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Vida de uma família judia e outros escritos autobiográficos
A edição inaugural da Coleção "Obras de Edith Stein" contém escritos autobiográficos da filósofa, mártir e santa. Grande parte do livro se constitui do texto Vida de uma família judia (1933-1939), dividido nas seguintes seções: 1) Memórias de minha mãe; 2) História de nossa família: as duas irmãs mais novas; 3) Preocupações e tensões na família; 4) O desenvolvimento das duas irmãs mais novas; 5) Os anos de estudo em Breslávia; 6) Diário dos corações de duas jovens; 7) Anos de estudo em Gotinga; 8) Serviço no Hospital Militar de Weisskirchen na Morávia; 9) Encontros exteriores e decisões interiores; 10) O exame rigorosum em Friburgo.
Outros textos autobiográficos que integram a presente edição são: Uma contribuição para a crônica do Carmelo de Colônia: I. Como cheguei ao Carmelo de Colônia (1938); Curriculum Vitae (1916); Peça humorística para a festa de casamento de Erna Stein e Hans Biberstein (1920); Consagração ao Sagrado Coração de Jesus (1939); Testamento (1939); Oração ao Sagrado Coração de Jesus (1939).
Por fim, há também um texto escrito em 1949 por Erna Biberstein, a quem Edith era muito ligada.
Outros textos autobiográficos que integram a presente edição são: Uma contribuição para a crônica do Carmelo de Colônia: I. Como cheguei ao Carmelo de Colônia (1938); Curriculum Vitae (1916); Peça humorística para a festa de casamento de Erna Stein e Hans Biberstein (1920); Consagração ao Sagrado Coração de Jesus (1939); Testamento (1939); Oração ao Sagrado Coração de Jesus (1939).
Por fim, há também um texto escrito em 1949 por Erna Biberstein, a quem Edith era muito ligada.
536 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1965
47 people are currently reading
504 people want to read
About the author
Edith Stein
261 books203 followersEdith Stein, also known as St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, OCD, (German: Teresia Benedicta vom Kreuz, Latin: Teresia Benedicta a Cruce) (12 October 1891 – 9 August 1942), was a German Jewish philosopher who converted to the Roman Catholic Church and became a Discalced Carmelite nun. She is a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church.
She was born into an observant Jewish family, but was an atheist by her teenage years. Moved by the tragedies of World War I, in 1915 she took lessons to become a nursing assistant and worked in a hospital for the prevention of disease outbreaks. After completing her doctoral thesis in 1916 from the University of Göttingen, she obtained an assistantship at the University of Freiburg.
From reading the works of the reformer of the Carmelite Order, St. Teresa of Jesus, OCD, she was drawn to the Catholic Faith. She was baptized on 1 January 1922 into the Roman Catholic Church. At that point she wanted to become a Discalced Carmelite nun, but was dissuaded by her spiritual mentors. She then taught at a Catholic school of education in Speyer. As a result of the requirement of an "Aryan certificate" for civil servants promulgated by the Nazi government in April 1933 as part of its Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service, she had to quit her teaching position. She was admitted to the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Cologne the following October. She received the religious habit of the Order as a novice in April 1934, taking the religious name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross ("Teresa blessed by the Cross"). In 1938 she and her sister Rosa, by then also a convert and an extern Sister of the monastery, were sent to the Carmelite monastery in Echt, Netherlands for their safety. Despite the Nazi invasion of that state in 1940, they remained undisturbed until they were arrested by the Nazis on 2 August 1942 and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where they died in the gas chamber on 9 August 1942.
She was born into an observant Jewish family, but was an atheist by her teenage years. Moved by the tragedies of World War I, in 1915 she took lessons to become a nursing assistant and worked in a hospital for the prevention of disease outbreaks. After completing her doctoral thesis in 1916 from the University of Göttingen, she obtained an assistantship at the University of Freiburg.
