Transcript Sister Imelda

“Sister Imelda”
By Edna O'Brien
Presented by
http://homepage.eircom.net/~jas/sisters.html
Bella, Callum, Alison & Anne
Outline
The author Edna O’Brien
The summary in “Sister Imelda”
Characters in “Sister Imelda”
Symbols in “Sister Imelda”
Edna O’Brien (b. 1936)
- She was born in the
village of Tuamgraney,
Country Clare, Ireland.
- She is an novelist,
short story writer,
playwright and
screenwriter.
http://www.goireland.com/scripts/low/Area.asp?AreaType=C&AreaID=171
The village of Tuamgraney
Source: http://www.goireland.com/scripts/low/Area.asp?AreaType=C&AreaID=171
The summary in “Sister Imelda”
The setting of the place in “Sister Imelda” is in the convent.
And, “Sister Imelda” is about the teenage narrator falls in
love with her teacher, the beautiful young nun, Sister
Imelda. The joys of their love are a passion never to be
realized but fanned by both teacher and student through
notes, whispered confidences, devotional gifts, and an
occasional hug or kiss. Imelda's and the narrator's romance
makes life in the cold nunnery tolerable and even enjoyable.
Sister Imelda holds for Christ, so the love between the
narrator and her is unrealizable. In order to develop and
continue their love, Sister Imelda lures the narrator into a
permanent sisterhood of sublimated passion.
The narrator agrees with Sister Imelda’s suggestion and advice:
to become a nun after accomplishing her studies in the convent.
However, the narrator abandons her plan to become a nun after
she leaves the convent.
The narrator gradually does not communicate with Sister
Imelda; she seldom writes to Sister Imelda. Later, the narrator
almost forgets the existence of Sister Imelda, and she doesn’t
remember that Sister Imelda ever plays an important and
influential role while she was in the convent. Then, she and
Baba take up the worldly solaces of makeup and nylons to
attract and draw the attention of men.
Characters
Sister Imelda — she was a young nun and teacher in the
convent. After she spent the last four years at the
university in Dublin then she chose to come back to the
convent. She seemed always to keep out so mysterious to
her background and life.
Narrator — a teenage girl and a boarder or student in the
convent.
Baba — a boarder or student in the convent, too. She was
narrator’s best friend.
Mother Superior — she was rector in the convent.
Relationship and Development
Sister Imelda
Like? Or Envy?
-Love? Worship?
- Only concern with each other?
-Or emotion between teacher
and student?
-Maternal love?
Like? Or Envy?
Narrator
Baba
Like? Or Envy?
Sister Imelda & Narrator
What kinds of emotion between
Sister Imelda and narrator?
Worship?
Love?
Only concern with each other?
The emotion between teacher and student?
Maternal love?
Analysis
The narrator seems to imitate Sister Imelda and
take Sister Imelda an object of worship. The
narrator’s curiosity makes her approach this
special teacher.
Afterward, the narrator describes her inner
emotions to Sister Imelda but the emotion is still
hidden. Therefore, the worship seems to become
emotion or even love.
Analysis
Perhaps the emotion only was concern with each
other.
Maybe that was a kind of emotion between
teacher and student.
Or the narrator thought Sister Imelda could bring
her special concern and made her obtain the love
or concern, which her parents may never gave her.
Therefore, narrator might think Sister Imelda
could bring love as mother does.
Example
“About a month later Sister Imelda…I thought how
supple she … I was happy in my prison… bowed
to the senile nun.” (2749 par 2 “About”)
Narrator started contact with Sister Imelda more
familiar and she became happy in the convent as
prison and liked to be near Sister Imelda or walk
behind her etc. Sister Imelda brought her different
feeling in the convent as prison.
“I realized that I was getting nervous… I was
fired by her ardour.” (2751 new par line 13 to
2752)
“Baba could say that …powder adhering to me
fingers.” (2752 par 2)
Here expressed narrator and Sister Imelda that
their relationship became more familiar than
before and even intimate. Sister Imelda treated
narrator more special than other students and
concerned with narrator especially. Here Sister
Imelda was like a mother to comfort and
encourage narrator.
“I missed you, ” she said…(2753 whole page)
“I could cry, or I could…but I could not tell her.”
(2754 par 1)
“At Easter Sister Imelda… make the sound of a kiss”
(2756 par 6 bottom)
That described the narrator’s emotion deeply for
Sister Imelda. However, the narrator repressed the
emotion in her heart of hearts and she could not tell
Sister Imelda. Their behavior seemed still to express
the different emotion from others and special. That
seemed not only general emotion. It seemed to
represent most special emotion as love.
