Category Archives: Blog

My siblings drive me crazy

April 10, 2015Blog, My Family, SiblingsSarah Patten

In honor of Siblings Day and my car reregistered, I decided to give tribute to my siblings and talk about our car memories.

Bob

“Do you see the maroon van yet?” my sister-in-law asked.

I was in a car with people I met a couple hours ago that were headed in the same direction. We were now in a nearly deserted parking lot.

“I think so,” I answered. “Is it covered with snow?”

“I don’t know.”

My ride pulled by a nearly white van. I saw some maroon. “I think I’m right by you guys. Do you see the gray Honda?”

I was annoyed with my sister-in-law when she said, “I really don’t know.”

Another passenger in the car said, “Just see who the driver is.”

I didn’t want to. It was dark and would be slippery.

“Okay,” I told my sister-in-law. “I’m going to knock on the door. Do you see me yet?”

Her response was not encouraging. “Um, no?”

I knocked on the driver’s door. The door opened. It was not my brother’s wife. It was a man wearing a red coat and CowboyS hat.

“Bob!”

“Surprise!” My brother helped me with the luggage and then he and I were off to his house. I don’t remember what we talked about but I remember feeling relieved, secure, and happy. I was finally getting the one-on-one time with my oldest brother.

Dan

If it weren’t for Dan, I wouldn’t be writing this post. The car I had to reregister this week? Yeah, I bought it from him a couple years ago. He upgraded to a better car though we’re in agreement I’m driving a fairly good vehicle.

But Dan didn’t always have the classiest cars. But when you’re in high school any car would do. I still felt cool riding in his first, cheap car. I was a freshman and he was senior. He would race with a friend to school from seminary. It wasn’t healthy for the yellow car.

One morning the steering wheel came off. “What???” Dan tried to keep it in place as we slowly crossed the wide intersection where the most car accidents occurred at school. We made it. Barely, but we made it into a parking spot.

I’m thinking our mom picked us up that day. The car got fixed, and Dan secured the steering wheel with duct tape. The fixes and the car’s accessories cost more than the car itself. A CD player. A loose fake arm from Spencer’s that Dan liked to stick out the window.

Hope this didn’t embarrass him. But like I said, I felt pretty cool riding in his car.

Rachel

Rachel is my favorite travel companion. Even when I get us lost, she’s patient. We never go hungry. Wherever we go, it’s a party–complete with Sonic drinks.

Rachel is pretty cool. As she drove me around, her song “Cool Kids” played over and over again. (I wished I could be like her!) One other favorite one was “Rude.” We applied it to a pet.

One of the most exciting times in her car was when we brought home a movie she wanted to watch with me. But we would have to wait for her husband to get home. Until then we quoted clips in the car and while were eating dinner. We even threw in wisdom.

“It doesn’t matter what happens in the blender. It’s what happens next.”

When it’s just Rachel and I, it’s a fun guarantee.

Joe

A couple years ago, I had the upper hand in some things. That included transportation. Joe is one of the best drivers but needed to borrow my car a few times.

“Could I use the car this weekend?” Joe asked.

I knew the next thing he was going to say. “I have a date.”

Of course I would let him. And of course he’s gotten a cooler car since then and got married. But he and his wife still help me when I go places.

“Don’t hang up the phone!” (A favorite phrase of his wife) Without her and Joe, I would be in Wyoming right now with bad brakes.

Joe probably thinks (correctly) my car or myself couldn’t survive without him.

Because I needed to reregister my car this week, I needed a smog and safety check and was asking around. I texted Joe who texted back an address. As characteristic of our relationship, he called right after that text.

“This is what you need to know…” He went into greater detail and then asked if I understood. He’s pretty good at simplifying things when I ask.

Zzzzzzzzzz end!

Images:
Personal and family photos
Sonic photo taken by Belinda Hankins Miller

The Austen Vs. Barrett Sisters

February 15, 2015Blog, Poets, Sisters, True LoveCassandra Austen, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Henrietta Barrett, Her storyline, Jane Austen, Robert BrowningSarah Patten

Sisters.

One sister was near marriage but outside forces dashed those hopes. Her writer-sister had a proposal of marriage and….

