The Gift of Fear

In the Catholic tradition, martyrs are often touted for their fearlessness. Saints Perpetua and Felicity walked into the arena with their heads held high. Saint Thomas Moore bravely declared that he would die, above all else, as God’s good servant. Saint Lawrence boldly mocked his executioners as they roasted him alive. God’s reminder, as voiced frequently by Pope Saint John Paul II, echoes in the hearts of Catholics: “Be not afraid!”

In the midst of such a great cloud of witnesses, Gertrude von Le Fort invites us to reflect on something counterintuitive: the gift of fear. In her novel, The Song at the Scaffold, Le Fort explores the ways that fear strips away our egos and purifies our motives. She invites us to embrace our crosses and contemplate the impact of grace in our deficiencies.

Set during the years leading up to and during the Reign of Terror in the French Revolution, The Song at the Scaffold is based on the true story of the Carmelite nuns of Compiégne. The community endures the persecutions imposed by the revolutionary government: novices are prohibited from taking vows, property is seized, and eventually 16 women of the Carmel are arrested and martyred at the guillotine.

Readers experience the escalating turmoil through the fictional character, Blanche de la Force. Blanche is a painfully timid child, afraid even to ascend the stairs for fear they might collapse. Attempts to overcome her fear leave her ashamed and disappointed.

Blanche’s governess proposes to console her with the image of the Christ Child, le petit Roi de Glorie. Just as the King of France has secure power, the governess says, God’s providence will never fail. Blanche is unconvinced, and responds with prophetic skepticism of the King’s power asking, “But if he lost his crown?” Blanche understands that any attempt to quell her fears by appealing to analogous language about God is insufficient. The brutality and uncertainty of the world are undeniable, and fear dominates her life. 

When Blanche enters the Carmel, she is given a new strategy. The Reverend Mother declares, “I have advised the poor child to continue seeking peace in fear itself, since God, as it seems, has no intention of freeing her from this emotion.” Blanche becomes, “loyal to fear.” She leans into her weakness, not to embrace it for its own sake, but to understand what God might teach her in it. 

As the story progresses, martyrdom becomes more and more likely, and we see the antithesis of Blanche’s fear personified in Sister Marie de l’Incarnation. The illegitimate daughter of nobility, she enters religious life with a zeal to do penance for the sins of the court. Her ardor makes her an intimidating and compelling figure, and she disdains Blanche’s fear. Several times she bemoans the weight of Blanche’s cowardice, and the burden it means to the other nuns.  Sister Marie has a desire for martyrdom, to sacrifice herself for the salvation of France. Her dauntless daring would typically be the makings of a hagiography, but her hubris and self righteousness blind her, and she nearly misses out on three lessons Blanche teaches through her loyalty to fear. 

When Blanche enters the Carmel, she is warned of the difficult, penitential life that awaits her. Blanche responds, “Oh, Reverend Mother, truly there are other things to be feared more than these slight sacrifices!” Blanche understands that there are things to be afraid of, but mortification and sacrifice are not amongst them. Her fear gives her an eternal perspective and illuminates the evil that infiltrates the world. This frees her from the fear of immolation. She is able to accept the grace which enables her to offer her life to Christ. She even comes to understand that death is not the most fearsome fate. Disloyalty, sin, and violence against the innocent are far more terrifying than consecration to God. 

Reflecting on the French Revolution, the importance of Blanche’s perspective is further emphasized. The writer extols fear saying, “My friend, fear is a great emotion…A State should know fear. Governments should tremble. To tremble is to be strong.” Among those who held revolutionary ideas, Blanche’s own father included, there was never any consideration—any fear—that ideas might take hold and lead to disaster. If only there had been a healthy sense of fear, an understanding that ideas have consequences, the suffering and bloodshed of the revolution might have been avoided. 

We are invited, through Blanche, to consider how fear can inspire our own perspective. If we could understand the reality of evil, we would not fear to place our lives in God’s hands.

As the revolution continues and intensifies, so does the zeal for martyrdom among the Carmelites. The sisters, Sister Marie de l’Incarnation in particular, look forward to what they believe to be their imminent death. Their zeal verges on obsession, and a self righteous arrogance seems to develop within them. 

Blanche, on the other hand, continues to battle fear. She wants to be as brave as the others, but finds no ease or joy in the prospect of death, even a heroic one. She insists that she will be steadfast, but abandons the Carmel when first facing the prospect of the guillotine.  

Blanche eventually confronts martyrdom a second time. Because of her fear, the occasion is purified of any vanity or pomp. Fear strips her of ego, enabling her to imitate the kenosis of Jesus. Her posture in the face of martyrdom is one of receptivity, not pursuit. Like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, she accepts by grace the cup offered to her, not of her own will, but in response to the will of the Father (Mt. 26:39). 

Fidelity to Christ is not a preference, but a calling. Blanche shows us how to surrender, even when it seems impossible. We are inspired to rely on grace, not zeal, to spur us forward. 

A final lesson revealed by fear is the utter poverty in which we stand before God. Sister Marie de l’Incarnation protests Blanche’s investiture, telling the Reverend Mother, “Such little flames do not belong in a convent! The Carmelites demand absolute strength and faith!” Sister Marie places excessive weight upon personal probity, and relies on effort in the face of persecution. 

While heroic deeds are admirable, they can deceive us. We may become forgetful of our reliance on grace. Blanche is unable to release herself from the bonds of fear. Her only hope of freedom is the grace of Jesus Christ. Any heroism or virtue Blanche expresses can only be due to Christ’s work in her, for she could offer heroism of her own. She teaches us to remain aware of this reality, for only when we know what we cannot offer will we allow grace to compensate. 

Blanche does eventually offer her life in martyrdom, and it confounds us. The narrator expresses this saying, “You expected the victory of a heroine and you saw a miracle in one so weak!” We would not expect fear to be essential in the life of a martyr, but Gertrude von Le Fort invites us to turn our expectations upside down. Like Blanche, we too must make the willful choice to embrace the crosses of our own weakness, trusting that Christ will teach us new perspectives, purify us of ego, and in our poverty compensate for all that we lack with all that He provides.

Photo by The Cleveland Museum of Art on Unsplash

von Le Fort, G. (1931). The Song at the Scaffold. TAN Books.