The Song at the Scaffold: A Novel

The Song at the Scaffold is a short book of about 110 pages, but potentially contains more riches and pleasures than suggested by its length. The book (1931) is what it is, while its potential depends a great deal on the openness of the reader to Le Fort's transcendental message. Ostensibly this is the historically-grounded tale of Carmelite nuns dying at the guillotine during France's Reign of Terror. But Le Fort's story is a timeless one of the struggle for faith, which is portrayed as an interior, personal struggle compounded by that struggle taking place within a culture often hostile to it.The story is told by means of a letter written subsequent to the events from a French nobleman who remained in Paris to witness those events; the epistle is sent to a pre-revolutionary friend who had emigrated, and therefore did not.The central events of the tale involve 16 Carmelite nuns, all of whom are based upon fact with the exception of the key character Blanche, who is Le Fort's own creation. Blanche is, in one possible reading, a doeppelgänger of another nun, Constance. The two enter the monastery together as novices (Constance: "Dear little Sister Blanche," she says, "let us always hold together, you and I.." is only one of many such repeated suggestions).Le Fort wrote the book at the tail-end of the Weimar era, in a Germany being roiled from both the right and the left, National Socialists and Communists. Should she stay, or emigrate? If one stays, how should one conduct oneself? One choice made in the book is made by the First Commissioner, a former sacristan: "... I've got to howl with the wolves!" The Carmelites, of course, make another. And the letter writer who relates the events?Le Fort's literary style is often referred to as "sacramental realism" or the literary portrayal of dynamic transformations of a transcendent nature, rather than conventional material realism. These depicted transformations reveal an outward conduct that is an expression of a living faith, which in turn holds the potential to resonate and ripple throughout the wider world.Another book may prove worthwhile: William Rush's  To Quell the Terror: The Mystery of the Vocation of the Sixteen Carmelites of Compiegne Guillotined July 17, 1794  provides a concise, but wonderful history of the actual events (including important parallels between the historical Constance and the fictional Blanche).If you found this book as a result of opera, to further appreciate Poulenc's 'Dialogues of the Carmelites' (1957), a little extra digging into the background of the multi-step transposition from novella to libretto will also pay-off as there are several alterations from the source (some necessitated by the change in genre). Poulenc's correspondence helps, too, particular regarding the character of Mere Marie.Individual reaction to the opera will likely range as widely as to that of the book. For some it is a pleasant evening at the opera enjoying Poulenc's craftsman-like score with its emotionally jarring finale; while to others it is a revelation, both affirming and challenging. To that extent, it is absolutely faithful to the source.

I purchased this slender volume on a whim, when I read a scant aside from Saint Edith Stein (Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) that it had helped to make the Carmelite Order better known.I really cannot recommend it highly enough. Based on a true story of a convent of Carmelite nuns who faced the persecution of all religious orders during the Reign of Terror in 18th Century France, it is a wonderfully written, brief, to the point, contemplation of what it means to make a deep sacrifice for one's faith.In addition to this little novel, the same story has been treated as an opera by Poulenc, titled "The Dialogue of the Carmelites".

a beautiful story on how everything is grace... even fear... because it can provide God an opportunity for His Glory to shine radiantly... to enter into His Mystery is a wonderful albeit sometimes painful adventure...

Great format. Easy to highlight and switch pages. Easy to save your page.👍🏻 This is an Absolutely beautiful and heart throbbing story.

I was fascinated to read the novel that inspired the opera Dialogues of the Carmelites.

I read this novel for background for listening to Poulenc's opera Dialogues of the Carmelites. In comparison to the strong emotional impact of the opera, the novel is fairly dry, especially since it is told with some formality and stilted language. Hardly for the casual reader looking for a simple pasttime.

An amazing account of how in weakness and humility our Lord can do all things. Everyone should read this short story.

Gertrud von le fort stories are short but deeply faithful and intense. I highly recommend her work.

So much less interesting than its subject. Very heavy and Germanic.

This book arrived so quickly! It's a beautiful story of God's power triumphing in weakness, a lovely portrayal of Carmelite spirituality and a fascinating historical fiction set during the French Revolution. Highly recommend!

very moving and stirring.

The Song at the Scaffold not only aptly portrays an historical event (with a little extra creativity) but also presents through the experiences of the characters the depth of the paradoxes of Christian thought and life.