How will such a story end?

The Austens

Cassandra’s fiance worked in order for them to get married. He went on a military mission but died after he caught yellow fever in 1797. Cassandra now had some money, but no man to share it with. She never married.

Then we all know Jane.

Parties, balls, humor, but never she seemed to find Mr. Right. She briefly accepted a proposal in 1802. The man was financially secured and perhaps it would have been perfect if she loved him. She didn’t and soon declined. One portrayal of possible romances include Becoming Jane.

The Barretts

Henrietta could have been a character out of an Austen novel—was religious but determined to have fun and find romance at balls and parties. It seemed marriage was in her grasp at one point, but any suitor was kicked out of her life by her father.

Mr. Barrett would never let his children marry.

Elizabeth couldn’t spend time outside like she used to, but kept contact with her family, friends, and intellectuals through correspondences and others visiting her. Her mind was active, but felt close to death till fellow poet Robert Browning showed intense interest in her. One of the sonnets she wrote during their courtship starts:

“My future will not copy fair my past.”

The sonnet talks about the new life she feels like she’s been given. She can’t go back to the past where she thought love was lost.

Elizabeth couldn’t make the same mistakes other did. She had to be stealthier than Henrietta. And unlike Jane, Elizabeth had the means to support herself and was in love with a man who loved her. But could Elizabeth back out at the proposal of marriage from Robert? Would she find enough strength to go through with the marriage?

She did. She eloped with Robert Browning to Italy in 1846.. Elizabeth’s father disowned her but she continued to compose poems.

Now what of Henrietta?

Could she find true love? Even if she did, could she find a way to marry?

Four years after her sister eloped, Henrietta married a Captain William Cook. Like Elizabeth, she too was disowned by her father.

We don’t know much about Henrietta but we know she displayed gumption. Some of that gumption is portrayed in, The Barretts of Wimpole Street.

Though the Barrett sisters could afford marriage, could they be indebted to the Austen sisters who gave some do’s and don’ts when it came to marriage and love?

P.S. And which film is better–Becoming Jane or The Barretts of Wimpole Street?

Sources:
http://www.browningscorrespondence.com/biographical-sketches/?id=977
wikipedia.org

Pictures:
"The Two Sisters" by Henri Fantin-Latour
Portrait of Jane Austen by Cassandra Austen
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Engraving September, 1859,      by Macaire Havre, engraving by T. O. Barlow

Should Have Died, but Survived: The Hanging of Anne Greene

October 31, 2014BlogAnne Greene, Christopher Wren, Dr. Willis, Her storyline, Mary Hooper, Miracles, Newes from the Dead, Robert Matthews, Thomas ReadSarah Patten

Anne Greene thought she was going to die.

She hadn’t gotten a fair trial. She protested that she had not killed her baby. Despite the medical proof the baby had indeed been a stillborn, Anne was condemned to hang. Sir Thomas Read, whose grandson impregnated the maid, took special measures and his influence to see that his “noble” family would not have their reputation ruined. She still had her friends’ “support,” at her hanging in Oxford on December 14, 1650. She wanted a quick death, so she requested they pull her swaying body up and down and hit it repeatedly. They did until the sheriff told them to stop. Once everyone thought her dead, she was taken down, placed in a coffin, and whooshed away to a group of doctors and medical students. Anne’s body was going to be dissected.

Mostly Dead Something wasn’t right on the day of the dissection. As the physicians opened the coffin, they were in for a surprise. Did the corpse just move? Was that a breath? Yes, she was still alive. But barely. The dissection lesson quickly did a one-eighty.

1650 Version of ER Some of the treatments included aren’t recommended today, but they did the best for the time to see her breath and make her body warmth again. They poured cordial down her mouth and tickled her throat with a feather which opened and shut her eyes. She coughed and was breathing more. They applied heat plasters, rubbed, and bled her . To remain warm, she was placed in a warm bed by another girl.