From reading the works of the reformer of the Carmelite Order, St. Teresa of Jesus, OCD, she was drawn to the Catholic Faith. She was baptized on 1 January 1922 into the Roman Catholic Church. At that point she wanted to become a Discalced Carmelite nun, but was dissuaded by her spiritual mentors. She then taught at a Catholic school of education in Speyer. As a result of the requirement of an "Aryan certificate" for civil servants promulgated by the Nazi government in April 1933 as part of its Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service, she had to quit her teaching position. She was admitted to the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Cologne the following October. She received the religious habit of the Order as a novice in April 1934, taking the religious name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross ("Teresa blessed by the Cross"). In 1938 she and her sister Rosa, by then also a convert and an extern Sister of the monastery, were sent to the Carmelite monastery in Echt, Netherlands for their safety. Despite the Nazi invasion of that state in 1940, they remained undisturbed until they were arrested by the Nazis on 2 August 1942 and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where they died in the gas chamber on 9 August 1942.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
February 18, 2016
Leí "Estrellas amarillas" poco después de estudiar filosofía, tras un período de cierto desencanto y escepticismo. Este libro realmente logró despertar nuevamente mi pasión por la filosofía y el deseo de empezar nuevamente a leer y estudiar con toda seriedad, como Edith Stein, en definitiva.
En filosofía tenemos pocos referentes femeninos. Un buen número de las filósofas reconocidas se han ganado su nombre simplemente por haber abanderado la causa feminista, que, puff, seamos sinceras, como filosofía da mucha pereza (*ejem, Butler, ejem*). Por supuesto, hay otras meritorias del Parnaso filosófico, pero se cuentan con los dedos de las manos. Y precisamente por esta poca representación pienso que esta autobiografía es necesaria, importante y ha sido tristemente obviada. Quizá el nombre de la editorial que publicó la edición española, "Espiritualidad", haya dado la sensación de que este es más un libro de corte religioso que una auténtica biografía intelectual.
Es cierto, Edith Stein es una filósofa conversa al Catolicismo que termina entrando en un convento carmelita, pero "Estrellas amarillas" no es la historia de su conversión y prácticamente no se toca nada de este tema, menos aún de su entrada al Carmelo.
Su motivación para escribir este libro no fue hacer una apología del Cristianismo, sino más bien mostrar una imagen positiva de los judíos alemanes, leales y amantes a su patria, para contrarrestar la propaganda denigratoria de los Nazis. Por esto, el relato se centra en su infancia y juventud, llena de anécdotas encantadoras y divertidas acerca de su devota familia judía, trabajadora, honesta, para luego pasar al recuento de su ingreso a la facultad de filosofía y los eminentes filósofos de los que se rodea.
Edith Stein era una auténtica filósofa, con una clarísima vocación: brillante y trabajadora incansable. Fue una de las primeras mujeres en ser aceptada en la facultad de filosofía.
En este libro cuenta como quedó fascinada con Husserl tras leer las "Investigaciones lógicas", que ya es mucho decir. Por esto decide trasladarse de Breslau a la Universidad de Göttingen, donde será alumna de Adolf Reinach y Max Scheler. Allí entra fácilmente en el círculo de fenomenólogos con quienes discutiría con toda frescura. Eventualmente terminó por ganarse la admiración y el afecto de Edmund Husserl, quien le dirigió la tesis doctoral. Husserl no era un tipo fácilmente impresionable, así que es de suponer que supo ver en su alumna una auténtica lucidez filosófica.
A modo de ejemplo, cito aquí una de las cartas de Edith Stein en donde habla de esta relación con su maestro y otros filósofos: "Por la tarde estuve en casa de Husserl para charlas sobre su trabajo, pero en el dintel me topé con el pequeño Heidegger, y los tres juntos nos dimos un paseo -por cierto, maravilloso-, hablando de cuestiones religioso-filosóficas, que se prolongó hasta ahora mismo, las doce menos cuarto". Las páginas de sus años en la Universidad están llenas de consideraciones filosóficas y, sobre todo, de una auténtica pasión por aquellos años. Se nota que aún vibra de solo recordarlos.
"Estrellas amarillas" es, tristemente, una autobiografía incompleta que concluye en el 1916, justo después recibir su doctorado, así que no llegamos a saber nada de su conversión que será cuatro años después. Sin embargo, "all is well that ends well" y es una escena bonita para un feliz feliz.
