St. Augustine and His Mother via Jane English
Uploaded by sandpiper1 on Oct 26, 2011
This paper discusses St. Augustine’s relationship with his mother Monica as revealed in the Confessions, and relates that to Jane English’s article. (5+ pages; 2 sources; MLA citation style)
I Introduction
In his Confessions, St. Augustine tells us of the devotion between himself and his mother, Monica. In her article “What Adult Children Owe to their Parents,” Jane English takes a different tack when discussing that relationship, arguing that it should be love, not the concept of paying back favors rendered that dictates the child’s actions.
This paper will both Augustine and Monica, and the article, briefly, then develop an argument either for or against using English’s model to describe this particular relationship.
II Comments on Augustine and Monica
The relationship between St. Augustine and his mother, Monica, as described in his Confessions, is a close and yet somewhat troubled one. Monica apparently spends most of her time praying that her son will turn away from the pleasures of the flesh and find God. This makes her seems like a completely selfless, devoted and loving woman. Unfortunately, since the Confessions are written in the first person, we have no one but Augustine to tell us about Monica. We see her through his eyes only and that means that of necessity we are not getting a complete picture of her.
He frequently uses the word “pious” or “piety” in connection with her; early in the work we read: “The mother of my flesh was much perplexed, for, with a heart pure in thy faith, she was always in deep travail for my eternal salvation.” (Book I, Chap XI, 17). In fact, throughout most of the book, when he does refer to his mother, Augustine tells us that she was continually praying for the salvation of his soul.
She doesn’t appear in much of the narrative, but he does give us a moving description of her life and her death in Book IX. He tells us that she became overly fond of wine, and was saved from becoming a drunkard when her slave girl accused her of that very thing. By naming the affliction, she enabled Monica to recognize what was happening and repudiate it. Thus we see that Augustine’s mother is no stranger to temptations of the flesh.
Monica was also a clever woman, married to a man with a violent temper. But she knew...