THE SISTERS (KEY CONTEXT, KEY SYMBOLS, etc) Flashcards
What is the ‘The Sisters’ about?
- An unnamed boy reflects on the death of Father Flynn, an elderly priest who was his mentor.
- The boy reflects on his strange behaviour and declining health
What cluster is The Sisters from in the wider collection?
- The childhood cluster
What narrative style is used?
- First-Person narration.
- Effect? Intimacy/subjective experinces
- Stream of conciousness
- Effect? Blurs present moments and past memories reflecting confusion/turmoil.
- Narrative distance/ellipsis- creates sense of engima surronding Father Flynn
Context- Catholicism and Religious Institutions?
- The story reflects on the dominance of the Catholic Church in Irish society (affecting its morals, culture, persona identity)
- Though, its moral authority is questioned via Father Flynn.
Key characters?
- Father Flynn
- Unnamed boy (youngest protagonist)
- Nannie (Father Flynn’s sister)
- Eliza (Older sister)
Key symbols?
- Chalice
- Church
- Sherry and cream crackers
- Windows
What does the Chalice symbolise?
- Dynamic/polemic symbol
1. The connection between the Catholic faith and the community. (failure to maintain this connection)
2. Father Flynn’s fragmented spiritual life
3. The Church’s impotence
What does the Church symbolise?
- Religious authority
- Opressive influence
- Links to esoteric, inaccessible knowlege and ideas
What do the sherry and cream cracker symbolise?
- Traditional Catholic Communion- Bread (Body of Christ) and Wine (his blood) symbolise spirtual nourishment/salvation.
- Father Flynn’s funeral - a casual, detached event-) secular inversion of the Eucharist.
What do the windows symbolise?
- The boy’s seperation from the adult world.
- Gradual realisation of death and religious disillusionment.
What is the Holy Communion?
- Also called the Eucharist/Lord’s supper
- A Christian ritual where believers eat bread and drink wine to remember Christ’s last supper with his disciples
Last Supper: the final meal that Jesus had with his disciples before he was arrested and crucified. At this meal, Jesus broke bread and shared wine with his disciples, telling them that the bread represented his body and the wine his blood, symbolizing the sacrifice he was about to make.
What is a chalice?
- Wine cup used in Communion
What is the practice of ‘simony’
- The practice of selling church offices and roles or sacred things
(grave sin)
What does ‘Euclid’ mean?
- Refers to Father of Geometry
What is a “Rosicurian”?
member of a worldwide brotherhood claiming to possess esoteric wisdom handed down from ancient times