Edith Stein no pudo terminar su relato biográfico porque fue arrestada por la Gestapo y enviada a Auschwitz, donde moriría el 9 de agosto de 1942 en las cámaras de gas.
Cuando entra al Carmelo, por vocación, desaparece del panorama filosófico, por eso es una suerte tener esta biografía suya que, aunque incompleta, muestra todo el talante intelectual femenino y es un ejemplo de un filósofa comprometida con la verdad y su tiempo.
En filosofía tenemos pocos referentes femeninos. Un buen número de las filósofas reconocidas se han ganado su nombre simplemente por haber abanderado la causa feminista, que, puff, seamos sinceras, como filosofía da mucha pereza (*ejem, Butler, ejem*). Por supuesto, hay otras meritorias del Parnaso filosófico, pero se cuentan con los dedos de las manos. Y precisamente por esta poca representación pienso que esta autobiografía es necesaria, importante y ha sido tristemente obviada. Quizá el nombre de la editorial que publicó la edición española, "Espiritualidad", haya dado la sensación de que este es más un libro de corte religioso que una auténtica biografía intelectual.
Es cierto, Edith Stein es una filósofa conversa al Catolicismo que termina entrando en un convento carmelita, pero "Estrellas amarillas" no es la historia de su conversión y prácticamente no se toca nada de este tema, menos aún de su entrada al Carmelo.
Su motivación para escribir este libro no fue hacer una apología del Cristianismo, sino más bien mostrar una imagen positiva de los judíos alemanes, leales y amantes a su patria, para contrarrestar la propaganda denigratoria de los Nazis. Por esto, el relato se centra en su infancia y juventud, llena de anécdotas encantadoras y divertidas acerca de su devota familia judía, trabajadora, honesta, para luego pasar al recuento de su ingreso a la facultad de filosofía y los eminentes filósofos de los que se rodea.
Edith Stein era una auténtica filósofa, con una clarísima vocación: brillante y trabajadora incansable. Fue una de las primeras mujeres en ser aceptada en la facultad de filosofía.
En este libro cuenta como quedó fascinada con Husserl tras leer las "Investigaciones lógicas", que ya es mucho decir. Por esto decide trasladarse de Breslau a la Universidad de Göttingen, donde será alumna de Adolf Reinach y Max Scheler. Allí entra fácilmente en el círculo de fenomenólogos con quienes discutiría con toda frescura. Eventualmente terminó por ganarse la admiración y el afecto de Edmund Husserl, quien le dirigió la tesis doctoral. Husserl no era un tipo fácilmente impresionable, así que es de suponer que supo ver en su alumna una auténtica lucidez filosófica.
A modo de ejemplo, cito aquí una de las cartas de Edith Stein en donde habla de esta relación con su maestro y otros filósofos: "Por la tarde estuve en casa de Husserl para charlas sobre su trabajo, pero en el dintel me topé con el pequeño Heidegger, y los tres juntos nos dimos un paseo -por cierto, maravilloso-, hablando de cuestiones religioso-filosóficas, que se prolongó hasta ahora mismo, las doce menos cuarto". Las páginas de sus años en la Universidad están llenas de consideraciones filosóficas y, sobre todo, de una auténtica pasión por aquellos años. Se nota que aún vibra de solo recordarlos.
"Estrellas amarillas" es, tristemente, una autobiografía incompleta que concluye en el 1916, justo después recibir su doctorado, así que no llegamos a saber nada de su conversión que será cuatro años después. Sin embargo, "all is well that ends well" y es una escena bonita para un feliz feliz.
Edith Stein no pudo terminar su relato biográfico porque fue arrestada por la Gestapo y enviada a Auschwitz, donde moriría el 9 de agosto de 1942 en las cámaras de gas.
Cuando entra al Carmelo, por vocación, desaparece del panorama filosófico, por eso es una suerte tener esta biografía suya que, aunque incompleta, muestra todo el talante intelectual femenino y es un ejemplo de un filósofa comprometida con la verdad y su tiempo.
