The White Stag

A flash of glowing white . . . like moonlight from a living body. It glints among the dark tangle of woods. So near, so near . . . if you could only press through the tangle, you might have a fair chance of apprehending the ethereal creature. Even as you pant from your endless run, stumble over undergrowth, and wince from scratching branches, the pearlescent quarry draws you on. You must attain it . . .

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I think we’re all familiar with the white stag that dashes through the legends of many European cultures. Its symbolism has always intrigued me—although it represented different things depending on the culture, the most prominent symbolism today, from Arthurian legend, is the hunter’s desire to capture it and its perennial success at escape. It’s something we yearn for but can never quite reach. It eluded the Pevensies in the final chapter of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. What happens when it’s captured isn’t entirely known, because no one has ever succeeded, but in the Narnia story it was supposed to grant wishes.

Elizabeth Goudge, the author I’ve been reading most recently, uses the symbolism of the white stag (she’s a master at symbolism, by the way) in a manner that’s particularly meaningful to writers. In the book Pilgrim’s Inn, the characters discover a carved white deer from medieval times. Inspired by it, the young amateur painter, Ben, paints a picture of a white deer running through a moonlit village with a herd of plain red deer streaking after him. Ben says, “The other deer are galloping after him and the light comes from him. Without him the other deer wouldn’t know what direction to take, or if they did they couldn’t see the way.”

The ordinary deer represent human ability, while the white deer is the perfection we strive for, or rather, what inflames us to create beauty in our lives and art. We won’t capture it in this life. But another lesson from Pilgrim’s Inn helps show that our struggle isn’t in vain: “This futility. . . . It’s nothing, merely the reverse side of aspiration, and inevitable, just as failure is inevitable. . . . Struggle is divine in itself, but to ask to see it crowned with success is to ask for that sign which is forbidden to those who must travel by faith alone.” This passage means so much to me. My inadequacy to write anywhere near a perfect novel often overwhelms me, as do my failures at living the way I know I’m supposed to. Elizabeth Goudge may have felt the same way herself at some point (though, in my opinion, her novels are some of the best). Many people, not just artists, feel this futility when they fall short of their aspirations. But perfection is not available to us in this life. God doesn’t require it. He only wants us to do our best and humbly praise His perfection, pointing to His greatness with our efforts. He leads us on like the white stag, showing us the beauty and righteousness that we should strive for, the purpose for which we were created. This makes life worth living. The chase itself is worthwhile, and all anyone can do in this life is chase. Someday, we will reach it.

The sentences I quoted in the last paragraph come from a vicar named Hilary Eliot; he’s talking to his nephew David, who is an actor struggling to rekindle his art after fighting in WW2. I HIGHLY recommend Pilgrim’s Inn and other books by Elizabeth Goudge.

And . . . I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving!

Green Dolphin Street

This post is in honor of Elizabeth Goudge reading week. This wonderful author was born on April 24, 1900, and has written many soul-touching novels. Read more about her HERE.

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Green Dolphin Street was an emotional roller coaster. I found it hard to write a review that doesn't give anything away, because it would be better for everyone to discover the unfolding petals of this book themselves. It’s like an opening rose; it was joy (and occasionally agony) to step across each petal until the center of the ending was reached, where everything came together, with all its full-blown fragrance.

Most books are add-ons to life: you read them and they capture your surface attention, but you’re always conscious of your real life. Green Dolphin Street: not so for me. It became a part of my life while I was reading it, and now that I’m finished, I miss it. I feel like I do when I return home from a great trip.

To start with, I’ll be using the original title, Green Dolphin Country, because it’s a better name. (Thank you to Lory at Emerald City Book Review for pointing this out!) If you read the novel, you’ll discover the idea of a “country” has far more relevance than just the street where the characters grew up.

