Alice and the Public’s Need for a Saint

Shrine

This flow traces how Alice’s real vulnerability is overtaken by the public image of a miracle worker and how that image contributes to the final tragedy.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Private Girl A Private Girl from "Shrine". A Child Before the Crowd Limited connections Alice spends much of her time alone, helping Molly and drawing.

A Private Girl from "Shrine". A Child Before the Crowd Limited connections Alice spends much of her time alone, helping Molly and drawing.

A Child Before the Crowd Limited connections Alice spends much of her time alone, helping Molly and drawing. Her silence makes her difficult for other children to approach, but she remains an ordinary child with preferences and fears. A familiar devotion Her attachment to the church and Mary provides a context for the first vision. Nothing at this stage suggests that the public will claim authority over her life.

A Miracle Worker Named A Miracle Worker Named from "Shrine". A Child Becomes a Title The press names her Newspaper headlines present Alice as a miracle worker after her recovery and the reported healings.

A Miracle Worker Named from "Shrine". A Child Becomes a Title The press names her Newspaper headlines present Alice as a miracle worker after her recovery and the reported healings.

A Child Becomes a Title The press names her Newspaper headlines present Alice as a miracle worker after her recovery and the reported healings. The label is memorable and easier to circulate than the uncertainties surrounding the events. Expectations harden Visitors begin to arrive hoping for cures or another apparition. Alice’s own account is increasingly filtered through journalists, officials, and pilgrims.

Protection Becomes Confinement

Safe but Restricted A controlled environment The Church and Alice’s mother keep her at the convent to protect her from reporters and crowds. Doctors and clergy question her while she longs to return to St. Joseph’s. A child’s wishes compete Adults discuss her welfare and public importance, but Alice’s own desire to attend Mass is difficult to accommodate. Protection begins to resemble control.

A Public Performance A Public Performance from "Shrine". Alice on the Altar The crowd expects more Thousands gather and treat Alice’s arrival as the central event.

A Public Performance from "Shrine". Alice on the Altar The crowd expects more Thousands gather and treat Alice’s arrival as the central event.

Alice on the Altar The crowd expects more Thousands gather and treat Alice’s arrival as the central event. Her levitation is interpreted as confirmation of the public image already created around her. Vulnerability exposed While adults watch in reverence, Wilkes approaches with a gun. The crowd’s collective attention leaves Alice exposed to the act that turns the supposed miracle into a massacre.

A Symbol Becomes a Horror A Symbol Becomes a Horror from "Shrine". The Image Cannot Hold A return interpreted as miracle Alice rises after gunfire, briefly appearing restored.

A Symbol Becomes a Horror from "Shrine". The Image Cannot Hold A return interpreted as miracle Alice rises after gunfire, briefly appearing restored.

The Image Cannot Hold A return interpreted as miracle Alice rises after gunfire, briefly appearing restored. The crowd’s hope for a saint collides with the terrible evidence of her wounds. A hostile identity She transforms into the burned figure associated with Einor and speaks of vengeance. The public symbol of innocence is revealed as a contested vessel for an older evil.

Before the first reported vision

After the first public healings

During Alice’s stay at the convent

At the final candlelight service

After Alice is shot and rises