Review of The Nun's Story (1959) by Bernard A — 01 Feb 2012

So I'm given to understand that the whole "becoming a nun" process is totally different now, but I'm not entirely sure this is true. I know that nuns don't have to wear habits anymore--Sister Daleen at my church didn't--but I suspect it depends a great deal on your Order, though I cannot find any information on what Order she was in. I used to be pretty good at what Order wore what habit, but my reference book on that is actually my mother's and therefore at, you know, her house down in California. I haven't had that information to hand in nearly fifteen years, in other words, so I can't help you here.

We watch Audrey Hepburn become a nun pretty much for the express purpose of working in bush hospitals in Africa, and we see the experience not going so well for her. Nuns must vow poverty, chastity, and obedience. The poverty? No problem. The chastity? Well, there's a little bit of heavy breathing over a doctor in the Congo, but nothing really comes of it, so whatever. Obedience . . . .

For one thing, some of the places where she's expected to obey are completely ridiculous. She's expected to fail a test on a subject she knows really, really well essentially so that another nun doesn't feel bad about herself for not being as smart as Audrey Hepburn. Now, Audrey Hepburn doesn't do it, and another nun later tells her that she's absolutely right not to have done so, but still. And, yeah, there's one place where she should've been obedient; you [i]know[/i] as you're watching it that she shouldn't take Colleen Dewhurst the glass of water without getting someone in to help her. But she's told to do things that she's not as good at, to be [i]less[/i] helpful than she could be, because she isn't humble enough.

So let's talk pride a minute, shall we? In my opinion, there are two kinds. There's the sinful kind and the totally justifiable kind. It's okay to be proud of yourself when you've done well. It's okay to be proud of your father if he's one of the best surgeons in all of Belgium. (Admittedly not the case for most of us.) It's okay to look at your accomplishments and say, "Yeah, that was a good thing I did." Yes, it's pride. But it's a good kind of pride.

The kind that you should worry about is the other kind, the kind where you can't admit that you're wrong or where you make everyone constantly take note of the fact that you can pretty much perform surgery on the priest even though you're just a nurse who only had to because the doctor has gone somewhere into the bush. (Again, not common.) Mostly, it's taking the good kind too far. And no, nuns shouldn't have that kind of pride; in my opinion, at least--take it for what it's worth--no one should. They're absolutely right that there's a certain level of humility that you need.

Then again, a lot of what they do to the postulants/novices/nuns is pretty horrible. You shouldn't be forced to forget your entire past; that's not healthy. I understand the importance of sacrifice, especially if you're planning to dedicate your life to the service of an ideal. It's simply not healthy to sacrifice your entire self. Audrey Hepburn couldn't even really grieve her father's death. You can't tell me that's right.