Here’s a woodcut that attempts to illustrate the story:

What Comes Around… As Anne Greene was recovering, the justice system decided to pardon the revived woman. Three days after her execution, Thomas Read died. Maybe from natural causes. People saw these events as acts from God and some science. If you’re like me, perhaps you see it as both. (For more on this topic, watch this interesting video on how religion and science work together.) 1651 was a better year for Anne. She married a John Taylor. Not much is known after that except she had three children and died in 1665. Doctors, students, and others involved in reviving need to get credit for taking action rather than sit and let her die. We have some of the names: Christopher Wren, Robert Matthews, and Doctor Willis. The writer of the pamphlet writer in 1651 called Newes from the Dead or a True and Exact Narration of the Miraculous Deliverance of Anne Greene also should get an award for preserving a record.

A Book Review Author Mary Hooper borrowed the title Newes from the Dead for her historical fictional novel told mainly from Anne’s perspective as she organizes her thoughts and recounts the events that led to a mysterious place. The book and author deserve a huge honor. Once Mary Hooper heard Anne’s story on the car radio, “I was absolutely captivated, I went straight home to find out more about her.” If Hooper hadn’t written the book, I would have had no idea of this remarkable incident. Writing to preserve stories really benefits future generations–no matter how weird. And going back to the book, I appreciate the theme of thinking carefully before deciding. Over and over again, Anne regrets believing the smooth-talking and (not so) “gentleman” who got her into trouble. She learns the importance of going for the kind, sincere, and hardworking guys–but with caution.

I assume that the real Anne Greene had learned important lessons. The true story is serious, a little comical, but very heartwarming. It also is surrounded by those who had to make tough decisions. I would like to see more people know about the hanging and revival of Anne Greene—and perhaps even see it as a movie.

Sources and Links:
A Wonder of Wonders, being a faithful Narrative and true Relation of one Anne Green, who was condemned on the 14 Dec., and hanged in Oxford and was afterwards beg’d for an Anatomy by the physicians and recovered. (1651)

Woodcut from A Wonder of Wonders depicting the hanging of Anne Greene, which she survived.

Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper on goodreads

Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper on amazon

Featured image of Sleeping Beauty by W.E.F. Britten included in The Early Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Greene

Jael vs. Charlotte Corday: History’s Heroines or Villainesses?

September 19, 2014Blog, French Revolution, ScripturesBible, Charlotte Corday, French Revolution, Her storyline, Heroines, Jael, VillainessesSarah Patten

The Bible’s Jael and French Revolution’s Charlotte Corday committing murder has to gone down with some of the most controversial moves in history. It’s hard to say if they did the right thing . To understand why they did what they did, we need to look at the overall picture.

Jael

“Jael” by Spillberg

Barak wanted Deborah to go with him and his troops to face Canaanite army led by Sisera. Deborah agreed and told him, “The Lord shall sell Sisera in the hand of a woman” (Judges 4:9).

When Jael saw Siseria approaching, she acted as a friendly hostess. She welcomed him in her tent, gave him milk and blanket, and made sure he’s not disturbed. Then she “took a hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died” (Judges 4:21).

“Jael Smote Sisera and Slew Him” by Tissot

“Jael Shows to Barak Sisera Lying Dead” by Tissot

She went out to meet Barak who was no doubt graetful. Thanks to Jael, Israel gained momentum in fighting Canaan. “God subdued on that day Jabin king of Canaan before the children of Israel. And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan” (Judges 4:23-24).

What a wonderful and victorious ending. She killed a key captain making way for Israel to eventually kill the king.

Deborah praised Jael: “Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent” (Judges 5:2)

“Deborah Praises Jael” by Gustave Dores

Charlotte Corday

“Charlotte Corday” From Evert A. Duykinck’s “A Portrait Gallery of Eminent Men and Women of Europe and America, with Biographies.”

During the French Revolution, a twenty-four-year old gave herself a mission. She planned to kill Jean-Paul Marat.

Charlotte Corday lived in in Normandy. She sympathized with the Girondists, a political group moderates—who were not for an absolute monarchy but didn’t like where the revolution was going. She, like other Girondists, were disgusted with the politics of the Jacobins, members of a radical political club, who used terror and violence to wipe out their opponents in the Reign of Terror such as the nobles and Girondists. Jean-Paul Marat, propaganda journalist and one of the Jacobin leaders, played a big role in that and most notably in the mass killings in Paris in 1792 which became known as the September Massacres. That event and the threat of civil war motivated Charlotte to take action and take out such a threat.

