Le Triomphe De L’Humilité: Thérèse of Lisieux and “La Nouvelle Jeanne”

Abstract

The writings of Thérèse Martin (1873–97), known to the world as Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, reflect Joan of Arc’s popularity as a symbol of royalist Catholic France among the pious and politically conservative of the Third Republic.¹ Yet for Thérèse, the youthful Joan, who had yet to be canonized, provided a personal model of female sanctity both to emulate and against which to define and measure the efficacy of the hidden life of Carmel in the modern world. Thérèse s representations of Joan in her creative writings thus help us comprehend the evolution of Thérèses own distinctive contribution to modern Catholic spirituality, known as her “little way.”