Post date: Jan 29, 2015 2:14:28 PM
Like many of the authors Rachel loved, Rachel's genius now lives on in print.
Rachel's article, "The Devils of Cultural Conflict in Louise Erdrich's"Saint Marie," was published in Explorations (The Journal ofUndergraduate Research and Creative Activities for the State of NorthCarolina), Volume IX 2014, pp.53-58.
"Saint Marie," by Louise Erdrich, is a short story in which a young girl named Marie recounts the story of the day she climbed the hill to the convent to become a nun. Her tortured journey ends with Marie achieving a kind of sainthood.
Rachel argues that Marie's mixed Chippewa-European decent elucidates the conflict between Anglo-American and Native American cultures. Being situated between the two worlds allows Marie to intermingle and share iconography and folklore from both cultures, such as sainthood and Wendigo possession. These pieces lend credence to Rachel's argument that the story reflects the conflict between the two cultures, especially in light of Marie's treatment at the hands of sadistic Sister Leopolda.
We are very proud of Rachel's work.