Baba & Sister Imelda
Baba liked or envied Sister Imelda?
Maybe Baba thought Sister Imelda snatched her
good friend because the narrator spent much time
with Sister Imelda. Or maybe Baba envied the
narrator why she could get along with Sister
Imelda and Sister Imelda treated the narrator with
more special care than she did to other students.
Examples
“Baba showed her jealousy by putting… with Sister
Imelda and telling tales” (2751 par 9 line 6)
“From then on she treated me as less … Baba was
delighted… receding in her eyes.” (2753 par 10)
Two examples expressed Baba’s reaction to
narrator’s or Sister Imelda’s behavior.
Baba & Narrator
Baba liked or envied Narrator? Maybe Baba might
also like or worship Sister Imelda as the narrator
did. Therefore, Baba might envy the narrator and
wonder why she always gained special treatment
from Sister Imelda. Or Baba liked and valued her
good friend, but Sister Imelda made narrator spend
less time with Baba. Therefore, Baba could not
accept why narrator were always with Sister
Imelda.
Examples
“Baba showed her Jealousy by putting…with
Sister Imelda and telling tales” (2751 par 9 line 6)
“From the on she treated me as less …Baba was
delighted…receding in her eyes.” (2753 par 10)
The same examples maybe expressed different
meaning for Baba’s reaction to the narrator or
Sister Imelda.
Symbols in “Sister Imelda”
Source: http://homepage.eircom.net/~jas/sisters.html
The nuns' routine mortifications
• The nuns' routine mortifications, which the schoolgirls
are expected to imitate, reveal the sense that the
female body is an inherently evil possession for which
they must compensate.
– “It was the month of the Suffering Souls in Purgatory, … we
were asked to make acts of mortification.” (2748 L4)
The sty of Sister Imelda
• Sister Imelda gets a sty that suggests both her neglect
of her body and her distorted view of it.
– “She took out her handkerchief and patted the eye which
was red and swollen.” (2748 par.3 L5)
– “Suddenly she fled from the room, leaving us ten minutes
free until the next class.” (2748 par.3 L8)
Sore throats
• The voicelessness of the girls and the nuns
under the convent's regimen.
– “Most girls had sore throats and were told to
suffer this inconvenience to mortify
themselves …” (2748 L2)
Semi-starvation
• The semi-starvation of both nuns and girls by a
wealthy church forces their bodies into thin and
spiritualized shapes that avoid the lush fecundity
stereotypically associated with woman as sexual
body. Weakened from hunger and other
mortifications, the women are to look as
undesirable and feel as undesiring as possible.
The tarts
• The tarts stand for forbidden sexuality that
is tied up with the maternal.
– “Had we been caught, she, no doubt, would
have had to make a massive sacrifice.” (2750
L18)
Imelda's gesture
• The nuns' pleasure in prostration may come from
ceasing to fight their awareness of their inferiority
to the ideal wife and mother of God, the Madonna.
– “Each nun, even the Mother Superior - flung herself in
total submission, saying prayers in Latin and offering up
the moment to God. … It was not difficult to imagine
Sister Imelda face downward, arms outstretched,
prostrate on the tile floor.” (2750 L8 from the bottom)
The nuns' gestures
• The nuns' gestures of willing prostration are
emblematic of the suffering Irish female
condition in general.
• That the story ends with the narrator's pity
for Imelda and her fellow nuns suggests the
narrator's coming awareness of the
commonality of women's lot.
– “They looked so cold and lost as they hurried
along the pavement that I wanted to run after
them.” (2759 L6 from the bottom)
Works Cited
Map of Clare County. 12 May 2006
<http://www.goireland.com/scripts/low/Area.asp?AreaType=C&AreaID=171>.
O’Brien, Edna. “Sister Imelda.” 2746-59. The Norton Anthology of English
Literature. Ed. M. H. Abrams. 7th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 2000.
Shumaker, Jeamette Roberts. “Studies in Short Fiction: Sacrificial Women in
Short Stories by Mary Lavin and Edna O‘brien.” Spring, 1995. 12 May 2006
<http://www.looksmartjrhigh.com/p/articles/mi_m2455/is_n2_v32/ai_17268505>.
“Sister of Mercy in Collooney.” 12 May 2006
<http://homepage.eircom.net/~jas/sisters.html>.