Ok, I need a bit of help with some character realism. I have a character who is in her early 70s, suspicious of the outside world, quick to temper, a big fan of corporeal punishment and ultra religious (I'm thinking catholic, but can be swayed by other forms of christianity if you have other thoughts). She is the principle guardian of her only granddaughter, and the two do not get along at all, frequently ending up with physical punishment.
My main problem is, I know zip all about christianity, having grown up in an athiest/agnostic family and enviroment. I have a fairly strong catholic great aunt, but although her house is full of quaint objects and pictures that I, personally, find really kitschy, she's wonderful, kind and extremely insightful so she's not really the type of personality I need.
So:
Are there any Bible quotes or sayings someone like this might be wont to use? (My Nanna was always fond of telling me "A woman who whistles is neither fit for no man nor God", so that sort of thing)
Exactly how would her religion play a role in her every day life? Prayer? Bible study? She's going to spend a lot of time volunteering for the local church, so what sort of activities go on there?
Ah, probably a really dumb question, but who's the guy who leads the congregation? Is it "Priest" for Catholics? Vicar for the Anglicans? What exactly would their role entail in a very small, rural community?
Anything else you could think of too would be immensely helpful!
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31,336 / 50,000
oct. 28, 2007 - 05 57
Hmm. My grandmother was very Catholic (although very sweet) and she went to church every single day. She volunteered a lot at the church... every week she was in charge of counting the money collected at mass (those baskets that get handed around), and she helped organize the bazaars for fundraising, raffles, senior dinners, etc.
My other grandparents, even more catholic, much less sweet, used to invite the priest around for dinner, as did their friends (so I'm not sure how often he was available to make it to their particular dinner, he had a lot of invitations). My uncle, maybe more in line with the personality you're writing about, was ubercatholic, wore a giant cross on his chest, and was fond of reminding kids to honor their mother and their father. I believe "spare the rod and spoil the child" is actually a bible quote, and some people really do hang onto that one with both hands as an excuse to pound obedience into their kids.
----------Heres wishing you the bluest sky,
And hoping something better comes tomorrow.
Hoping all the verses rhyme,
And the very best of choruses to
Follow all the doubt and sadness.
I know that better things are on the way.
13,423 / 50,000
oct. 28, 2007 - 06 05
One of the ways that Christianity can turn to almost bullying is that it can be based on fear. Fear of a wrathful God, fear of not obeying commandments, and fear of eternal damnation. That fear has to be instilled into children for their own good. They must be made to appreciate that it is important to go down onto your knees and beg a powerful deity for forgiveness for the slightest transgression. Your cranky, violent older person could be living in constant fear of the terror of approaching judgement for a life misled. Saving the young may mean salvation for themselves.
23,799 / 50,000
oct. 28, 2007 - 13 01
Here is a collection of Bible verses that are often cited in support of spanking or other corporal punishment. Most of them are from Proverbs, a book of sayings and advice, mostly reputed to be from King Solomon.
She would definitely go to church at least once (maybe twice) a week. I am not Catholic, so I can't tell you exactly what would go on. Personally, the kind of hyper-religious, over-disciplining character you're describing seems more fundamentalist Protestant to me than Catholic, but this may just be due to my personal experience (I haven't ever met a Catholic who matched that description).
And, if you're interested in some of the effects this would have on the girl, you could try reading this open letter to a famous "spanking expert". It's a little disturbing, though- be warned.
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49,753 / 50,000
oct. 28, 2007 - 19 09
Sister Agnes, was my 3rd grade math teacher, fits your description. She used to always say, "Spare the rod; spoil the child." It's in the book of proverbs. That would be a good resource for you to get some other quotes that might be helpful for you.
If you're going with a Catholic character, your character would probably attend mass every morning (lead by a priest). Prayer life consists of saying the Rosary and praying to not only God but to the saints. For examjple, St. Anthony is the patron saint of lost things. So, if you lose something, like your keys, a Catholic would pray to St. Anthony to find them. There's pretty much a saint for every occasion. If you need some super-prayer power, you might want to light a candle at church. Another aspect of Catholic life is bingo. Every church has a parish and a school. The church and the school always need money. One way they generate funds is thru weekly bingo games.
The role of the priest is like the leader of the community. They take care of all the parishners (that's what the Catholic church community is called). They marry people, baptize new borns, administers the last rites on people near dying. The visit people who can't leave their homes and give them communion. All kinds of things come up for the parish priest.
I hope this is helpful for you. Good Luck!!!