Elizabeth Goudge has an incredible ability to immerse readers completely in the world of her novels, Green Dolphin Country no exception. You see and understand all the major characters, inside and outside. You see and sense their beautiful and powerful surroundings. You travel their spiritual journeys with them. And they always learn such profound things about God that you can’t help but be affected, too.

Green Dolphin Country follows the lives of three people, sisters Marianne and Marguerite Le Patourel and their friend William Ozanne, from childhood to old age, beginning in 1834. Marianne is strong, controlling, and extremely competent, creative, and intelligent. But she lacks love—and most of the fruits of the Spirit, actually. Her younger sister Marguerite is naturally happy and joyful, however. She loves life and people and people love her. William, whose age falls between the two, is loving, loveable, and easygoing. With their parents, Octavius and Sophie Le Patourel and Dr. Edmond Ozanne, and a raucous and long-lived parrot called Old Nick, they enjoy living on an island in the English Channel (Guernsey, I believe, though it’s never named). The sea is also a constant companion throughout the story: One of my favorites scenes is when Marianne and William visit a docked ship called the Green Dolphin and meet Captain O’Hara and his first mate Nat, who tell them about New Zealand.

Years go by and exact changes. Marianne and Marguerite both fall in love with William. William embarks on a Navy career, but because of an unfortunate occurrence in China (the only part of the book that even hints at sexual immorality, in case you’re concerned about that), ends up as a settler in New Zealand. In New Zealand several other wonderful characters are introduced—wild pioneer Tai Haruru (one of my favorites); zealous missionaries Samuel and Susanna Kelly; and Maoris Hine-Moa and Kapua-Manga. William writes home for one of the sisters to marry him and mistakenly asks for the wrong one. I didn’t read the back cover synopsis, so I didn’t know which sister he really loved and which sister he ended up with until I reached those scenes in the story. Talk about suspense!

Emotions run high in this book. A significant portion of the middle gave me heartache, but I was desperate to see how the characters got through it. Though Marianne was a challenge to like, I found her the most interesting character of all. She had gained my sympathy at the very beginning, as a vulnerable, self-conscious sixteen-year-old. The path she took to learn humility was the biggest character arc in the book. William and Marguerite had their difficult journeys, too. I was especially inspired by Marguerite’s life and how she learned to pray and “practice the presence of God.” From Marianne I learned the ugliness of self-will and how to give up control, and from William how to love, even when it looks impossible.

In certain situations I wished the Gospel was presented a little more clearly, but for readers who understand the Gospel message, what the characters discover is satisfying: humility leads to repentance leads to reconciliation with God. Something I really didn’t like, though, was the prevalent use of the d- swear word, but it wasn’t enough to banish any of my delight in the rest of the work.

One of my favorite things about Goudge’s writing is how skillfully she uses symbolism and repetition. Objects, situations, and lessons wrap around and weave in and out of this story, forming a weighty unit that captivates you from beginning to end and furthers the feeling that you’re living the characters’ lives with them. It reflects the fact that individual lives have patterns and cycles. Some of the novel is meditative, other is vividly tense (such as the Maori war!), but all of it is told in a descriptive and lyrical manner that is yet highly accessible. The length is perfect; I wouldn’t have it any longer or shorter.

If you’re in the mood for a rich, deeply involved, and transforming read that deals with all sides of humanity, beautiful and not-so beautiful, do yourself a favor and read Green Dolphin Country!

For a look at what the theme “Green Dolphin country” is about, please read this review by my Goodreads friend!

Have you ever read Green Dolphin Street? What did you think?

Looking Forward...

This is a newsy post about two upcoming events in the reading world. First off is the release of E. Kaiser Writes’ five novels into paperback! She is one of my favorite contemporary authors, but so far I’ve only experienced her words on my computer screen. I’m really anticipating getting my hands (literally!) on her physical books. Two of the books, Jeweler’s Apprentice and Traitor’s Knife, have just gotten fresh covers as well. The official release date is April 22, so look for more information on my blog that day. 

