''The Song at the Scaffold'' () is a 1931 novella by the German writer

Gertrud von Le Fort Baroness Gertrud von Le Fort (born Gertrud Auguste Lina Elsbeth Mathilde Petrea Freiin von Le Fort; 11 October 1876 – 1 November 1971) was a German writer. Life Le Fort was born in Minden, in the former Province of Westphalia, then the Kin ...

Description

It is set during the French Revolution and is written as a letter from an exiled French nobleman who recounts what he has seen in France. The story focuses on a fictional noblewoman, Blanche de la Force, who sympathises with the

martyrs of Compiègne The Martyrs of Compiègne were the 16 members of the Carmel of Compiègne, France: 11 Discalced Carmelite nuns, three lay sisters, and two externs (or tertiaries). They were executed by the guillotine towards the end of the Reign of Terror, at ...

—a group of

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

nuns—as they are brought to the scaffold by the revolutionaries. It is a Catholic novella that portrays the loss of Christian ideals as the reason for a society's turn to madness. It became particularly popular among Christian existentialists due to its subject of fear. The ''Encyclopedia of Catholic Literature'' associates its themes with an appeal to call on God in times of fear, the prayer during Catholic mass for Jesus to protect the faithful from anxiety, divine grace as a mystery during adversity, and Psalm 4, verse 1: "thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress". The novella was the basis for the 1949 play ''The Song at the Scaffold'' by

Emmet Lavery Emmet Godfrey Lavery (November 8, 1902 – January 1, 1986) was an American playwright and screenwriter. Born in Poughkeepsie, Lavery trained as a lawyer, before devoting his career to the theatre and to film. He wrote the English libretto for ...

. It was the basis for ''The Carmelites'' by

Georges Bernanos Louis Émile Clément Georges Bernanos (; 20 February 1888 – 5 July 1948) was a French author, and a soldier in World War I. A Catholic with monarchist leanings, he was critical of elitist thought and was opposed to what he identified as d ...

, originally written as a film screenplay in 1948 but performed as a play. Bernanos' version was adapted into the 1956 opera ''

Dialogues of the Carmelites ' (, ''Dialogues of the Carmelites''), FP 159, is an opera in three acts, divided into twelve scenes with linking orchestral interludes, with music and libretto by Francis Poulenc, completed in 1956. Poulenc wrote the libretto for his second ...

'' by

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...

and the 1960 film ''

Dialogue of the Carmelites ''Dialogue with the Carmelites'' (, , also known as ''The Carmelites'') is a 1960 French-Italian historical drama film written and directed by Raymond Léopold Bruckberger and Philippe Agostini and starring Jeanne Moreau, Alida Valli, Madeleine ...

'' directed by

Raymond Léopold Bruckberger Raymond Léopold Bruckberger (; 10 April 1907, in Murat, Cantal – 4 January 1998, in Fribourg), was a French Dominican priest, Résistance member, writer, translator, screenwriter and director of Austrian heritage. He was elected member o ...

and

Philippe Agostini Philippe Agostini was a French cinematographer, director and screenwriter born 11 August 1910 in Paris (France), died 20 October 2001. He was married to Odette Joyeux until the end of her life. Biography Founder of École Louis-Lumière (sit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Song at the Scaffold 1931 German novels German novellas Fiction set in 1794 Novels set in the French Revolution Novels about nuns Catholic novels German novels adapted into plays German novels adapted into operas German novels adapted into films Epistolary novels Works about capital punishment