Summary of Karen Armstrong's The Spiral Staircase

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The college bell was not the voice of God, but simply a convenience. It was not inviting me to a meeting with God. God was no longer calling me to anything. The smallest, most mundane job had had sacred significance last year, but now all that was over.

#2 I was late for dinner at the convent, and when I pushed open the heavy glass door, I was greeted by a riot of color and exuberant laughter. Instead of the monochrome convent scene I had been imagining, there was a cheerful profanity.

#3 I opened my first attempt to tell the story of my return to secular life by explaining that I had no sense of boundless opportunity. I felt sad and regretful, and I was constantly wracked by a great regret.

#4 The students at the table were my friends, and they had been wonderful to me. They had helped me buy my first secular clothes, and they had escorted me to dinner my first public appearance as a defrocked nun. But they were probably wary of prying too closely into the reasons for my decision.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jun 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822527478

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Insights on Karen Armstrong's The Spiral Staircase

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The college bell was not the voice of God, but simply a convenience. It was not inviting me to a meeting with God. God was no longer calling me to anything. The smallest, most mundane job had had sacred significance last year, but now all that was over.

#2

I was late for dinner at the convent, and when I pushed open the heavy glass door, I was greeted by a riot of color and exuberant laughter. Instead of the monochrome convent scene I had been imagining, there was a cheerful profanity.

#3

I opened my first attempt to tell the story of my return to secular life by explaining that I had no sense of boundless opportunity. I felt sad and regretful, and I was constantly wracked by a great regret.

#4

The students at the table were my friends, and they had been wonderful to me. They had helped me buy my first secular clothes, and they had escorted me to dinner my first public appearance as a defrocked nun. But they were probably wary of prying too closely into the reasons for my decision.

#5

I did not speak about my old life to anyone, and people assumed that I had simply put the past behind me. But I knew that I had not left the convent because I had to do public penance, but because I had failed to find God.

#6

I began to realize that the world had changed while I was in training. I had been raised in a convent, where we were taught to be obedient and submissive, but these young people seemed openly rebellious. They even took part in demonstrations.

#7

I entered the secular world completely ignorant of the problems of our time, and because I lacked basic information, I could not make head or tail of the newspapers. I needed a crash course in the current political scene, but this was not available.

#8

I found myself drawn into the climate of protest at my college. I had been approached the previous term and asked if I would let my name go forward as a candidate in the forthcoming elections for the Junior Common Room committee. I had been reluctant, but my supporters were insistent.

#9

I had to participate in student politics, and I was drawn into the debate about whether or not