September 27, 2020
The first thing to know about this autobiography is that mostly covers the time from her childhood to becoming a an assistant professor Husserl. There is some foreshadowing in regards to her later years before her martyrdom, but nothing substantiative.
Still, I found this to give a valuable insight into her formative years. I really enjoyed reading about her mother, her family, acquaintances, and friends. Usually background information I have read concentrated about how difficult it was for her mother when she became Catholic. While that aspect is certainly true, her mother was really quite a wonderful person making the best of the early death of her husband and taking care of her family. Her mother gave her a lot of free reign in making choices in regards to directing her life, despite the fact that they were not choices her mother would have always thought best.
I also enjoyed seeing how she grew in virtue. She is very honest about her shortfalls and that while she was never cruel to others, she could be not understanding and dismissive. She details her attraction to the intellectual life and philosophy, but there is a lot along the way that sets this path. You get a palpable sense of the hard work this entailed and how little she was certain in following this goal.
Her relatively short time as a Nurse in WWI was also a very interesting chapter of her life. I get the feeling that some of this was very transformative for her, especially considering her writing a thesis on empathy.
Since this autobiography was never finished, it ends abruptly, so a chronology is placed at the end to fill out some of the details up to her and her sister being taken to Auschwitz. This barely goes into the details of her conversion, years of teaching at a Dominican nuns' school, and entering Carmel.
I am very glad to have read this as it helps me to enter more into the life of this great saint.
Still, I found this to give a valuable insight into her formative years. I really enjoyed reading about her mother, her family, acquaintances, and friends. Usually background information I have read concentrated about how difficult it was for her mother when she became Catholic. While that aspect is certainly true, her mother was really quite a wonderful person making the best of the early death of her husband and taking care of her family. Her mother gave her a lot of free reign in making choices in regards to directing her life, despite the fact that they were not choices her mother would have always thought best.
I also enjoyed seeing how she grew in virtue. She is very honest about her shortfalls and that while she was never cruel to others, she could be not understanding and dismissive. She details her attraction to the intellectual life and philosophy, but there is a lot along the way that sets this path. You get a palpable sense of the hard work this entailed and how little she was certain in following this goal.
Her relatively short time as a Nurse in WWI was also a very interesting chapter of her life. I get the feeling that some of this was very transformative for her, especially considering her writing a thesis on empathy.
Since this autobiography was never finished, it ends abruptly, so a chronology is placed at the end to fill out some of the details up to her and her sister being taken to Auschwitz. This barely goes into the details of her conversion, years of teaching at a Dominican nuns' school, and entering Carmel.
I am very glad to have read this as it helps me to enter more into the life of this great saint.
June 25, 2020
This is a great book for anyone who has a love of history, and especially for trying to understand the life of a modern saint. Her story begins by painting a picture of how rough life was back in the late nineteenth century. Tough times required people to depend on one another, and stick together. Her mother was an incredibly strong woman who took and lived her faith seriously.
The reader is afforded the opportunity to follow Edith Stein throughout her life, which encompasses both major and minor events, including even the seemingly smallest of trifles. She was a keen student of psychology and was able to see the roles and relationships of others with mystical insight. It was her inquisitive nature that, most likely, led her to pursue a career in philosophy.
Edith is not the kind of person who would have been happy with an ordinary life. She had the kind of mind for answering big questions. It is no small wonder, then, that Edith and Edmund Husserl (her professor and mentor) got along well and remained friends.
Edith was a very accomplished woman by the time her short life ended. She left behind a legacy of influential books that reflect her great intellect and calling.
The reader is afforded the opportunity to follow Edith Stein throughout her life, which encompasses both major and minor events, including even the seemingly smallest of trifles. She was a keen student of psychology and was able to see the roles and relationships of others with mystical insight. It was her inquisitive nature that, most likely, led her to pursue a career in philosophy.
Edith is not the kind of person who would have been happy with an ordinary life. She had the kind of mind for answering big questions. It is no small wonder, then, that Edith and Edmund Husserl (her professor and mentor) got along well and remained friends.
Edith was a very accomplished woman by the time her short life ended. She left behind a legacy of influential books that reflect her great intellect and calling.
May 19, 2020
I’m so happy that I finished this! Review coming soon!
