In C.S. Lewis’ classic epistolary novel The Screwtape Letters, Screwtape is a senior demon teaching Wormwood, a younger demon, the art of temptation. In The Bellbind Letters: Inside the Devil’s Plan for Your Motherhood, Samantha Stephenson takes that format and centers the instruction on how the devil, referred to as “Our Father Below,” wants to keep mothers from following God, a.k.a. “The Enemy.” According to Stephenson, “this book seeks to emulate Lewis’s rhetorical brilliance in order to highlight the temptations Christian mothers face on the road to sanctity.”
This is an extremely well-written book that sheds light on the many temptations mothers face in their everyday lives. It is entertaining to read but also forces mothers to look at their own faults and failings, which is never a pleasant experience. It is meant to be an uncomfortable book, a literary examination of conscience, designed to have you running to the Lord for mercy and forgiveness.
Stephenson acknowledges that it can be difficult to have our weaknesses exposed and encourages mothers to “resist the urge to accuse or despair.” Rather, we should “surrender all our broken pieces to the tender mercy of Christ the healer, who makes all things new.” This is true, but it is much easier said than done, and as I read the letters in this book, I couldn’t help but feel discouraged, which I suppose simply illustrates the point that the devil is at work in my life.
The letters cover a wide variety of topics and situations that a mother might face. Prayer, screen use, rest, consumerism, vanity, friendship, attending Mass, dealing with the challenges of pregnancy, the pain of miscarriage, loving one’s husband, taking care of a home, devotion to Mary and the saints, caring for children, and anxiety are some of the topics covered. In most cases, Boomslang encourages Bellbind to get the mother to follow something other than a middle virtuous path, to veer to one extreme or the other.
For example, when it comes to caring for one’s appearance, there is the temptation to put too much emphasis on it, but there is also the temptation not to care about it at all. When it comes to rest, mothers should not feel that they are so important that they can’t leave their families to take time for themselves, but on the other hand, taking too much time away is wrong. When parenting one’s children, one can be either too strict or too permissive. One can either reject the inherent gifts of femininity or embrace them so much that one looks down on those who don’t live up to feminine ideals. One can devote oneself to being a mother to the exclusion of everything else or not spend enough time and energy on motherhood.
The Bellbind Letters is a worthwhile Lenten read. While you read, you can reflect on your life and the ways you struggle as a wife and mother. It can help you recognize how the devil may be tempting you away from the holy path. You may wish to keep a list of sins to bring to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. There is a discussion guide in the appendix, and Stephenson offers an additional letter and study guide at https://www.snstephenson.com/bellbind.
