Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41108 in Books
• Published on: 1997-07-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 298 pages

Synopsis
Karen Armstrong gives an account of her experiences as a Roman Catholic nun. She describes her childhood, her progress at school and her admission into the order of St Ignatius in 1962 and - via Oxford University and an English literature degree - out of it again seven years later. She depicts a brutal and medieval convent system prior to reform by the Second Vatican Council, where postulates had to erase their sense of self in order to be worthy as a bride of Christ. To achieve this, the sisters were forbidden to have friendships, were prohibited from speaking for 22 hours a day, had to undergo self-denunciation sessions in front of the other members of the convent, use scourges to dampen sexual desires and endure clothing, food and accommodation virtually unchanged since the dark ages. What began as Armstrong's desire for discipline and self-mastery rapidly became an assault on every aspect of her individuality. Exhausted by guilt, frustrations and loneliness, she slid first into anorexia and then into complete mental and physical collapse. Finally she obtained a place at Oxford University, and her reintegration into the world began.

Customer Reviews

starved of human affection
after reading karens acount of her time in a convent, i can understand what she meant. i too once worked in a convent, not as a nun but as a carer for old and ailing nuns. i have seen first hand how cold and feelingless it can be. i once asked an elderly nun who had been a midwife in the congo many years ago was it nice to be able to love and hold all those new born babies??? she replied in a sharp cold voice, all my love i have to give to God alone.......makes me wonder,surely to love God we must be able to love each other, else we end up cold and lonely and starved of human affection...........on an afternote i also met wonderful kind gentle loving nuns, maybe it goes to show that convents like any other workplace has its indeviduals both cold and kind. i am only sorry karen was not able to get help for her illness, she was made to think she was trying to get attention when all along she was quite ill and not well, the poor girl must have thought she was going mad, never mind shes ended up one great writer and thats our gain and alas the convents loss.

fascinating, gripping, but dishonest
As has been said in many of the reviews above, this is a fascinating account of a very unpleasant experience of convent life. What is bizarre is that Karen totally fails to mention any experience of God at all, beyond a vague sense of peace once at communion. Whilst I can resonate with some of the more infuriating experiences of life at the hands of the Catholic Church - or indeed any institution - I find it disappointing that she sweeps all mention of faith under the carpet. It is as though she has never known God. Maybe she hasn't. Difficult to be a nun if you have no relationship with God. My overall sense was that Armstrong was abused emotionally by her convent and left, and is now tilting at the windmill of the Catholic Church. She has done the Ignatian exercises but totally missed the point of them: To find your unique identity within God. In the end it was well worth reading but ultimately a bit disappointing. To some extent I felt that this was fodder for the anti-Catholic brigade. If you want to be confirmed in your prejudices against Catholicism read on!

A fascinating read
It's the final chapter of this gripping book - the one describing the start of the author's reintegration into secular society - that is entitled "Through the Narrow Gate". This would seem to imply that for Karen Armstrong, facing the real world, and not life in the cloister, was the "hard road" of Matthew 7:12.

And despite all the physical and psychological hardships she routinely suffered (see synopsis), and her occasional traumatic encounters with drunken and groping priests, it would seem that life as a nun might *almost* have worked for her: The order was populated with such a broad spectrum of characters, ranging from the saintly Mother Bianca (who despite dying a slow and excruciatingly painful death refused to take pain killers because they impaired her ability to teach) to the sadistically pedantic and mentally deranged Mother Walter (who...erm...well, just read the book!) - all with their own differing interpretations of how to live the religious life - that I'm sure she could have fitted in somewhere. But what a tragedy that would have been.

In addition to the broad sweeping theme of the book there are numerous inconsequential details which to a lay observer are both fascinating and deeply weird. For example, when the postulants are decked out in high-heeled shoes and wedding dresses in preparation for the veiling ceremony, where they become "brides of Christ". The grainy black and white photo of the beaming author arrayed in this finery is crushingly sad.

There are also moments of joy and humour. One of the most moving passages for me occurred after the author had been elected by the order to study English Literature at Oxford University, and she was given her reading list. After years of living in an environment where the intellect was something to be despised, and with her access to literature largely limited to hagiographies, she was now instructed to read Jane Austen, Keats, Wordsworth and George Eliot...and moreover to enjoy it! I freely admit, it brought a tear to my eye!

Hardly surprisingly, starting at Oxford was the beginning of the end for her vocation.

The only minor criticism I have about this book is the use of US spelling and terminology, which at times I found quite jarring.

Unfortunately the follow-up book, "Beginning the World", now seems to be out of print. However, I've ordered a copy from my local lending library and look forward with interest to finding out what happened next!