July 19, 2023
My nana got this book for me as a gift. My thoughts- her life and thoughts were interesting, but not interesting enough to stop me from putting the book down. I don’t think this is a book that you read for “plot”, but, at the end of the day, it’s not what I would have picked for myself. I think my nana got it for me because I would find her thoughts interesting, and I did.
November 13, 2024
In 1985 The Institute of Carmelite Studies (ISC) Publications in Washington D.C. released Josephine Koeppel’s English translation of Edith Stein’s Volume 1 autobiography “Life in a Jewish Family 1891-1916.” The book tells the life events of Edith Stein’s to help others overcome the impact of World War 1; and her efforts to help others overcome the activities of dictators who want to takeover European and Western nations during World War II . The autobiography discusses Edith’s relationships with her brothers and sisters, her mother, herJewish extended family loved ones, schoolmates, and teachers. Edith was the youngest child in a very large Jewish family; her father died when she was 2 years old; and her mother (Auguste) took over the management of a lumber company her husband started in Breslau, Germany. Edith Stein was born in 1891 and became a Catholic in 1922. After completing her doctorate degree, she became a monastery novitiate and in 1933 she was ordained a Carmelite nun. Edith and her sister Rosa (who was also a Carmelite nun) were captured by the Germans and became prisoners at a death camp where they were killed in a gas chamber in 1942. In 1998 the Vatican under the leadership of Pope John Paul II canonized Edith whose name had been changed from Edith Stein to Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Pope John Paul II’s sainthood declaration was based on Edith’s life values, commitment to her PhD studies of Philosophy and Phenomenology, her teaching skills, and her exceptional work in 1915 as a Red Cross nurse treating people who suffered from diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and dysentery, to name a few. The book “Life In a Jewish Family” is amazing and Edith Stein’s autobiographical writing is very inspiring. The last chapters in the book include a wonderful commentary written by the book’s translator.Josephine Koeppel and a chronological timeline of Edith Stein’s achievements from her birth in 1891 to her death in 1942. (P)
July 14, 2025
For those curious about the early life of St. Edith Stein, this is the most comprehensive (and maybe only) book we have on it—composed by St. Edith herself.
She was urged to write an autobiography, and the amount of detail she remembers is intimidating. I'll never forget her hikes across Germany and the several stories of being out so long that she and her companions could find no lodging. She goes into extensive detail about her schooling, including professors' names and the dates of her exams, and her time as a Red Cross nurse. I knew she worked for Edmund Husserl for a bit, but didn't know the extent of their professional relationship and how much she admired him.
St. Edith stopped writing this just before her conversation to Catholicism, because she simply didn't have time. But the translators wrap up loose ends, including this manuscript's journey during WWII and how it was preserved. It's a wonderful look into her early life, and you can see the pieces that ultimately formed the woman (and saint!) we know today.
She was urged to write an autobiography, and the amount of detail she remembers is intimidating. I'll never forget her hikes across Germany and the several stories of being out so long that she and her companions could find no lodging. She goes into extensive detail about her schooling, including professors' names and the dates of her exams, and her time as a Red Cross nurse. I knew she worked for Edmund Husserl for a bit, but didn't know the extent of their professional relationship and how much she admired him.
St. Edith stopped writing this just before her conversation to Catholicism, because she simply didn't have time. But the translators wrap up loose ends, including this manuscript's journey during WWII and how it was preserved. It's a wonderful look into her early life, and you can see the pieces that ultimately formed the woman (and saint!) we know today.
November 12, 2021
ABSOULUTLY AMAZING! Very inspiring and so coragous this novel is a must-read! This book contains Edith Stein's autobiography, with map and 11 pages of photos.
This initial volume of the Collected Works offers, for the first time in English, Edith Stein's unabridged autobiography depicting herself as a child and a young adult. Her text breaks abruptly because the Gestapo arrested and deported her to Auschwitz in 1942. Edith Stein is one of the most significant German women of our century. At the age of twenty-five she became the first assistant to the founder of phenomenology, Edmund Husserl. She was much in demand as a writer-lecturer after her conversion from atheism to Catholicism. Later, as a Carmelite nun, she maintained her intellectual pursuits, until she died along with so many other Jewish people in the Holocaust.