Going for the Most Venerable Leader

Without telling her plans to anyone, Charlotte traveled from Normandy to Paris with the intent to kill Marat. As mentioned before, Marat was a leader of the Jacobins, but he wasn’t the head leader. Maximillian de Robespierre led the Reign of Terror. It’s been argued if she had to kill someone, it should have been Robespierre. That would have been like going for a king which actually would have made her mission impossible. Like Jael, Charlotte was going to wipe out a captain-figure not a type of king.

You could say both Charlotte and Jael used unorthodox weapons that usually served for every day use. Jael used a hammer and stake, and Charlotte used a six-inch blade kitchen knife she bought when she got to Paris .

Charlotte planned to kill Marat in front of the National Convention. Due to illnesses, he was unable to make public appearances. He had developed a skin disorder probably from hiding in sewers. Charlotte found out he was staying with his wife Simone. The first two times Charlotte went to the apartment, Simone turned her away. Charlotte claimed to have a list of Girondists that were plotting an uprising. On her third attempt, Marat wanted to speak with her.

Charlotte Corday et Marat by Jules Aviat 1880

L’Assassinat de Marat by Jean-Joseph Weerts

Marat’s skin condition was so serious he did his work from the bathtub. As he wrote down the names, he was unaware that he was in such a vulnerable state. Charlotte stabbed him in the chest. He yelled to Simonne, and then he died. This was followed by a huge uproar and the arrest of Charlotte Corday on July 13, 1793.

Triumph?

Charlotte didn’t meet the same triumph as Jael. When Charlotte was tried, she was asked why she killed Marat. She said she did it to save thousands. This answer had reflected Robespierre’s reaction to executing Louis XVI. Four days after killing Marat, Charlotte’s head went on the scaffold.

Did Charlotte Corday fail in her mission? It’s hard to say. She didn’t get the immediate praise Jael got for killing, but she made an immediate impact. One witness at her execution named Pierre Notelet said, “Her beautiful face was so calm, that one would have said she was a statue. Behind her, young girls held each other’s hands as they danced. For eight days I was in love with Charlotte Corday.”

“Charlotte Corday” by Jean-Jacques Hauer. This portrait was done in prison at her request.

Adam Lux, another witness, was so impressed with Charlotte Corday, he published pamphlets that deemed Charlotte’s actions justified and for freedom. He was also executed. I believe this shows that people got thinking who the actual enemy of was. It wasn’t pro-monarchs or true republicans. Those in power during the Reign of Terror didn’t have the French citizens’ best interests in mind. They were dictators who used sources, like the press, to deceive and threaten the people. There were those like Charlotte Corday who called them out. A year after Charlotte’s death, those who corrupted the government also had a date with Madame Guillotine, including Robespierre.

Charlotte Corday went on to influence others with her patriotic zeal. Writer Alphonse de Lamartine nicknamed her the “angel of assassination” in his 1847 book Histoire des Girondins.

In 1860, France was on the road to a republic that Charlotte had desired. The Jacques-Louis David’s 1793 painting portraying Marat as a martyr that the Jacobins used as propaganda was literally painted at a different angle. In Paul-Jacques-Aimé Baudr’s 1860 painting, Corday is portrayed as the heroine.

640px-Death_of_Marat_by_Jacques-Louis David

“Death of Marat” 1793by Jaques-Louis David. Here Marat is portrayed as martyr.

640px-Charlotte_Corday by Paul-Jacques-Aimé Baudry (2)

“Charlotte Codray” 1860 by Paul-Jaques-Aime Badry. Now, Charlotte is seen as the hero.

The Verdict

Did Jael do the right thing? Was Charlotte’s act justifiable?
I have studied the biblical text more and the Reign of Terror closer in order to come to a verdict. I’ve also considered the circumstances of war in their cases. I will not be a judge in the final judgement, but I’ve made my personal conclusions,
Jael: By killing the captain of the opposing army, Israel was able to win the battle and the war. She protected a nation by weakening the enemy. Verdict: Not guilty. Heroine.
Charlotte: Murdering a journalist responsible for massacres. It looked like she lost the battle, but her sacrifice was a necessary loss to win the war in finding freedom. She identified France’s true enemies. Verdict: Not guilty. Heroine.

