The Literature of Spiritual Values and Catholic Fiction. - book reviews

National Catholic Reporter, May 23, 1997 by Clarence Thomson

THE LITERATURE OF SPIRITUAL VALUES AND CATHOLIC FICTION By Mariella Gable Edited, with an introduction, by Nancy Hynes, University Press of America, 280 pages, $55 hardback

In her introduction, Benedictine Sr. Nancy Hynes tells some of the travails of teaching literature right before Vatican II. Benedictine Sr. Mariella Gable, whose life's work is crystallized in these essays, was literature professor at St. Benedict's College just outside St. Cloud, Minn. That seems like an almost idyllic place to read and teach Catholic fiction.

The serenity of the Benedictine life, however, was rudely interrupted by the reigning prelate of the area, Bishop Peter W. Bartholeme of St. Cloud. I myself was in his seminary at St. John's and heard his annual lecture warning us of intellectual pride, a vice from which he was congenitally secure. Peter, as nobody ever called him, was militantly anti-intellectual, and even by the standards of those preconciliar days he guarded episcopal hegemony with untiring zeal.

He had Gable banished from her post at St. Benedict's, a small woman's college, because she dared to put J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye on a reading list.

Reading Gable's essays, one can see why she would threaten the bishop's episcopal serenity. She did not suffer fools gladly. She was also insistent that Catholic literature be both Catholic and literature. That meant an honest examination of the soul's struggles; it did not mean honorable mention of the church attendance habits or sacramental frequencies of an otherwise morally bland character.

Literature is inspiring only after you go through the struggle. During the struggle it can hurt, offend and divide. What fascinates the contemporary reader and validates these essays is the accuracy of Gable's assessments about who is an artist and who is a footnote in a term paper. J.F. Power, Flannery O'Connor, Graham Greene, Sigrid Undset, Georges Bernanos, Francois Mauriac -- these are the striving authors during her life (1898-1985) and tenure (1940-1972).

These are her collected essays. Reading them will remind many of favorite literature teachers in college. Incisive, critical, lavishly appreciative when she found genius, she made one remember what it felt like to consult a reading list, anticipating the treat of reading everything she recommended.

What is wonderful is that a quarter of a century later, that's still one of the best reasons to read her book. She will lead you to riches. For every student who suffered bruised knuckles because sister had 45 students in one classroom to discipline, you can find one who owes a lifetime of appreciation to teachers like this who qualify as an archetype.

Clarence Thomson is director of Credence Cassettes and editor of Enneagram Educator.