Work in Progress 3: Inspired by Catherine of Alexandria

Following the Spiritual and Temporal leader archetype journey, I struggled a bit to find the next step in developing a character. I thought of various spiritual leaders in fiction and real life: Mother Theresa, Buddha, Avatar Aang, etc. Then I thought of Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw, which lead to me looking into Joan of Arc, a figure that has been written into many dramatic works by Shaw, Caryl Churchill, and others. Reading about Joan of Arc, my interest was peaked by the two female saints that she reported visiting her: Saint Margaret and Saint Catherine. Now I wasn’t raised Catholic, I was hardly raised with any religion, but I did a stint in church choir and watched Veggie Tales so I know the main stories.

I started doing my research into the hagiography of various “virgin” saints, the women who were canonized into sainthood. Though I like Joan of Arc, Saint Catherine really stood out to me. The story goes that she was the daughter of the governor of Alexandria in the fourth century. She became a Christian at the age of 14 and defied the rule of Emperor Maxentius who put her on trial. She argued with 50 pagan scholars and won every argument, and even converted some to Christianity. Then when she was thrown in prison she was visited by 200 people, including the Emperor’s wife, and all came away converted. Unfortunately, all the people she converted were executed by the Emperor. She was tortured, but every wound she suffered was healed overnight and every torch that attempted to burn her went out. A dove from the heavens was said to bring her food so she wouldn’t starve. When she was eventually executed it was said she ordered the execution and she bled a white, milky substance when she was beheaded.

Catherine’s story is the one I’m drawing on for the Spiritual and Temporal Leader Archetype. I’m sharing some of the works of art that feature her.