Do you agree with my verdicts? The situations are in gray areas. I see these two women acting for their great good their country. One lived to see victorious results, and the other died before she could witness the enemies’ downfalls.

Helpful information from
The Bible
wikipedia.com
alstewart.com

Images from
http://madameguillotine.org.uk
http://commons.wikimedia.org/

“Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History”—What Does That Mean?

July 13, 2014Blog, InvestigatorsChristine de Pisan, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Virginia Woolf, Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make HistorySarah Patten

Laurel Ulrich was perplexed that she couldn’t find much information about Puritan women. As a graduate student at the University of New Hampshire, she was writing a seminar and then an article on early American women. She wanted to let people know that there were other women instead of just the witches. In her article, she wanted to stress that we need to pay attention to the invisible women and wrote “Well-behaved women seldom make history.”

She wrote that in 1976. Nearly twenty years later, a journalist called her up and asked if she could use that quote. Ulrich said yes and soon got asked by others if they could to print that phrase on t-shirts. “Sure! Send me a t-shirt,” Ulrich replied. It was then that the phrase turned into a slogan and phenomenon. It’s been seen on bumper stickers, quilts, coffee mugs, and used by organizations. (Sometimes without her permission.) People interpreted it a variety of ways, and it was used quite differently than she intended. However, she took an interest in the different views of the phrase and saw why people used it the way they did.

So Ulrich decided to write a book called Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History which explores why some women are remembered and why some are not, how they’re remembered, what has been done for them to be remembered, and what we can do. The book centers around three feminist writers—Christine de Pizan of France who lived in the fifteenth century, American Elizabeth Cady Stanton who lived in the nineteenth century, and Virginia Woolf of England who lived in the twentieth century. Though these three women lived in different time periods and places, they were concerned with the way women were viewed. Ulrich reflects on their lives while branching out to many other women who made a mark on history. I learned about women I hadn’t heard of and new information on subjects I already knew about it.

For example, I knew about Rosa Parks, but didn’t know there were other women before her who refused to give up their seat on the bus, but a journalist decided that she was the best candidate. Since she came from a conservative background, her actions would make a bigger impact. Lots of times it’s the way people are presented that help them make history. Ulrich points out that it depends on what you mean by “well-behaved.”

Some daring women were almost not remembered—it took years and multiple efforts to publish an early biography of Harriet Tubman. How many other women need biographies? There are just so many women that are waiting for their stories to be told! At an authors’ conference discussing her book, Ulrich said “History is a dialogue between present and past….What we bring to it is our questions and our concerns. If some women are invisible in history it’s because for some reason that link between the present and past has been broken.”

It’s interesting to note that Ulrich doesn’t really discuss royalty—and that is actually quite refreshing! Ulrich uses a huge spectrum of women. From Joan of Arc being a controversial figure to Mormon polygamist wives who were career women and to the extreme 1970s to milkmaids’ contributions to society and back to us in modern times, your eyes will be opened and you will want to get out there and discover stories—including family stories. The importance of writing your own personal history also stands out.

Ulrich succeeded in writing as she put it a “feel good book.” (It’s already being used as a future reference for this writer!) Her last chapter is powerful. It includes another woman, Jill Portugal, who owns a small t-shirt business. Her t-shirts say things like, “Ignore Celebrities” and “Anti-Porn Star.” Though she’s up against an industry that makes billions, her motto is brilliant: “Taking over the world one shirt at a time.”

Ulrich says, “If well-behaved women seldom make history, it is not only because gender norms have constrained the range of female activity but because history hasn’t been very good at capturing the lives of those whose contributions have been local and domestic.”

The last statement Ulrich makes has three valid points about how people can make history—the last being the most important. “Well-behaved women make history when they do the unexpected, when they create and preserve records, and when later generations care.”

