Evelyn Waugh
Helena (1950)
Author: Evelyn Waugh
Genre: Historical/Christian
Plot Summary:
This is the fictionalized story of St. Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine and the discoverer of the true cross at Golgotha. The novel opens in Roman Britain, where Helena, daughter of a powerful chieftain, is being educated in the classics. Books, however, are not enough for Helena. She longs to actually see Rome and Athens, to stand in the cities of history and legend. She even vows to discover the sight of Troy and excavate it herself. Her hopes are all disappointed. Despite her unexpected marriage to one of the most ambitious men in the empire, Helena finds herself stuck in the provinces, an uninvolved bystander at Rome's decline, a mere witness to histrionic political and religious upheaval. It is not until her seventies, long after her son is declared emperor and the conversion of the empire already underway, that she finds a purpose in life. She sets herself the task of discovering physical evidence of Christ's life. Her goal is to prove, as much to herself as anyone else, that christianity has a source in reality, that it is more authentic than the merely fantastical beliefs of the cult of Mithra or the other late Roman sects she has watched grow and deteriorate over the course of her life. SPOILER: Helena has visions that lead her to the site of the crucifixion.
Geographical Setting:Roman Empire: Britain, Dalmatia, Rome & Jerusalem
Time Period: 3rd & 4th centuries A.D.
Appeal Characteristics:
Waugh's writing style is the dominant characteristic of this novel. It is beautifully literary throughout. His third person narrative has a knack for finding and then perfectly describing a revealing interior moment and occasionally elevates the novel's philosophical tone to the visionary: mists swirling about Helena's castle tower seem to lift her up to some heavenly plain, during a boring party she is transported to the wilds of Britain where she rides a horse, a prophetess bribed to denounce Helena is carried away to the jazz age but then returns to recite a poem about Napoleon. The characterization loses out to this poetic/philosophical bent. We learn a good deal about Helena, but most of the other characters seem invented simply to represent a particular idea, not a fully fleshed out person. Surprisingly, the setting does not lose out as much. Waugh spends some time letting ancient Britain, Rome, and Jerusalem play a role in Helena's slowly developing spiritual life. The pacing is slow, at times fittingly and at other times far too protracted. THis is because all the action of the novel takes place away from Waugh's focus. We do not see Constantine's accession to emperor, let alone the battle that got him there. We do not even witness Helena's conversion to christianity. What we do discover are the ideas that struggle through the characters' dialogues and thoughts.
Read-alikes: Anyone who was particularly drawn to the novel of ideas aspect in Helena, might enjoy Robert Graves King Jesus. It is a retelling of the gospel story with an unconventional emphasis on politics and sociology, and also features a finely drawn historical setting. Another book with a philosophical tone and attention to historical setting is Nikos Kazantzakis' St. Francis (sometimes published as God's Pauper: St. Francis of Assisi), a fictionalized account of the saint's life. The Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos, is also a slowly paced, thoughtful novel written in beautiful prose. It shares some important themes with Helena. It is about a young priest who finds God's particular path for him reluctantly. Even more reluctant to embrace his spiritual calling is Francis Marion Tarwater, the unlikely prophet and hero of Flannery O'Connor's The Violent Bear It Away. Unlike Waugh's novel, O'Connor manages to balance her heavy ideas, visionary excesses, and beautiful prose with a much quicker pace and a sense of humor. Another quicker paced novel with similar themes, a historical setting and a philosophical tone is Shusaku Endo's Silence, a novel about the hardships of Portuguese missionaries in feudal Japan.
Red Flags: There is a little violence, but not too graphic.
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