The princess and the pauper
Comparing two of the 20th century’s best
WILLIAM D. GOULD
There is a certain portion of the population whose opinions and views are marked only by what they allow themselves to see through the media. As a result, and particularly in the Western world, we miss things that we should not afford to miss. The history of the 20th century was bloody and tense, marked by two World Wars, a great depression and the evil empire of communism. Yet, even in man’s darkest hour, heroes of the century emerged: Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Roosevelt, Elizabeth II, Martin Luther King, Lester Pearson, Ronald Regan, John Paul the Great and finally, two interesting women for very different reasons: Princess Diana of Wales and blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
While much has been written and said about these two women, their lives in themselves are an epic contrast. Princess Diana was one of the most followed women of the nineties. Why was this so? There seems to be some inherent value that the Western media places on the lives of beautiful rich women. One need only watch Entertainment Tonight to see such examples daily. Perhaps understandably so, for what woman, or even man for that matter, would not want to be rich or attractive? Such logic defies many imaginations. No wonder there is such interest in celebrities by many individuals. These celebrities appear to live the viewer’s dream life. For many, Princess Diana appeared to be such a person that fulfilled such a fantasy.
Diana’s life seems to play out as a tragic fairy tale.
Perhaps it is because of our inner optimistic nature that we adore happy endings, and perhaps it is because of the reality of our world that we are drawn to tragedy.
Diana’s life was not ordinary, for many it was a story within itself. A common girl, as she was often portrayed, falling in love with “Prince Charming,” divorcing, jet setting, charitable works — to many she lived the ideal life. Yet she admittedly suffered from depression and even an eating disorder. Her ending was short and bloody, thus cementing her place forever in the hearts of many.
What about that other lady, the oft-forgotten one, of the slums of India? There is perhaps no greater contrast to the life of Diana than that of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, commonly and affectionately known as Mother Teresa. She hardly lived a life of common dreams, but extraordinary ones, a life worth imitating; in other words, a saint. Few people are willing to drop all their possessions and sacrifice their lives to live with the poor, or beyond that, to the poorest of the poor. There are only a few individuals who have personified Christian charity like Mother Teresa did. Oddly enough, there were many individuals particularly in the Western world who were extremely uncomfortable with the message this Albanian nun proclaimed. Only recently have we been given a view into the deeper and more profound views of this nun who many viewed mistakenly as fanatically linear.
Through Mother Teresa’s example, people were inspired to follow her and expand her religious order. Today that legacy lives on as the order serves the poorest of the poor around the world, regardless of their health, creed or spiritual beliefs. Even in Winnipeg, the order serves the needs of the poor. To imagine that a small nun tending the poor of Calcutta would help to spread Christian charity worldwide to so many individuals is barely believable. She opened one of the first AIDS clinics in the world, long before the cause became accepted or popularized. Ironically, it was her beliefs in Christ that compelled her to seek out the downtrodden, forgotten and lost that so much of the world could not accept.
A large portion of the population accepted the work of Diana and her lifestyle, because there was no truth or faith in it. Mother Teresa took a bolder stand, for her to see the face of Christ in all stages of life and care for it was not a popular decision, it is still not popular in the West. For her to strongly proclaim her faith and ask the West to change many of its ways did not sit well with many. The world on the whole admired her work but was uncomfortable with the demands of faith that went along with it — a faith that called its followers to action. That is not to say that Mother Teresa had no doubts nor felt no darkness, she did, as her diaries reveal, question the existence of God. Yet, such is a sign of her deep faith and trust in a God for many years she could not see nor feel. For many in the West, such a faith is inexplicable, and to many, sadly abominable. Yet, to many more it is inspiring and life saving. Such is the contrast of Diana and Teresa. The world could easily relate with the one but hardly the other. If such is the condition of the population, then what is the condition of the world?
William D. Gould is currently a second-year student at the University of Winnipeg.