Pictures: Salem Witch by Joseph E. Baker, A Fair Puritan by E. Percy Moran, and photograph of woman and child reading taken by unknown photographer

Marie Thérèse and Aunt Elisabeth

May 31, 2014Blog, French Revolution, RoyaltyHer storyline, Princess Elisabeth of FranceSarah Patten

French Revolution. What comes to mind?

Madam Guillotine, Marie Antoinette, and sink me–The Scarlet Pimpernel. The 1982 film adaption of the book made me laugh so hard. I was also in awe. Did such heroes exist?

There were those who smuggled nobles into other countries. The films shows that Marie Antoinette and Louis’s son survived and was taken from their prison to a safer place.

Wrong.

The sole survivor was the king and queen’s daughter, Marie Thérèse. who clung on to some hope that maybe her brother and mother who were taken away had survived.

I can’t believed I went on for years not knowing about her–or her aunt Elisabeth, the king’s sister. Elisabeth made sacrifice after sacrifice for the royal family–refusing to marry or take other available routes that would take her out of the country. She endured violent attacks with them and even posed as the queen to buy her sister-in-law more time during one ambush. It’s little wonder that Marie Antoinette and Louis counseled their children to listen to their aunt.

All too soon the royal family was taken to the Temple Tower. They endured unfair trials and living conditions grew worse. The king was executed and little Louis was taken to a separate cell. Marie Antoinette was taken away and also executed, but Elisabeth and Marie-Therese only knew the king’s fate. However, I believe Elisabeth knew her sister-in-law was dead and had a strong feeling her nephew was slowly dying. Marie Thérèse had the best chance of surviving.

The heroic aunt. Elisabeth de France by Vigee-Lebrun.

When it was just Elisabeth and Marie Thérèse in the cell, Elisabeth comforted her niece. She was an example of piety, and Marie Thérèse said much of her survival was due to prayer. Elisabeth showed and advised her niece on how to groom herself, keep the cell as clean as possible, and how to handle the guards. It was just a matter of time before Elisabeth was taken away and was prepared to die a martyr. Marie Thérèse would not find out what happened to her aunt, mother, and brother till much later. The information that her aunt watched around twenty-five nobles executed before her and was purposely saved for last would be withheld.

Marie Thérèse was eventually freed and taken to Vienna in 1795 for safety.

The sole survivor. Portrait of Marie Thérèse of France by Heinrich Furger.

Marie Thérèse would go on to help royal refugees and raise troops against Napoleon dubbed her the “only man in the family.” She worked hard to preserve the memory of her family. The following comment about her aunt Elisabeth needs to be remembered.

“I feel I have her nature . . . [she] considered me and cared for me as her daughter, and I, I honored her as a second mother.”

I hope I have some of Princess Elisabeth in me. Her story sticks out to me. In times of tough decisions, I have thought of my role as an aunt. Princess Elisabeth is a wonderful role model. Her story is inspiring because it can make us think of ways we can be more loving toward our families.

Poet Profile: Rachel Bluwstein

May 21, 2014Blog, PoetsHer storyline, Rachel Bluwstein, Women PoetsSarah Patten

Rachel Bluwstein was born on September 20, 1890 in Russia. She lived in Ukraine, Palestine, France, and Israel. She was a Zionist pioneer and a Renaissance woman of sorts. She drew, painted, worked in agriculture, taught school, and is remembered for her lyrical, yet right-to-the-point poetry.

With friend, Avraham Cahanowitz

For thousands of years, Hebrew poetry was dominated by males. The last known Hebrew woman poet was Deborah, a judge in ancient Israel. Due to illness, Rachel lived in isolation toward the end of her life. She kept some correspondence and saw people here and there, but for the most part felt very lonely. She died in 1931 at age 40 and is considered the “founding mother” of Hebrew poetry written by women. Many of her poems have been set to songs. Her Michal poem will be in my book:

“Michal”

“And Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David

And she despised him in her heart”

Michal, distant sister, time’s thread has not been severed,

time’s thorns in your sad vineyard have not prevailed.

Still in my ear I hear the tinkling of your gold anklet,

the stripes in your silk garment have not paled.