By making this story available in English, the Institute of Carmelite Studies provides an eye-witness account of persons and activities on the scene at the time when psychology and philosophy became separate disciplines. A preface, foreword, and afterword to Edith's text brings out many background details of the rich story she has left us. **Chosen "Best Spirituality Book of 1986" by the Catholic Press Association** For ages 12+.
This initial volume of the Collected Works offers, for the first time in English, Edith Stein's unabridged autobiography depicting herself as a child and a young adult. Her text breaks abruptly because the Gestapo arrested and deported her to Auschwitz in 1942. Edith Stein is one of the most significant German women of our century. At the age of twenty-five she became the first assistant to the founder of phenomenology, Edmund Husserl. She was much in demand as a writer-lecturer after her conversion from atheism to Catholicism. Later, as a Carmelite nun, she maintained her intellectual pursuits, until she died along with so many other Jewish people in the Holocaust.
By making this story available in English, the Institute of Carmelite Studies provides an eye-witness account of persons and activities on the scene at the time when psychology and philosophy became separate disciplines. A preface, foreword, and afterword to Edith's text brings out many background details of the rich story she has left us. **Chosen "Best Spirituality Book of 1986" by the Catholic Press Association** For ages 12+.
April 10, 2019
Beautiful insight into the life of an amazing woman. She so modestly keeps private her intimate feelings. I have a feeling that even had she been able to finish her life story, we would never have know her intimate union with God -- not from her own pen, anyway. I wish we knew more about her Carmelite soul that embraced such complete detachment from everything but God. Such an incredible life! She takes you on a journey through another time and place, and by telling us her actions, we get to see her clarity of thought and decisiveness from the inside looking out. Our world was graced with her presence.
August 29, 2024
It is so chilling how this autobiography breaks off mid-chapter. Knowing about Edith's life makes it not difficult to imagine the Gestapo walking into the room while she is actively writing.
I really enjoyed reading this and learning more about the life of the eventual saint I chose for Confirmation. Knowing that she experienced academic burnout is somehow comforting. Highly recommend this read.
I really enjoyed reading this and learning more about the life of the eventual saint I chose for Confirmation. Knowing that she experienced academic burnout is somehow comforting. Highly recommend this read.
December 28, 2010
Edith Stein was an incredible woman. Her drive to learn, think critically and apply what she learned is impressive. The freedoms her mother allowed her surprised me.
She throws out so many references to people and historical events that I felt overwhelmed and undereducated.
She throws out so many references to people and historical events that I felt overwhelmed and undereducated.
August 12, 2013
Muy interesante para conocer sus raíces, su tradición familiar. Un gran contexto para comprender ese "vayamos a morir por nuestro pueblo!" Con el que animaba a su hermana cuando las sacaron del convento para conducirlas al campo de exterminio.
October 2, 2020
Hago mía la reseña de Marcela, pues considero que explica perfectamente en qué consiste este libro, y paso a hacer algunas observaciones sobre aspectos, quizás, mas secundarios.
Autobiografía minuciosa, riquísima en detalles, por ello incluso un poco pesada en algunos momentos. Nombres, fechas, anécdotas cotidianas, carácter, historia y motivaciones de cada una de las personas que rodean a nuestra querida autora... No es un libro rápido de leer. Pero, ¡ojo, amigos! Si te comprometes con el ritmo lento de la lectura, resulta de una belleza extraordinaria. El ojo de Edith Stein es de una gran pureza y puedes ver a través de su relato como si se tratara de un cristal límpido. Las gentes que aparecen aquí están perfiladas con gran cariño, incluso cuando se trata de sus defectos. Como lectora, no albergo dudas sobre el talante riguroso y objetivo de mi amada santa, aunque como persona bastante imperfecta, caótica y defectuosa, he echado de menos apreciar alguna de estas cualidades en Edith. Nos encontramos ante una mujer sobria, de grandes virtudes, con capacidad de trabajo, entrega a los demás, inteligencia... Vamos, es que Edith es el prototipo de "santaza", de esas que tienen una vida de libro, donde todo les sale bien (y son admiradas y queridas por todo el mundo) hasta el martirio. Los constantes elogios recibidos a lo largo de toda su vida (porque destacó en cada una de las empresas que se propuso) hasta me han llegado a molestar un poquillo. Envidia de la mala, supongo.
