Lily stays
sitting. “Frances. What if Ambrose is the Devil?” “He’s not the Devil. I know
who the Devil is and it isn’t Ambrose.” “Who’s the Devil?” Frances crouches
down as if she were talking to Trixie. “That’s something I’ll never tell you,
Lily, no matter how old you get to be, because the Devil is shy. It makes him
angry when someone recognizes him, so once they do the Devil gets after them.
And I don’t want the Devil to get after you.” “Is the Devil after you?” “Yes.”
~ Fall
on Your Knees; Ann-Marie MacDonald
Every life that has ever been lived has had a
companion that travels along the path unseen; wanted or unwanted. Fall on Your Knees
by Canadian playwright Ann-Marie MacDonald is not for the faint of heart, nor
the casual reader. The story takes the reader into depths of humanity that are
smothering and dark, yet in perfect harmony lifts them into the light once
again.
The irony of the story about the Piper family is
that it begins in the late 1890s and ends in the fullness of the Industrial Age
of the 20s. Yet, it could take place in all its glory even today with events
surrounding child marriage, racism, religiosity, family secrets, forbidden
love, and a host of others in this 500+ page compilation of the human experience.
The book is filled with literal metaphors, as well
as figurative. As we delve into the lives of the three Piper sisters, and how
all things came to be in the end, we discover that the devil is in the details.
Over the years of my life, I have seen the devil on
more than one occasion. As a child I watched him prattle on at the end of the
tongues of many a gossip, encouraging others to believe the lies he portrayed
as truth. Ah yes, the devil has made liars of many a man and woman. I have seen
him revel in the throes of rage between two races that clash time and time
again. He is still reveling in this today. I have seen his haughtiness in the
eyes of an addict. Look deep into the soulless depths of a far-gone addict’s
eyes and there you will see him triumphant. I have borne witness to the hopelessness
of a child who stands along with its parent at the corners of Hunger and Want.
There is nothing greater to disparage the soul of a parent than to feel as
though you have failed innocence.
“We are not
human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a
human experience.” ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
In Fall on Your
Knees, the idea of a physical devil lurking somewhere in the mists of Cape
Breton, or perhaps trolling along with Kathleen in New York City is an ever
present, yet indiscernible theme.
The only question left with the reader at the end
of this story is “Who is the devil?” Hint: It’s a figurative question.
Through literature we learn to live, to love, and to conquer!