If you have a blog and would like to help out an indie Christian author, HERE is a google.docs form where you can sign up for her blog tour taking place April 22-24. Last minute notification, I know, but it should be an easy post to put together!

And, if you’re on Facebook, check out the Facebook release party on Saturday, April 23, from 1:00-4:45pm. There’ll be lots of giveaways and other fun stuff!

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The second upcoming event begins April 24: Elizabeth Goudge reading week! If you’ve never read this fantastic twentieth-century English author, the week of April 24-30 would be a great time to learn about her or try one of her many novels. Discover more about this author and her books on the Emerald City Book Review. I plan to post a review of one of her books that week, Green Dolphin Country.

Book Review: The Dean's Watch

Last week I mentioned a wonderful book I was reading, The Dean’s Watch, by British novelist Elizabeth Goudge. Sadly, I have finished it. Or should I say happily, too, because I was anxious to see how everything came together in the end? No, I think it’s sadly. I miss those characters and the city and the cathedral and the world painted as exquisitely as a landscape in oils. Like The Scent of Water, the Goudge novel I read first, I could have gone on living in it for a good while yet.

Goodreads

Here is the synopsis on the back of my edition from Hendrickson Publishers:

In a remote mid-nineteenth-century English town, cathedral Dean Adam Ayscough holds a deep love for his parishioners and townspeople, though he is held captive by an irrational shyness and, ironically, an intimidating manner. Yet when an obscure watchmaker who does not think he and God have anything in common strikes up an unlikely friendship with the Dean, it leads to an unusual spiritual awakening in both men that eventually reaches out to the entire community.

It’s hard to know where to start on a review. Maybe I could list the many things that made the book for me?

Elizabeth Goudge’s writing style is rich and descriptive and bears a fairytale quality, yet tells stories of realistic settings and daily life. It brings out the beautiful in this world. She shows that, despite sadness and ugliness, there is much that is lovely that we should dwell upon.

It’s a tale of redeemed lives. I adore stories that show broken lives put back together by God’s love. She offers rich spiritual insights that you can apply to your own life. She puts you in adoration of the Holy One; her writing imparts reverence for Him.

It has characters whose souls sink into yours so that you wish you knew them. (Most of them, anyway. There are those who need a lot of improvement before they’d be halfway pleasant companions!) They are each unique and easy to distinguish from one another, which makes for a very enjoyable and realistic cast of characters. They are deep—Goudge delves into the innermost spirits of many of them. They transform, like real people. They are English Victorians and therefore lead interesting lives, vastly different from my own, but yet familiar and loveable because I know aspects of their world from classic literature.

The setting is a character in itself. The cathedral, the city (which is never named), the fen country (located in eastern England, north of London), the clockmaker’s shop—they are all portrayed in so much detail it’s as if you were there seeing them. Just like the human characters, you wish you could know this setting in person! 

Hereford Cathedral, but this is something like how I picture the cathedral in The Dean's Watch

She attaches importance and symbolism to objects (usually beautiful objects you want to feast your eyes upon). There are such scrumptious things in The Dean’s Watch as a celestial clock (clocks and watches galore, actually), cathedral carvings and stained glass, and three darling umbrellas. It makes the story tangible…our lives are full of physical objects that we ascribe importance to, and that come to symbolize to us significant events or people. I know I’m above-average sentimental, but all of us hold on to objects because of the people they remind us of, or the feelings they conjure.

The story was really well crafted. Even though some of the things that occur could be considered ordinary, they are anything but in the light of her pen. She makes life epic. At the end I almost felt the same sense of triumph against all odds that I got from the ending of Return of the King. It makes you look at your life in the same light—what will you allow God to accomplish in it?

In short, Elizabeth Goudge is the first author I’ve found who I’d wholly like to write like. I feel a kinship with her—she writes such soul-satisfying books!

Have you ever read anything by Elizabeth Goudge? What did you think?