----------Charley
22,565 / 50,000
oct. 28, 2007 - 19 49
first, whether catholic or not, Christian or not, it's probably not going to matter as much as the fact that she's 70 and spankin', well, "that's the way we handled kids that misbehaved". She sounds a little like my dad (catholic, Italian and military background). But going to church was a must on Sunday's and religion was something that was kept at home (now a woman might be interested in quilting groups, bake sales and an occasional bingo game). hope that lack of info helps ya.
----------SHARON GEE
50,053 / 50,000
oct. 28, 2007 - 22 02
If she's an elderly Catholic, she's likely to pray the rosary at least daily. She might go to daily Mass, if she can get to church, and sit with a cluster of other old ladies (or sit by herself, which would be uncommon enough to notice and probably comment on) as they prayed the rosary before Mass.
A Catholic congregation (unless you're referring to an actual cluster of people) is usually called "a parish". ("The congregation sang enthusiastically today," vs "The parish contributed three hundred dollars last week" and "I'm a member of the parish.") Unless it's somewhere that doesn't have a priest of its own, it's led by a priest, who, for Catholics, is always a man. He is called the pastor, though in speaking it's "Father Whoever" (abbreviated "Fr.") - a lot of priests want to be called by their first names ("Fr. Daniel" or even "Fr. Dan") and some (especially those in their sixties and seventies) don't want to be called "Father" at all, but the kind of person you're describing is likely to doggedly call them "Fr. Wenzelen" no matter how many times he asks her to call him "Fr. Daniel". (If there are two priests, unlikely for a small community, they'd be the pastor and the associate pastor.)
A priest's duties are usually saying Mass, hearing confessions, presiding at funerals and weddings, baptizing infants, and visiting members of the parish who are in the hospital or sick at home. In smaller parishes, he might not have a "finance council" or a "pastoral council" and would take care of the parish's bookkeeping and recordkeeping himself (or mostly himself - he might have one or two assistants, who might be volunteer or might be paid by the parish). He would be planning celebrations (a potluck dinner, a party after the Easter Vigil to welcome new Catholics, a picnic for the parish's patron's feastday). When couples came to him asking him to celebrate their wedding, he'd probably do a lot of the planning with them as well.
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Uncle Cosmo, why do they call this a word processor?
It's simple, Skyler. You've seen what food processors do to food, right?
50,421 / 50,000
oct. 28, 2007 - 23 02
Thanks everyone - so many great ideas to flesh things out. The character isn't a stereotype, but a real human being alive for the duration of the month (or at least all my characters are in my head!!) so I'm loathe to make her two-dimensional. I'm working on a backstory right now from her younger days but the final details might be nutted out more when I get writing in a few days time.
57,331 / 50,000
oct. 28, 2007 - 23 02
Just an FYI - not every Catholic parish has a school. In Columbus, Ohio, we have St. Patrick's downtown, and on the southeast side we have Seton Parish. You can get a sample of different schedules (when you could go to pray) at the diocese website:
http://www.colsdioc.org/webpage/ColumbusDiocese.nsf/ParishName?OpenPage
Incidentally, it's "corporal" punishment.
Bible quotations that are believed by some to refer to spanking/corporal punishment in a positive light (KJV translation -- NOT used by most Catholics):
Prov 13:24: "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes (diligently)."
Prov 19:18: "Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying."
Prov 22:15: "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him."
Prov 23:13: "Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die."
Prov 23:14: "Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell."
Prov 29:15: "The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame."
Hebrews 12:6-7: "...the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?"
The current Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. The home is well suited for education in the virtues. This requires an apprenticeship in self-denial, sound judgment, and self-mastery -- the preconditions of all true freedom. Parents should teach their children to subordinate the "material and instinctual dimensions to interior and spiritual ones." Parents have a grave responsibility to give good example to their children. By knowing how to acknowledge their own failings to their children, parents will be better able to guide and correct them:
He who loves his son will not spare the rod. ... He who disciplines his son will profit by him.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (CCC 2223).
I rather suspect, incidentally, that if you are going with an older female who attended schools run by nuns in the first half of the 20th century, that the immediate reaction is more likely to be something along the lines of boxing someone's ears, whacking them across the knuckles, etc. Paddling and spanking were on the high end of the spectrum -- poking around the internet turns up lots of women over 40 who mention creative physical punishments like being forced to kneel as a dominate form of discipline. An older man who ran some training exercises when I was in Sea Cadets (probably Protestant of some sort, since he really didn't like Mormons and Catholics don't usually care much about us) loved to have us squat with our backs against a wall and hold our arms straight out in front of us. It was agony after about five minutes; it's definitely not what we were used to but it didn't surprise any of the adults in the program.
----------Sarah Marie Parker-Allen
lloannna@gmail.com
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