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Benediction
"Benediction" is a short story by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald, first published in 1920 in Fitzgerald's short story collection Flappers and Philosophers. It tells the story of a young girl, Lois, who is on her way to a tryst with her lover, Howard, and stops to meet her much older brother, Kieth, who is in a seminary and about to become a priest..
48 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1920
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199 people want to read
About the author
F. Scott Fitzgerald
2,322 books25.6k followersFrancis Scott Key Fitzgerald, widely known simply as Scott Fitzgerald, was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age, a term he popularized in his short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age. During his lifetime, he published four novels, four story collections, and 164 short stories. Although he achieved temporary popular success and fortune in the 1920s, Fitzgerald received critical acclaim only after his death and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.
Born into a middle-class family in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald was raised primarily in New York state. He attended Princeton University where he befriended future literary critic Edmund Wilson. Owing to a failed romantic relationship with Chicago socialite Ginevra King, he dropped out in 1917 to join the United States Army during World War I. While stationed in Alabama, he met Zelda Sayre, a Southern debutante who belonged to Montgomery's exclusive country-club set. Although she initially rejected Fitzgerald's marriage proposal due to his lack of financial prospects, Zelda agreed to marry him after he published the commercially successful This Side of Paradise (1920). The novel became a cultural sensation and cemented his reputation as one of the eminent writers of the decade.
His second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), propelled him further into the cultural elite. To maintain his affluent lifestyle, he wrote numerous stories for popular magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's Weekly, and Esquire. During this period, Fitzgerald frequented Europe, where he befriended modernist writers and artists of the "Lost Generation" expatriate community, including Ernest Hemingway. His third novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), received generally favorable reviews but was a commercial failure, selling fewer than 23,000 copies in its first year. Despite its lackluster debut, The Great Gatsby is now hailed by some literary critics as the "Great American Novel". Following the deterioration of his wife's mental health and her placement in a mental institute for schizophrenia, Fitzgerald completed his final novel, Tender Is the Night (1934).
Struggling financially because of the declining popularity of his works during the Great Depression, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood, where he embarked upon an unsuccessful career as a screenwriter. While living in Hollywood, he cohabited with columnist Sheilah Graham, his final companion before his death. After a long struggle with alcoholism, he attained sobriety only to die of a heart attack in 1940, at 44. His friend Edmund Wilson edited and published an unfinished fifth novel, The Last Tycoon (1941), after Fitzgerald's death. In 1993, a new edition was published as The Love of the Last Tycoon, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli.
Born into a middle-class family in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald was raised primarily in New York state. He attended Princeton University where he befriended future literary critic Edmund Wilson. Owing to a failed romantic relationship with Chicago socialite Ginevra King, he dropped out in 1917 to join the United States Army during World War I. While stationed in Alabama, he met Zelda Sayre, a Southern debutante who belonged to Montgomery's exclusive country-club set. Although she initially rejected Fitzgerald's marriage proposal due to his lack of financial prospects, Zelda agreed to marry him after he published the commercially successful This Side of Paradise (1920). The novel became a cultural sensation and cemented his reputation as one of the eminent writers of the decade.
His second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), propelled him further into the cultural elite. To maintain his affluent lifestyle, he wrote numerous stories for popular magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's Weekly, and Esquire. During this period, Fitzgerald frequented Europe, where he befriended modernist writers and artists of the "Lost Generation" expatriate community, including Ernest Hemingway. His third novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), received generally favorable reviews but was a commercial failure, selling fewer than 23,000 copies in its first year. Despite its lackluster debut, The Great Gatsby is now hailed by some literary critics as the "Great American Novel". Following the deterioration of his wife's mental health and her placement in a mental institute for schizophrenia, Fitzgerald completed his final novel, Tender Is the Night (1934).
Struggling financially because of the declining popularity of his works during the Great Depression, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood, where he embarked upon an unsuccessful career as a screenwriter. While living in Hollywood, he cohabited with columnist Sheilah Graham, his final companion before his death. After a long struggle with alcoholism, he attained sobriety only to die of a heart attack in 1940, at 44. His friend Edmund Wilson edited and published an unfinished fifth novel, The Last Tycoon (1941), after Fitzgerald's death. In 1993, a new edition was published as The Love of the Last Tycoon, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
February 22, 2017
An early short story from Fitzgerald with a downer ending and signs of greatness.
