Augustines Tribute to his Mother - Book Report/Review Example

Augustine’s tribute to his mother Saint Augustine is regarded as the Father of the Church. His father, Patricius, was a pagan but his mother Monica was a very pious Christian. She had a decisive influence on his life. In his early years of life, he was very wild and restless. As he matured, he gave into carnal desires and steeped into debauchery and sexual immorality. Augustine, along with her two other sons, were taught by her about the virtues of a good person. Augustine grew up to be a successful teacher and scholar, but it was his sexual sins that caused his mother to be distraught. Augustine had a son from a concubine at the age of seventeen. He lived with his mistress for over ten years. Grieved by Augustine’s licentious conduct and his conversion to Manichaeism, Monica sent him to a Bishop, hoping that his influence could make him realize the sins that he was indulging in. however, the Bishop was not able to cultivate awareness about pious conduct in Augustine and implored to Monica that she should continue to pray for her son, since that seemed to be the only option left. The Bishop said to Monica, “But let him alone for a time, only pray God for him. He will of his own accord, by reading, come to discover what an error it is and how immense its sinfulness is” (St. Augustine Confessions, Book Three, Chapter XII). Monica’s concerns for her son were not appeased by this statement of the Bishop. She implored him even more persistently, with tears flowing down her face, to talk to Augustine. Somewhat annoyed, the Bishop replied that “Go your way; as you live, it cannot be that the son of these tears should perish” (St. Augustine Confessions, Book Three, Chapter XII). Monica accepted this as words sounded from heaven, increasing her faith that Augustine will realize his errors one day. After the death of her husband, Monica followed Augustine to Italy. Monica continually tried to bring Augustine back to the right path. Augustine remembers her efforts in his book, Confessions. He acknowledges her advice, “For she [my mother] wished, and I remember in private with great anxiety warned me, "not to commit fornication; but especially never to defile another man's wife." These seemed to me womanish advices, which I should blush to obey. But they were Thine, and I knew it not” (St. Augustine Confessions, Book Two, Chapter III). It was in Italy that Augustine, aged thirty-three, converted back to Christianity and was baptized by Ambrose. A year later, Monica passed away in Ostia. Augustine paid homage to his mother in one of his prayers, recalling how she “she poured out her tears and her prayers all the more fervently, begging you to speed your help and give me light in my darkness” (Ranft 45). In another prayer, he wrote: My mother, your faithful servant, wept to you for me, shedding more tears for my spiritual death than other mothers shed for the bodily death of a son.  For in her faith and in the spirit which she had from you she looked down on me as dead.  You heard her and did not despise the tears which streamed down and watered the earth in every place where she bowed her head in prayer. (Jaynes 155). Augustine was indebted to her for her prayers and her persistent resolve to bring him to the right path. This is one of the virtues that he paid tribute to. He was deeply touched by her compassion and her ability to forgive, as well as her patience and perseverance and faith for waiting so many years for him to revert back to Christianity and leave the amoral life that he led. As the death of his mother, he said that he was happy at her calling him a dutiful son and said with immense affection that she never heard him say anything unkind or reproving from him about her. His statement “But yet, O my Lord, who madest us, what comparison is there between that honor that I paid her and her slavery for me?” (Fitch 55). Monica’s adherence to Christianity as well as the virtues that she embodied not only influenced Augustine into being baptized, but her husband, who was a pagan, also converted to Christianity shortly before his death. Monica embodied the virtues of an ideal woman. Her opinions and thoughts about marriage and her ideas about a woman’s responsibilities to her husband, as well as her daily conduct, are exemplary. In his tribute to his godly mother in chapter nine of Book Nine of Confessions, Augustine wrote how Monica gave into the wishes of her parents and married Patricius. It was not only a compliance of the traditions of her time, but also her conscience and intellect that Monica served her spouse as her lord. Since she was Christian, in contrast to her husband, she was appreciative of the importance of religion in the lives of people and sought to convert her husband to Christianity as well. She wanted her husband to lead a pious life, away from the debauchery and corruption that was rife in the society. This also illustrates the love that she had for him, and she did not let herself be discouraged. Although it was a daunting and difficult task, she observed her husband closely, and proceeded in preaching him in a subtle manner, not trying to be rude or disrespectful to him. Her husband indulged in adultery, and she bore with this habit of his with patience, never fighting with him over it. Through her behavior, she tried winning the heart of her husband. He was short-tempered, and she dealt with him wisely. She never challenged him when he was furious but rather waited for him to calm down. When his anger abated, she used to approach him and tried to reason with