Often I have seen you standing by your small window

pride and tenderness mingling in your eyes.

Like you I am sad, O Michal, distant sister, and like you doomed to

love a man whom I despise.

(1927, Israel. Translated by Robert Friend; taken from her book Flowers of Perhaps.)

It’s somewhat poetic justice that Rachel the Poetess, the founding mother of modern Israeli poetry, identified with the woman who married the sweet psalmist of Israel.

What do you think of that, David?

Photos gathered by deror_avi on wiki commons

Michal: The “Loved and Despised” Princess

May 20, 2014Blog, Royalty, ScripturesHer storyline, Michal and David, Royalty, Women of the ScripturesSarah Patten

I first heard about the woman “who loved” David when I was seventeen. I was in seminary and when my teacher mentioned how David married Saul’s daughter, the girls were like, “Really? That is so cute!” My teacher grinned and continued to glow as she told about Michal saving David from Saul by sneaking him out of a window.
Michal’s story came to light again when I was 24 and suffered from a heartbreak—though nothing near the magnitude of Michal’s. I felt her pain when it said she “despised David.” I wanted learn more so read some biblical fiction about her (like that would tell me the truth) and could feel Michal saying, “That is not me at all!”
So I started doing research—and discovered that the opinions of her are quite diverse! Scholars, artists, and writers differ their views. So who is the real Michal?

"Penelope and Her Suitors" (from The Odyssey)

Penelope and the Suitors by John William Waterhouse (1912).

I was shocked to find that writers have used Michal as their muse. There are traces of her story in fairytales and myths—and even primetime TV!

Rapunzel by Johnny Gruelle

I believe the stuff in the Bible isn’t made up though. I made discoveries that support my already belief that she was a real person. So many royal brides would come to the same trials of Michal. This book points out parallels between Michal and other controversial princesses such as Diana and Fergie. I wonder if in her Bible study, Catherine of Aragon connected herself with Michal.

Catherine and Henry VIII by Henry Nelson O’Neil

Featured Image of Michal helping David by Gustave Dore

Jochebed: Willing to Put Her Child First

May 19, 2014Blog, ScripturesHer storyline, Women of the ScripturesSarah Patten

A post from nine years ago…

With Mother’s Day being last week and wrapping up the subject of Moses in Sunday School, I am going to share part of an article called “Who Do You Admire?” by Brenda Combs

Jochebed, mother to Moses, here is a woman to admire! She had the courage to defy the Pharaoh no less and refused to condemn her son to death as so decreed. In our society we are surrounded with individuals who give in to popularity, fads, whims, and politically correctness but here was a woman who had everything to lose yet willingly put her child first despite what society wanted her to do. She had the creativity to hide him in a basket upon the Nile and care for him once the Pharaoh’s daughter claimed him took him to her heart. She only had him for a short time, but you can bet she taught him of the Lord’s way and loved him completely each and every second she had with him. Finally, she placed her confidence in God after all she could do and her children are examples to all who value strength, integrity, faithfulness and righteousness.

Side Note: I love having discussions with Brenda, and yesterday we talked about the heroine, Rahab, whose bravery helped Joshua and the Israelite army conquer Canaan. And the Bible will continue with women making sure that Israel goes forward.
Coming soon A royal aunt’s sacrifice in the French Revolution. A glimpse at my book in progress about a timeless and biblical princess plus Poet’s Profile.

Moses in his Mother’s Arms was painted by the British artist Simeon Solomon (1840–1905)

Easter: Because of Him

One thing that impresses me about the New Testament is just how much Jesus Christ honors women. He clears a lot of things up for those who haven’t showed the proper respect or those who think the scriptures are sexist. From the women he’s known throughout his life to those he encountered on good or bad situations, he showed that women are equal to men. He gave his life for EVERYONE.

Below is a link that shows the Easter message very well. My friend, Sam, worked hard on this and it came out great!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S3TI4bYerU

Easter is such a good reminder of what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us and how we can truly live because of His sacrifice. Let’s strive to always remember Him.

Images can be found on lds.org and mormon.org. Top image a still from a Bible video, and painting is by Anderson.

Her Storyline

Connecting history and everyday life.