Como dice Jesús Maestro, "la envidia es la forma más siniestra de admiración" y, ahora digo, sin ironías, que admiro a Edith Stein, en su versión intelectual y en su versión de santa, y que reconozco en ella un dechado de virtudes. Su madre, segunda protagonista de esta autobiografía, fue una mujer igualmente imponente y ejemplar. Y es un honor para el lector poder conocer los entresijos de esta humilde familia judía, y observar desde su lugar aquel complicado período histórico, con las dos guerras mundiales de por medio (aunque Edith sólo nos hable de la primera). El relato de los años universitarios me resultó igualmente delicioso. Se puede palpar la pasión que siente Edith cuando descubre la fenomenología, emoción que aquellos que hemos podido vivir algo parecido conocemos muy bien.
El libro deja la impresión de una Alemania pulcra, ordenada, donde las gentes vivían felices y en paz, y se tomaban con toda seriedad su profesión, sus estudios y la cultura propia del país donde vivían. Después de leerlo se le queda a uno el regusto en el corazón de que las gentes de ese tiempo y lugar eran más listos, más buenos, más trabajadores y, en definitiva, mejores, que aquellas que ha conocido. Llama también la atención el respeto por las mujeres en el entorno educativo, un terreno que estaban comenzando a transitar, y la pureza en torno al asunto del sexo, pues a pesar de gozar de bastante libertad externa los jóvenes parecían conservar esa barrera en su interior.
Me quedaría mucho por decir, si bien opto por abandonarlo aquí. Es un libro que recordaré, sin duda, largo tiempo y al que podré recurrir cuando estudie fenomenología, para poder apreciar las consideraciones que hace Edith, pues ahora no he podido aprovecharlas del todo. Si tuviera que quedarme con una sola cosa de este libro, elijo el dulce deseo de imitar a esta mujer inspiradora, trabajadora, honesta, inteligente y buena, de grandes convicciones morales, que ostenta actualmente con justo merecimiento el título de Santa Teresa Benedicta de la Cruz, copatrona de Europa y mártir de Amor.
Autobiografía minuciosa, riquísima en detalles, por ello incluso un poco pesada en algunos momentos. Nombres, fechas, anécdotas cotidianas, carácter, historia y motivaciones de cada una de las personas que rodean a nuestra querida autora... No es un libro rápido de leer. Pero, ¡ojo, amigos! Si te comprometes con el ritmo lento de la lectura, resulta de una belleza extraordinaria. El ojo de Edith Stein es de una gran pureza y puedes ver a través de su relato como si se tratara de un cristal límpido. Las gentes que aparecen aquí están perfiladas con gran cariño, incluso cuando se trata de sus defectos. Como lectora, no albergo dudas sobre el talante riguroso y objetivo de mi amada santa, aunque como persona bastante imperfecta, caótica y defectuosa, he echado de menos apreciar alguna de estas cualidades en Edith. Nos encontramos ante una mujer sobria, de grandes virtudes, con capacidad de trabajo, entrega a los demás, inteligencia... Vamos, es que Edith es el prototipo de "santaza", de esas que tienen una vida de libro, donde todo les sale bien (y son admiradas y queridas por todo el mundo) hasta el martirio. Los constantes elogios recibidos a lo largo de toda su vida (porque destacó en cada una de las empresas que se propuso) hasta me han llegado a molestar un poquillo. Envidia de la mala, supongo.
Como dice Jesús Maestro, "la envidia es la forma más siniestra de admiración" y, ahora digo, sin ironías, que admiro a Edith Stein, en su versión intelectual y en su versión de santa, y que reconozco en ella un dechado de virtudes. Su madre, segunda protagonista de esta autobiografía, fue una mujer igualmente imponente y ejemplar. Y es un honor para el lector poder conocer los entresijos de esta humilde familia judía, y observar desde su lugar aquel complicado período histórico, con las dos guerras mundiales de por medio (aunque Edith sólo nos hable de la primera). El relato de los años universitarios me resultó igualmente delicioso. Se puede palpar la pasión que siente Edith cuando descubre la fenomenología, emoción que aquellos que hemos podido vivir algo parecido conocemos muy bien.