The story is about Lois, a young Catholic woman questioning her faith and her decision to run away with her lover Howard. It is stated in the opening that the lovers cannot marry and Lois knows the relationship is doomed. No clear reason is given for the problems which "doom" the relationship, although it is later revealed that Howard is an Atheist, a Socialist, and a student at Harvard.
While traveling to meet Howard, Lois decides to visit a Jesuit Monastery to speak with (and cheer up) her estranged brother Kieth who is soon to be ordained a priest.
Lois' expectations of her brother as a dour and cynical priest are quickly shattered as Kieth is revealed to be a charming man confident in his faith. Lois finds herself opening up to Kieth and admiring the life and friends her brother has made. Through Kieth, she begins to regain some of her lost faith.
During Benediction, Lois has a painful religious experience and she faints. Upon waking, she realizes she is different than her brother and the other members of the society. Lois sees them as dead men who have sacrificed their humanity and sees herself as an unclean woman whom god rebukes.
Later, Lois and Kieth have a conversation about faith and religion. After the Benediction Lois gains a deeper understanding of Catholicism. Yet, with this new understanding Lois also has a different view of the world - one which paints her own failings in sharp detail.
When the topic of contraception comes up, Lois perceives a hairline crack in Kieth's previously impenetrable religious foundation - an almost imperceptible contempt for the subject (and by implication Lois' sins and insecurities). This is the turning point in the story. Now, Lois begins to lie to Kieth. Their relationship dynamic reverses. Where before Lois leaned upon Kieth for comfort, now Kieth reveals how important Lois has been to him during his training.
I may be reading subtext where none exists but the fatigue, mood swings, implied sexual relationship with Howard, and fainting during the Benediction leads me to think Lois is in the first trimester of pregnancy. A secret she may have been willing to share with Kieth before the topic of contraception and her sudden loss of trust in him.
Then, in front of a statue of the virgin Mary, Kieth reveals that he has canonized Lois in his mind. That his vision of Lois as a good catholic girl has provided comfort to him during his struggles in the monastery. Likewise, that although Lois has gained a deep understanding of her brother - Keith has done the opposite. In fact, Kieth has learned almost nothing about who Lois really is. Unwilling to reveal the truth and risk hurting Kieth, Lois plays the role Kieth has imagined for her.
In the final scene, Lois writes a telegram to end her relationship with Howard. But, at the last moment, she rips the telegram apart. This implies that Lois chose to rejoin Howard in the doomed relationship rather than make a break and reconvert to her Catholic faith.
Because I am unfamiliar with the intricacies of Catholic theology, the theme of this story is unclear to me. Half of the story builds to a conversion ending, but this is not the ending Fitzgerald wrote. In fact, Lois appears to choose to lie to her brother, abandon her mother, abandon her faith, and run off with her lover.
Lois makes a believable and very human decision, but not a satisfying one.
The story is about Lois, a young Catholic woman questioning her faith and her decision to run away with her lover Howard. It is stated in the opening that the lovers cannot marry and Lois knows the relationship is doomed. No clear reason is given for the problems which "doom" the relationship, although it is later revealed that Howard is an Atheist, a Socialist, and a student at Harvard.
While traveling to meet Howard, Lois decides to visit a Jesuit Monastery to speak with (and cheer up) her estranged brother Kieth who is soon to be ordained a priest.
Lois' expectations of her brother as a dour and cynical priest are quickly shattered as Kieth is revealed to be a charming man confident in his faith. Lois finds herself opening up to Kieth and admiring the life and friends her brother has made. Through Kieth, she begins to regain some of her lost faith.
During Benediction, Lois has a painful religious experience and she faints. Upon waking, she realizes she is different than her brother and the other members of the society. Lois sees them as dead men who have sacrificed their humanity and sees herself as an unclean woman whom god rebukes.
Later, Lois and Kieth have a conversation about faith and religion. After the Benediction Lois gains a deeper understanding of Catholicism. Yet, with this new understanding Lois also has a different view of the world - one which paints her own failings in sharp detail.
