God. Firstly, Pilar and her lover are introduced to the veneration of Virgin Mary. Then, reflecting total surrender from Mother Mary as the model of faith becomes
the second layer in understanding the feminine side of God. The third layer, Pilar and her lover learn the link between Mother Mary and The Divine. Further, the
writer applies the characterization of Pilar and her lover to reveal the feminine side of God.
1. The Veneration Of Virgin Mary
Venerating Virgin Mary becomes important part of Catholic devotion. It is stated in the theoretical review that through Mother Mary, Catholics learn the
meaning of total surrender. By knowing Mother Mary, Catholics are taught to develop their faith to God and Mother Mary is an example of the ideal Catholics
life Brantl, 1962: 74. Here, the writer positions veneration of Virgin Mary as the
first layer to learn the feminine side of God. a.
Pilar
Mother Mary is known as an example of the ideal Catholics life. The reas
on Mother Mary called as the example of the ideal Catholics‟ life because her way to surrender her whole life to God. Although Catholics are taught to work
and pray for being a better person, Catholics are also taught to surrender their life to God.
In this novel Pilar is described as a nurturing and compassionate person. The characterization of Pilar shows that she has a willingness to learn how to be
an ideal Catholics. It is begun when Pilar has a willingness to pray. Pilar‟s prayer
means that she recommences her relation to God. During her prayer, she finds the
path of faith which makes her experiences the appearance of Mother Mary. It is stated as follows.
For the first time since I had abandoned the path of faith, I felt a strong desire to pray. Although I was seated in a pew. My soul was kneeling at
the feet of the Lady before me, the woman who had said, “Yes,” when She could have said “no.” The angel would have sought out someone else, and
there would have been no sin in the eyes of the Lord, because God knows His children‟s weakness. Coelho, 1994: 85
Pilar‟s prayer becomes a sign that she starts to know Mother Mary. The situation of the above quotation pictures that Pilar is in the church and she prays in front of
Mother Mary‟s statue, she does not only see the existence of the statue, but she also feels the existance of Mother Mary who lives in her heart and communicates
with her. Pilar cares to herself and tries to open her heart and mind that she has a great help to find her way.
After Pilar recovers her faith and knows about Mother Mary, she tries to learn something that encourages her faith from Mother Mary. Pilar‟s way to
venerate Mother Mary can also be seen when she says “may the Immaculate Conception teach me to love as She loves” Coelho, 1994 :104. It means that
Pilar venerates Mother Mary based on her experience in meeting Mother Mary in her prayer. She believes that Mother Mary leads her in her life.
Pilar‟s experience in meeting Mother Mary shows that she is a nurturing woman, she cares to herself
that she realizes Mother Mary loves her through her prayer. In the previous analysis, the writer states that Pilar is a nurturing woman.
To venerate Virgin Mary, loyalty is needed in order to describe that to be an ideal Catholic is not easy. Mother Mary shows that although she faces a difficult time,
she still has a faith in God. Here, Pilar reveals that after she finds her faith, she has