El libro deja la impresión de una Alemania pulcra, ordenada, donde las gentes vivían felices y en paz, y se tomaban con toda seriedad su profesión, sus estudios y la cultura propia del país donde vivían. Después de leerlo se le queda a uno el regusto en el corazón de que las gentes de ese tiempo y lugar eran más listos, más buenos, más trabajadores y, en definitiva, mejores, que aquellas que ha conocido. Llama también la atención el respeto por las mujeres en el entorno educativo, un terreno que estaban comenzando a transitar, y la pureza en torno al asunto del sexo, pues a pesar de gozar de bastante libertad externa los jóvenes parecían conservar esa barrera en su interior.
Me quedaría mucho por decir, si bien opto por abandonarlo aquí. Es un libro que recordaré, sin duda, largo tiempo y al que podré recurrir cuando estudie fenomenología, para poder apreciar las consideraciones que hace Edith, pues ahora no he podido aprovecharlas del todo. Si tuviera que quedarme con una sola cosa de este libro, elijo el dulce deseo de imitar a esta mujer inspiradora, trabajadora, honesta, inteligente y buena, de grandes convicciones morales, que ostenta actualmente con justo merecimiento el título de Santa Teresa Benedicta de la Cruz, copatrona de Europa y mártir de Amor.
November 15, 2023
I read most of this for my history essay on Stein and it was such a treat to read the autobiography of a saint and call it uni study. I loved the insights into her personality, which was both disciplined and lent itself to brilliant and dense abstract thinking, and also deeply empathetic and affectionate, with children and soldiers in her care. (Her chapters on the war and her volunteering as a nurse with the Red Cross were a highlight). She inspired me to continue studying and giving myself to academic pursuits in service of the Lord. I loved her descriptions of her uni life and exams and thesis writing.
March 5, 2022
A história extraordinária de uma Mulher extraordinária num documento extraordinário - e, no entanto, não num extraordinário livro. Em sentido “literário” este livro é mesmo uma “seca”, atenuada pela tradução cuidada e colorida para o Português do Brasil. Um livro para especialistas (e curiosos…) da “coisa filosófica”? Muito provavelmente…
July 4, 2021
A very touching, very interesting book.
April 3, 2024
After reading ‘Philosopher s at the Front’ about Husserl & the phenomenonologists in WWI Edith Stein was a natural next read. She served as a Red Cross nurses aid on the Eastern Front.
May 6, 2025
Pray for us.
June 9, 2019
Volume 1 of the writings of a Jewish woman living in Germany who converted to Catholicism and took religious vows as a Carmelite nun in between WWI and WWII. Very interesting and sad...especially knowing that she and her sister, although Catholic when the Nazis came to power, were deported to Auschwitz due to their Jewish genealogy...although this is not detailed in her writings...it does speak of Germany changing little by little to humiliate and ostracize the many Jews who were German patriots. Some photographs of Edith and her family and friends are included along with Edith's notes, translator notes, and an appendix. There are other volumes in the series and I plan to read as many as are available through the Chicago Public Library system. Highly recommended if you are a student of history and German-Jewish families.
January 3, 2014
Interesting book, but more focused on her intellectual accomplishment than I wanted to read about. She spends entirely too much time talking about her intellectual and social pursuits, but there is a great deal of value in connecting the dots of whom she knew back in Germany. I for example, had not realized that of course, she would have been well aquainted with Dietriech Von Hoeffer..........., who abviously continues to affect the phenomenological approach.....
November 15, 2010
thanks to FR. dean who asked me to read the book... if not of him, i would not have known St. Edith Stein
November 13, 2012
Interesting view into middle class Jewish life in Germany before and then through the first World War.
March 23, 2013
Had to return it to the library but I am definately looking forward to find it at a local library.
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