The Ugly Madonna
The following is taken from the author's preface in
The Little World of Don Camillo, where this short story was first published in 1951:
"... I want you to understand that, in the Little World between the river and the mountains, many things can happen that cannot happen anywhere else. Here, the deep, eternal breathing of the river freshens the air, for both the living and the dead, and even the dogs, have souls. If you keep this in mind, you will easily come to know the village priest, Don Camillo, and his adversary, Peppone, the Communist Mayor. You will not be surprised that Christ watches the goings-on from a big cross in the village church and not infrequently talks, and that one man beats the other over the head, but fairly — that is, without hatred — and that in the end the two enemies find they agree about essentials.
"And one final word of explanation before I begin my story. If there is a priest anywhere who feels offended by my treatment of Don Camillo, he is welcome to break the biggest candle available over my head. And if there is a Communist who feels offended by Peppone, he is welcome to break a hammer and sickle on my back. But if there is anyone who is offended by the conversations of Christ, I can’t help it; for the one who speaks in this story is not Christ, but my Christ —that is, the voice of my conscience."
NB: The works of Giovanni Guareschi are an old favorite in our family. My Dad became a fan of "The Little World" when he was a new convert in the '50s, a young man living in the aftermath of WWII and the start of the Cold War. Many things about these stories resonated for him. On a political level, it was timely as the world was only just discovering the dangers Our Lady of Fatima pointed out to us concerning the errors that would be spread by Russia, and my Dad, as a sailor in the Navy, had visited Italy and had seen, firsthand, the effect of Communism on the country. On a personal level, as a convert just discovering the culture -- the psyche, you might call it -- of the Catholic Faith, I believe these manly, human stories that followed the peccadillos, disagreements -- and unlikely friendship -- between a Catholic priest and a Communist mayor, had to have spoken to my Dad's sensibilities, as well. Guareschi weaves into his tales a good microcosm of the human condition that transcends politics and finds its home in Faith -- in a way that sometimes defies reason and expectation -- as it often does in real life. And... honestly, the antics of Don Camillo and Peppone are just funny. My Dad had a great sense of humor!
Anyway, to make a long story short, at my father's suggestion, I read The Little World at some point before I was twelve years old -- and with every subsequent reading over the last fifty years or so, I've appreciated the stories ever more. Peppone and Don Camillo very often end up with "black eyes," but Our Lord and His Church -- and the people of the Po Valley -- always come out ahead. And the reader is not only vastly entertained, but almost always puts the book down with some pondersome truths to take away with him. When this selection came up in the CMD Sisters' collection, it was a pleasure to spin up a Study Guide.
Printables
Find the PDF version of The Text with notes here.
The Text for reading is here.
The Study Guide is here.
The Teachers' Notes are here.
The Answer Key is here.
No comments:
Post a Comment