"Love is Stronger than Death"

Review of The Submerged Cathedral, Charlotte Wood, by Kara Martin

Australian author Charlotte Wood has written just three novels in ten years, following a career as a journalist. Her books tend to have strong biographical elements, and The Submerged Cathedral is based on the love story of her parents. Her parents met on a boat sailing from England: her Mum was a florist starting a new life in Australia, and her Dad was coming out to join a Cistercian Monastery. They fell in love, but John Wood decided to continue with his vocation, at least for a year. Charlotte's Mother was dissatisfied with the plain letters she received, and travelled across Australia to visit him. The next day he asked her to marry him and left the Order!


There are elements of her parents' story in this novel but almost in reverse. Jocelyn and Martin meet and fall in love, and are living together when Jocelyn's elder sister unexpectedly turns up having left her husband in England. Ellen has a young daughter and is pregnant. Jocelyn agrees to Ellen's demands to be cared for, and is forced increasingly further apart from Martin. Eventually he leaves in grief and joins a monastery.


The theme of the book is from Song of Songs: "See me as a seal on your heart, for love is stronger than death." In fact Jocelyn has competing loves: for Martin, for Ellen her sister, for Ellen's troubled daughter Cassandra. Martin looks for the love of God after having his heart broken for Jocelyn. Ultimately they are looking for something that is passionate and fulfilling. The resolution of the story is an affirmation of romantic love.


Charlotte's writing mentor described the book as paradise and exile with Ellen as the snake! Creation is a really significant motif in the book. As is nature, with the bush used as a metaphor for the wild and passionate love that Jocelyn and Martin initially enjoy. When they are separated Jocelyn becomes a landscape architect, taming nature and designing beautiful gardens. In a way this is a metaphor for the need to harness the energy of love. Ultimately love is only seen as useful when it is fruitful. So, Ellen is demanding and manipulating and destroys those around her; whereas Martin and Jocelyn's love is creative and freeing.


The Submerged Cathedral is very rich in symbolism. Alongside the Creation narrative, and nature, there is the image of a lost child that comes from a newspaper story and is weaved in and out of the story. Another potent symbol is water as baptismal and healing. Martin's prayers are described as "like swimming in green water". There are also strong elements of sacrifice and rebirth, and spiritual calling.


There is much to love about this book: the richness of the imagery, the honest exploration of human relationships... There are some frustrations as well. Marriage is portrayed very negatively in the book; and the sense of spiritual calling that Martin has is never fully examined. For him it is a running away from rather than a running to. However the strength of the book is that it raises such a variety of significant questions. I strongly recommend it.



KARA MARTIN is a lecturer with Macquarie Christian Studies Institute and is an avid reader and book group attendee. Kara does fiction reviews for Heart 1032's Open House.