, in turn, that viewing time is related to art experience” (Brieber 7). Art experience is more than just first impressions; it is the amount of time one spends with the artwork and the context one comes from. Griet is at first shocked by the piece because of her background, adding to her art experience. Over time she may develop entirely different perceptions about the art around her, changing her artistic experience and