The Land of Spices by Kate O'Brien

The Land of Spices (Virago Modern Classics)

I thought I'd get some thoughts out about this novel before I do something more formal at wordpress. This mid-twentieth century novel was set in the early 20th C, ending right before WWI. The prose wasn't particularly notable, but O'Brien's deft depiction of characters, and even the kind of characters she chose to focus on, was what made it memorable.

Mere Marie-Helene is the head of a French teaching order and all-girls school in Ireland. She was born in England, raised in Belgium where she attended a school run by the same order, and had no real intention of taking the veil until she discovered a family secret that shattered her illusions about the highly intellectual, carefree life she had had with her father.

Anna Murphy arrives at the convent school at the age of 6, a year or so earlier than is usual, the daughter of a loving, anxious mother and an alcoholic father. She is curious, intensely observant and sometimes unusually serious for a girl her age. Her absorbed air is what draws Mere Marie-Helene's first notice in the chapel where three of her former pupils became postulants, starting their first stage at becoming a *sister. Anna and Helen form a bond through poetry, and the novel explores their past and present, the peculiar solitude, almost alienation that they feel in their surroundings, and how they let down their guard, to others, and each other, in acknowledgement of their warm humanity.

There are many things I loved about this story. One of the best things was the way O'Brien mined the psychological depths of both characters. It's interesting to see how both were academically nurtured, and what it was that made them seem cold and unlovable to their peers but not their emotionally sympathetic relatives. Irish nationalism was on the rise during this period and the arguments between Mere Marie-Helene and the priests raised interesting questions about how, if at all, one should mix religion with politics and the influence of education particularly when the system is not of the country in which it is established. The double life of religion and class where the outer layer is not always true is a theme as well, and notable because of its particular manifestations in Irish rural life.

Sexism, nationalism, literature, religion -- all of these are explored and conveyed in a language readily accessible while retaining a sophistication. And there's a lot of comedy as well as O'Brien shows playful, good humour when describing the younger students fanatic adoration of various admirable older students or handsome priests, and their mischievous disobedience. And the sisters are not spared the author's mockery.

I'm still turning over the matter, though, of whether the book deserves the status of a "classic". It makes me wonder just what sort of criteria is used to give books such a title in this day and age where publishers like Penguin and Virago offer these "modern" classics.
 

*A sister is a particular kind of nun who engages with the world through missionary work, education, charity etc. A proper nun is one who lives a cloistered, solely contemplative existence.