Saint Marie by Louise Erdrich
"Saint Marie" by Louise Erdrich is a poignant narrative centered on the character Marie Saint Marie Lazarre, who grapples with her identity and aspirations while attempting to join a convent. The story unfolds with Marie reflecting on her motivations for joining the Convent of the Sacred Heart, which stem from a desire for respect and an escape from her life on the reservation. The complex relationship between Marie and Sister Leopolda is a key focus, revealing themes of power dynamics, cultural tension, and the pursuit of spiritual belonging.
Marie experiences both profound visions and harsh realities within the convent, including a traumatic encounter with Sister Leopolda that blurs the lines between reverence and violence. The nun’s treatment of Marie, juxtaposed with moments of tenderness, complicates their relationship and raises questions about the nature of faith and sacrifice. Throughout her experiences, Marie oscillates between a longing for acceptance and a growing awareness of the darker aspects of convent life.
The narrative is rich with cultural undertones, exploring the intersections of Indigenous identity, spirituality, and the quest for personal agency. As Marie's journey unfolds, readers are invited to reflect on the complexities of faith, the search for love, and the struggle against oppression within institutional confines.
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Saint Marie by Louise Erdrich
First published: 1984
Type of plot: Wit and humor
Time of work: 1934
Locale: North Dakota
Principal Characters:
Marie Lazarre , the narrator and protagonist, about fourteen years old at the time of the storySister Leopolda , a demented nun, Marie's mentor and foe
The Story
Marie Lazarre is reliving the day that she tried to join the nuns in the Convent of the Sacred Heart. Walking to the door, she considers her motives: to be respected, even revered, by the nuns, who look down on her because she is from the reservation (even though she does not "have that much Indian blood"), and to get away from "the bush" and into town. She also remembers the day Sister Leopolda, hearing the "Dark One" in the coat closet, hurled a long hooked pole through the closet door, then made the terrified Marie stand in the dark closet because the girl had smiled.
Sister Leopolda shows Marie in by the back door, then takes her to the larder and lets the girl see the rich food reserved for the priest. She feeds Marie goat cheese and talks to her while they mix and knead bread. Marie challenges the nun, asserting that she will inherit her keys to the larder, and Leopolda says that she can see the devil in Marie's soul. When a cup rolls under the stove, Leopolda makes Marie reach under with her arm rather than the poker to retrieve it. As the girl lies on the floor, the nun places her foot on Marie's neck, pouring boiling water on her back and shoulders to warm her heart with devotion.
As Marie eats cold mush, waits for the bread to rise, and listens to the nuns eating their sausage, she has a vision: She has been transformed into gold, her breasts tipped with diamonds, and she walks through panes of glass that Leopolda must swallow. Two French nuns enter the kitchen, ask if Marie belongs to Leopolda, and compliment the girl on her docility; they help rake coals into the oven. While the bread bakes, Leopolda takes Marie to her room and puts salve on the girl's back; Marie sees her vision again and tells Leopolda that it is the nun who is caught by the Dark One. When they return to the kitchen, Leopolda, fork and poker in hand, orders Marie to help take the bread out of the oven. When the nun opens the oven door, Marie tries to kick her into the hot oven, but the nun's outstretched poker causes her to rebound out. She turns and impales Marie's hand on the fork, then knocks her out with the poker.
About half an hour later, Marie awakens, lying on clean sheets on a couch. All the nuns, including Sister Leopolda, are kneeling in attitudes of reverence around her. Marie lifts her bloody, bandaged hand and calls Leopolda to her in the voice of a saint. Leopolda says that she explained to the nuns that Marie had received the stigmata and then fainted. Marie laughs, then blesses Leopolda. However, seeing the emptiness and hunger for love underlying the nun's depravity, she cannot relish her triumph.
Bibliography
Bruchac, Joseph. "Whatever Is Really Yours: An Interview with Louise Erdrich." In Survival This Way: Interviews with American Indian Poets. Tucson: Sun Tracks and University of Arizona Press, 1987.
Coltelli, Laura. "Louise Erdrich and Michael Dorris." In Winged Words: American Indian Writers Speak. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1990.
Erdrich, Louise. "Where I Ought to Be: A Writer's Sense of Place." The New York Times Book Review 91 (July 28, 1985): 1, 23-24.
Erdrich, Louise. "The Writing Life: How a Writer's Study Became a Thing with Feathers." The Washington Post Book World, February 15, 2004, 13.
Hafen, P. Jane. Reading Louise Erdrich's "Love Medicine." Boise, Idaho: Boise State University Press, 2003.
Meadows, Susannah. "North Dakota Rhapsody." Newsweek 141, no. 8 (2003): 54.
Rifkind, Donna. "Natural Woman." The Washington Post Book World, September 4, 2005, 5.
Sarris, Greg, et al., eds. Approaches to Teaching the Works of Louise Erdrich. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2004.
Stookey, Loreena Laura. Louise Erdrich: A Critical Companion. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1999.