The longsuffering Princess Mary dreams of becoming a pilgrim.
Summary:
Princess Mary receives a letter from Prince Andrew, telling her of his engagement. He hadn’t told her sooner fearing Mary would then have to bear the brunt of his father’s displeasure. Now, however, Andrew asked Mary to relay a request to the Old Prince that the wedding day be moved up. This causes the old Prince to pour down upon Mary’s head a very mean-spirited angry outburst. By now, except for little Nicholas, Andrew, and religion, Mary’s life seems to hold only sadness. But everyone needs something to dream of, so Mary begins to dream of leaving it all behind and becoming a poor religious pilgrim like her beloved “God folk”. For a while, this secret dream supplies the chief consolation of Mary’s sad life. But afterwards, when she saw her father and especially little Koko (Nicholas), her resolve weakened. She gives up on the pilgrimage idea. Then, she wept quietly, and felt she must be a sinner who loved her father and little nephew more than God.
quote from the chapter:
Princess Mary prepared a pilgrim’s complete costume for herself: a coarse smock, bast shoes, a rough coat, and a black kerchief. Often, approaching the chest of drawers containing this secret treasure, Princess Mary paused, uncertain whether the time had not already come to put her project into execution.
Often, listening to the pilgrims’ tales, she was so stimulated by their simple speech, mechanical to them but to her so full of deep meaning, that several times she was on the point of abandoning everything and running away from home. In imagination she already pictured herself by Theodosia’s side, dressed in coarse rags, walking with a staff, a wallet on her back, along the dusty road, directing her wanderings from one saint’s shrine to another, free from envy, earthly love, or desire, and reaching at last the place where there is no more sorrow or sighing, but eternal joy and bliss.
Book 6, Chapter 26
The longsuffering Princess Mary dreams of becoming a pilgrim.
Summary:
Princess Mary receives a letter from Prince Andrew, telling her of his engagement. He hadn’t told her sooner fearing Mary would then have to bear the brunt of his father’s displeasure. Now, however, Andrew asked Mary to relay a request to the Old Prince that the wedding day be moved up. This causes the old Prince to pour down upon Mary’s head a very mean-spirited angry outburst. By now, except for little Nicholas, Andrew, and religion, Mary’s life seems to hold only sadness. But everyone needs something to dream of, so Mary begins to dream of leaving it all behind and becoming a poor religious pilgrim like her beloved “God folk”. For a while, this secret dream supplies the chief consolation of Mary’s sad life. But afterwards, when she saw her father and especially little Koko (Nicholas), her resolve weakened. She gives up on the pilgrimage idea. Then, she wept quietly, and felt she must be a sinner who loved her father and little nephew more than God.
quote from the chapter:
Princess Mary prepared a pilgrim’s complete costume for herself: a coarse smock, bast shoes, a rough coat, and a black kerchief. Often, approaching the chest of drawers containing this secret treasure, Princess Mary paused, uncertain whether the time had not already come to put her project into execution.
Often, listening to the pilgrims’ tales, she was so stimulated by their simple speech, mechanical to them but to her so full of deep meaning, that several times she was on the point of abandoning everything and running away from home. In imagination she already pictured herself by Theodosia’s side, dressed in coarse rags, walking with a staff, a wallet on her back, along the dusty road, directing her wanderings from one saint’s shrine to another, free from envy, earthly love, or desire, and reaching at last the place where there is no more sorrow or sighing, but eternal joy and bliss.
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