him, telling him subtly how his attitude was offhand and unreasonable. She also advised other women to be complacent and patient with their husbands. Augustine observes in Confessions, Chapter Nine, Book Nine: As a result, while many matrons whose husbands were more gentle than hers bore the marks of blows on their disfigured faces, and would in private talk blame the behavior of their husbands, she would blame their tongues, admonishing them seriously -- though in a jesting manner -- that from the hour they heard what are called the matrimonial tablets read to them, they should think of them as instruments by which they were made servants. In contrast to the love and devotion Monica showed to her husband, and did not seek the company of other men for attracting them, Penelope of the Odyssey showed qualities of both a loving mother as well as a seductress. Penelope was continually being sought by suitors in the absence of her husband. She said that she will marry one of the suitors when her wedding veil is complete, but she cleverly never completes the veil. She never married in her husband’s absence and ensured through her skill that the rampage of suitors did not bring any disturbances in the household. She raised her son in the absence of her husband and waited for twenty years for her husband to come back. To some degree, she emulated the virtues of a good wife in supporting her husband and making his homecoming possible. Monica never considered other men, nor indulged in activities to attract other men; however, Penelope continuously strove to restrain herself from giving into the temptations and to court any of the suitors. According to Cohen, Penelope is the beneficent version of the seductive and nonhuman women that Odysseus came across with (21). However, Halverson contends that in comparison to the fantasies given in the poem, Penelope’s desirability is not a problem because it is “merely a given of the romance, at most a rather mild hyperbole”. Monica was steadfast in her faith, but Penelope was often faced with the dilemma of giving up her religion and faith. Penelope and Monica both maintained the reputation of their husbands, and upheld their honor. Monica never complained about her husband. Penelope was taught that a wife’s role is to maintain the household and to keep a good personal hygiene. Penelope followed these guidelines to keep a good name for her husband. When she reunited with Odysseus, she said that he made her heartened heart know that she was hers. Her loyalty is also portrayed in the quote: “if he really is Odysseus, truly home, beyond all doubt we two shall know each other better than you or anyone. There are two secret signs we know, we two” (Krause 130). One of the traits of Penelope is that she is very skillful at manipulating men. On the other hand, Monica had never indulged in such acts. She tries to cause dissent among her suitors. Since she was not in a position to intimidate or defeat them, she kept playing them against each other and did not give any hope to them. Another virtue of Monica was that she was a peacemaker and tried to put an end to gossip. When two parties were in conflict with each other, she would never tell the ill words that one party spoke to the other. She also made peace with her mother-in-law through gentleness. Penelope plays a decisive role in the Odyssey, by keeping Odysseus’s enemies at bay (Doherty 232). She comes up with the idea for the bow contest that places the defeat of Odysseus’s enemies in his hands (Siegel). One trait similar in Monica and Penelope is their capacity to remain optimistic and to never give up hope. Monica serves as an example for women it the contemporary world. Augustine wrote about his mother, “For she had "been the wife of one man," had honored her parents, had guided her house in piety, was highly reputed for good works, and brought up her children, travailing in labor with them as often as she saw them swerving from thee” (St. Augustine Confessions, Chapter Nine, Book Nine). This statement sums up the roles if a good woman and wife. Her perseverance and patience is a beacon of hope. Her unwavering strength in the face of trials and challenges that came her way and her ability to forgive her son for his misdemeanors is ideal. Augustine said it wisely when he said that his mother was a servant of the servants of God. She belonged to everyone who longed for her, and she gave all of them love equally (Doody, Hughes, & Paffenroth 12). Works Cited Cohen, Beth. The distaff side: representing the female in Homer's Odyssey. New York: Oxford University Press US, 1995. Print. Doherty, Lillian Eileen. Homer's Odyssey. Oxford: Oxford University Press US, 2009. Print. Doody, John, Kevin L. Hughes, & Kim Paffenroth. Augustine and politics. Maryland: Lexington Books, 2005. Print. Fitch, George Hamlin. Comfort Found in Good Old Books. Kessinger Publishing, 2004. Print. Halverson, J. “The succession issue in the Odyssey.” Greece and Rome 2.33 (1986): 119-128. Print. Jaynes, Sharon. The Power of a Woman's Words. Illinois: Harvest House Publishers, 2007. Print. Krause, Jennifer. The Answer: Making Sense of Life, One Question at a Time. Perigee, 2007. Print. Ranft, Patricia. A Woman's Way: The Forgotten History of Women Spiritual Directors. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2001. Print. Siegel, Janice. “The Coens’ O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Homer’s Odyssey.” Mouseion: Journal of the Classical Association of Canada 7.3 (2007): 1496-9343. Print. St. Augustine Confessions. Ourladywarriors.com., n.d. Web. 3 July 2010. Read More