1. A) Villeroi uses the story of Blanche as a way of showing grace and human nature. It was by grace that Blanche got to know more about God. She survived being guillotined with other nuns and that is by the grace of God. Human nature pushed to Blanche to question whether God truly exists.
B) It is during the French revolution that Villeroi learns of Blanche’s Story. Villeroi gets to know of the details after the passing of Mother superior. She dies in great agony and leaves Blanche in the care of Mother Marie.
2. A) The fireworks catastrophe is when the Mother Superior shouts in front of Blanche in agony. She continues to accuse God whom she has served her whole life of leaving her to die in such pain. This startles Blanche and Mother Marie. The Mother Superior’s shouting and accusation to God is what startles them.
B) Blanche’s mother is suffering from an agonizingly painful disease. It is this disease that sends her to her death bed. Her last words are in fact shouting in pain. She shouts that despite the long years serving God, He chose to abandon her. This leaves Mother Marie and Blanche in awe.
3. Blanche begins to view the world in a different angle. She becomes very fearful and sees death coming her way from every angle. Sister Constance adds to this by telling her of the dream that she will die young.
4. A) Blanche’s father believed that it was the unrest in the outside world that caused Blanche to fear it so much. Thus he sent her to a covenant.
B) However after sending her to the convent, he does not hold the belief that his daughter is safe, thus seeks that she runs away from the convent.
5. He was supportive of the idea as he believed it to be the only safe place. He also thought that the convent would give her peace.
6. A) Madam Chalais teaches Blanche that at times martyrdom may be wrong. She gave an example of one receiving a wrong coat in a cloakroom.
B) When all the nuns die except for Blanche and Sister Marie. Does it mean that they all die by mistake?
7. Religious names are given so that the person given the name gets to change or understand the deeper meaning of Christ.
8. A) Mother Teresa’s role is to be the new prioress. She has the duty to help those in need.
B) Though Sister Marie wanted to help the sick, she had acquired Tuberculosis and asthma and thus could not do her duty effectively.
9. The priest announces that he has been disallowed from preaching and the political unrest grows the fear in Blanche.
10. A) This is a song sung by the French who support French monarchy. The song is a sarcastic song of the fate of Queen Marie.
B) The song reminds Blanche of the nuns who were killed in the name of their religious views.
11. A) A globus cruciger in which is held in the hand of baby Jesus. The statute is also wax coated.
B) The convent continues to give to those who are in need. An act that would be as good as that of the infant King.
12. A) When Jesus was born; he became the infant king whereby, he forgave all his enemies from the time he was born. Thus it would be wrong not to forgive others when wrong doing is done unto us.
B) Blanche realized that Jesus’ suffering was not in vain rather it was for the sake of all the children of the world that he loved so much.
13. A) It is after the Death of Mother Superior, when the nuns are made to vow to martyrdom. They however are not to volunteer to be martyrs.
B) Mother Teresa considers giving her life voluntarily to God. However she changes her mind as she goes to seek out Blanche who has escaped to her father’s place.
14. Blanche was named “Jesus in the Garden of Agony”. By this Blanche was able to experience the way Jesus had felt. It is through this unending knowledge on Christ’s suffering that she got over her fear of death.
15. A) Madam de Chalais was involved in a terror experience in her past. It was this crisis that leads her into denial. The madam however put on a face for the public to see whereas she was crying inside.
B) The madam falls into self denial. She does not come to terms with what she had gone through in the past couple of months. Though she had been bestowed quite a number of awards, she still had a lot in her mind. She died later on as a respected figure with unresolved issues.
16. The life of Blanche with the September Mothers is in constant fear. She fears getting killed like Mother Marie.
17. She hears rumors of an attack on the convent in which she has just gone to. The fear of death makes her run away before the attack and thus is able to escape death
18. A) Blanches takes off at a tremendous speed. She is fearful of being caught and decides to hide away at a convent.
B) The spiritual name given to Blanche causes her fear to end. She has a different view of the world. Her fear turns into courage.
19. A) Blanche is able to stop in her fear of death. She sees that martyrdom is not a thing to be feared but one that is an honor.
B) At the beginning Sister Marie anticipates to be a martyr. She wonders when she will ever be a martyr. She however changes her mind later on. She views martyrdom as a sacrifice that a Christian has to take.
20. At the end of the story, the Infant statute stops to be used in courts. Though it still remains a core of the Catholic Church.
