"The problem with this book isn’t just that it is violent and sexual,
although that is cause for alarm given its intended age group. The
problem is that these stories praised women for being meek and mild and
virtuous, and doing nothing to save their own lives in the face of
persecution. They taught me something very specific about female
heroism, which is that a good woman, a woman who stands by her beliefs,
is a woman in pain. The best thing for a woman to be is a victim, for
that is true virtue."
(...) "It’s natural to seek voices for our pain, and images to match. But pain
isn’t a condition to which you should aspire. Pain isn’t glamorous, or
deep, or special, or interesting. Pain is usually a sign that something
is wrong, and if it’s fixable, you need to fix it. And any book that
tells you otherwise is suspect. Such stories of female martyrs lead us
astray—they’re a sly and sneaky way to prevent women from ever really
standing up for themselves."
(...) "Of course, these are old stories, and they come from a time when women
didn’t have a lot of options. But we had more in 1962, when Father
Lawrence published his own interpretations. We had more in the ’90s,
when this book was apparently still considered an appropriate gift to
give a small child. And we have a lot more now, when I still see Picture Book of Saints on people’s bookshelves. Maybe it’s time to tell little girls different kinds of stories."
Literally the Worst Thing Ever : Picture Book of Saints
