Mother Theresa
A saint in her own time
The sample of Mother Teresa's writing that is analyzed here is from March of 1953, and was written just a month before taking her final vows. The order of "Missionaries of Charity" were founded by her just 3 years prior to this writing, and her work with the poor and destitute of Calcutta began in 1948, when the Catholic Church gave her permission to leave her convent to work among the poorest areas of the city.
One only needs to glance at the handwriting of Mother Teresa to see the quiet, modest nature of the woman. Her writing is small and well formed with good letter and line spacing. All of which indicate a well balanced, unassuming individual with strong powers of concentration. As the continuity of her writing and the well balanced lines and spaces demonstrate, she had good continuity of thought, and solid organizational skills. Through these skills, she was able to lay the foundation for the religious order known as the "Missionaries of Charity" in Calcutta India.
Mother Teresa may have been diminutive in size, and shy of personality, but this sample shows that when she wanted something done, she found a way for it to be done. The angular connections in her writing show her to have been analytical in her thinking. She was able to analyze any situation or problem that would arise, and come up with a solution. The tented T and some tented lower loops give indications that she was adamant and quite stubborn in her beliefs. When she felt strongly about a particular issue, she would maintain her stand and not budge an inch. In fact, having both angles and arcades in her writing reveals that she was quite inflexible as she herself was quite a perfectionist, and to her there was no other way to be. At times she could even be a bit critical. Openness and honesty is seen in her communications by the round, clear A's and O's, known as communication letters. She would be quite frank and say what was on her mind. With Mother Teresa, there was no question of where one stood. Never duplicitous, always honest and straight forward.
Doggedly persistent in her pursuits, she had energy and enthusiasm to spare in fulfilling her mission. The persistence in her writing is shown in the end of word T's that instead of being crossed with a line across the stem, the stroke swings back up and out and in the F's that "tie like a bow in the middle". At the time of this writing, she showed the desire for responsibility in the large reverse loop at the beginning of some capital letters, that aided so well in continuing her work. Mother Teresa was a fast writer which tells me she was a fast thinker, able to think on her feet. She was able to analyze situations and make decisions expeditiously. Her strokes are firm, and the endings are solid, indicating a decisive manner. Angles are "V" shaped connections found in the letters M and N, and sometimes between other letters. Arcades are the inverted, shallow "cup like" formations sometimes found connecting the tops of lower case letters. In Mother Teresa's writing, there are both. And having both the angles of analytical thinking and some arcaded connections, along with her persistence and her stubbornness, at this time in her life, her writing shows her to have been very ambitious for her cause.
The margins of her page appear to be narrower on the right side than on the left. Since left means past and what is behind you, and right means future and what is ahead of you, it appears that Mother Teresa was always forward looking. As I look at the sample, I see that many of her lines of writing slant slightly upward telling us that she was optimistic. She combined optimism with direction and even in the face of such overwhelming devastation, she would persistently continue her path with renewed energy. She rarely if ever looked back, but to the future and what she could do tomorrow to help her beloved people.
Quiet though she was, this sample shows Mother Teresa to have P's with a beginning stroke that is higher than the rounded buckle, and combining this with her stubbornness and persistence, there unfolds a personality that is quite opinionated, and well able to handle herself in a good debate. In fact, she probably enjoyed the give and take of an intelligent argument now and then. She was very able to make her point, and make sure it was felt and understood.
Mother Teresa made herself available to people. Although she was one to hold back on her own personal feelings as seen in the wide spaces between words, she was warm and approachable. The slightly rightward slant, and the moderate line spacing attest to the fact that she was indeed touchable by those in need. She was warm and sympathetic by nature, but no matter how devastating her surroundings and how profoundly heartbreaking her "patients" were, with the slant of her writing being only slightly rightward, and almost upright, she was always able to keep her head about her and make whatever decisions were necessary keeping the highest good of all in mind. Mother Teresa did not react to her surroundings, instead, she was pro-active, keeping her emotions under control while taking action to effect change in what was to become her life's work. Mother Teresa usually crossed her T's very high upon the stem, indicating very high goals, and sometimes even above the stem which shows her to have been at times a visionary. She was able to make her visions a reality while enrolling many, many others along the way. Her personal goals were very high at the time of this writing, and as we can see from what that one little saintly nun managed to do, achieve them she did.
Biography of Mother Theresa (1910-1997)
Background:
Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born in Skopje, Yugoslavia in 1910 and joined a religious order at the age of 28. For almost the next 70 years she would devote her time to those who most people ignore. The irony of her life's work could be the world wide attention that grew from her selfless acts, when, in fact, she devoted herself to helping the poor and dying because she saw it as God's work and nothing more.
The world saw it differently. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 after Pope John XXIII gave her the peace prize in 1971 and India's Jawaharlal Nehru bestowed the international understanding award in 1972. The "Saint of the Gutters" had moved her sphere of influence far beyond the gutters of Calcutta, India.
Mother Teresa took that name after joining the religious order which became her life. She was sent to India and began a teaching career. The Catholic Church granted her a leave from the convent in 1948 so she could work among the poor and dying in the most disadvantaged areas of Calcutta. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 to provide food for the needy and to operate hospitals, schools, orphanages, youth centers, and shelters for lepers and the dying poor. Today there are branches in over 50 Indian cities and more than 30 other countries.
Mother Teresa's original mission, called Nirmal Hriday meaning "the place of the pure heart", has seen over 65,000 people in the last 30 years and few have left alive. She truly believed that human beings should be treated as such even though dying destitute and terribly ill. This saint allowed them to die with dignity and love from other humans. "Heaven is found by serving the lowliest" is how Mother Teresa lived her life.
When asked who would take her place at the Missionaries of Charity, she replied, "the world will understand that it is not my work. It is God's. It will go on".
Guest Analyst: Trudy Edlebeck
Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was born in Skopje, Yugoslavia in 1910 and joined a religious order at the age of 28. For almost the next 70 years she would devote her time to those who most people ignore. The irony of her life's work could be the world wide attention that grew from her selfless acts, when, in fact, she devoted herself to helping the poor and dying because she saw it as God's work and nothing more.
The world saw it differently. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 after Pope John XXIII gave her the peace prize in 1971 and India's Jawaharlal Nehru bestowed the international understanding award in 1972. The "Saint of the Gutters" had moved her sphere of influence far beyond the gutters of Calcutta, India.
Mother Teresa took that name after joining the religious order which became her life. She was sent to India and began a teaching career. The Catholic Church granted her a leave from the convent in 1948 so she could work among the poor and dying in the most disadvantaged areas of Calcutta. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 to provide food for the needy and to operate hospitals, schools, orphanages, youth centers, and shelters for lepers and the dying poor. Today there are branches in over 50 Indian cities and more than 30 other countries.
Mother Teresa's original mission, called Nirmal Hriday meaning "the place of the pure heart", has seen over 65,000 people in the last 30 years and few have left alive. She truly believed that human beings should be treated as such even though dying destitute and terribly ill. This saint allowed them to die with dignity and love from other humans. "Heaven is found by serving the lowliest" is how Mother Teresa lived her life.
When asked who would take her place at the Missionaries of Charity, she replied, "the world will understand that it is not my work. It is God's. It will go on".
Guest Analyst: Trudy Edlebeck