When the topic of contraception comes up, Lois perceives a hairline crack in Kieth's previously impenetrable religious foundation - an almost imperceptible contempt for the subject (and by implication Lois' sins and insecurities). This is the turning point in the story. Now, Lois begins to lie to Kieth. Their relationship dynamic reverses. Where before Lois leaned upon Kieth for comfort, now Kieth reveals how important Lois has been to him during his training.
I may be reading subtext where none exists but the fatigue, mood swings, implied sexual relationship with Howard, and fainting during the Benediction leads me to think Lois is in the first trimester of pregnancy. A secret she may have been willing to share with Kieth before the topic of contraception and her sudden loss of trust in him.
Then, in front of a statue of the virgin Mary, Kieth reveals that he has canonized Lois in his mind. That his vision of Lois as a good catholic girl has provided comfort to him during his struggles in the monastery. Likewise, that although Lois has gained a deep understanding of her brother - Keith has done the opposite. In fact, Kieth has learned almost nothing about who Lois really is. Unwilling to reveal the truth and risk hurting Kieth, Lois plays the role Kieth has imagined for her.
In the final scene, Lois writes a telegram to end her relationship with Howard. But, at the last moment, she rips the telegram apart. This implies that Lois chose to rejoin Howard in the doomed relationship rather than make a break and reconvert to her Catholic faith.
Because I am unfamiliar with the intricacies of Catholic theology, the theme of this story is unclear to me. Half of the story builds to a conversion ending, but this is not the ending Fitzgerald wrote. In fact, Lois appears to choose to lie to her brother, abandon her mother, abandon her faith, and run off with her lover.
Lois makes a believable and very human decision, but not a satisfying one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2014
All I could think about while reading this was that Folgers Christmas commercial where the brother and sister seem to like each other a little too much.
May 15, 2018
I didn't feel it. It was ok but I would not recommend reading/listen to it. Not worth time when there are so much better short stories. At least, I didn't get the thing that perhaps was somewhere in this story. I don't know.
July 30, 2015
I’ve never been much into short stories, mainly because I like the deeper development afforded a longer piece of fiction. Short stories are great as art, but as entertainment I find them frustrating; I usually feel that just as I begin to know and care about the characters, the story is abruptly concluded. I was mainly attracted to this one because of the Catholic themes, and this story does seem to reveal a very different side of F. Scott Fitzgerald than in The Great Gatsby (the only other work of his that I’ve read). However, if one looks closely, I think the two works bear more underlying similarities than first apparent. There is a sense of restless ennui in a modern world and the search for something to fill the void—kind of like the Christ-hauntedness of Flannery O’Connor’s work. This is evidenced in the very title. An encounter with the sacramental reality of the living God jars Lois. It could be just the heat, or it could be something else: a moment or grace. There were also some rather profound theological and philosophical musings, and many beautiful truths of the faith were touched on or alluded to. The presentation of these elements is never heavy-handed or maudlin, just refreshingly honest, open, and loving. I’m glad I read this.
September 6, 2024
“I built dreams of you” or whatever the fuck Keith says. Awh cute quote right? WRONG this motherfucker is talking about his SISTER. this whole fucking short story is incestuous.
At first I’m reading this and I’m like lol Lois is so real whoever this quotes going to be about is gonna be nuts because EVERYONE has that one guy they meet at 19 who fucks then up. Originally I saw this quote on one of those sad tiktok slideshows. DIDNT KNOW IT WOULD BE ABOUT OLD MATE KEITH. BIG BRO KEITH. And it’s noted he’s BALDING and he’s a priest. Right now I would like to remind people of that scene in Ted 2 where Ted says “his name is fuck Scott fitzgerald?” more like fuck yo brother Scott fitzgerald.
Moreover I’ve come to the thorough conclusion that if this was a dark romance written today I’d probably fuck with it heavily. Super freaky
At first I’m reading this and I’m like lol Lois is so real whoever this quotes going to be about is gonna be nuts because EVERYONE has that one guy they meet at 19 who fucks then up. Originally I saw this quote on one of those sad tiktok slideshows. DIDNT KNOW IT WOULD BE ABOUT OLD MATE KEITH. BIG BRO KEITH. And it’s noted he’s BALDING and he’s a priest. Right now I would like to remind people of that scene in Ted 2 where Ted says “his name is fuck Scott fitzgerald?” more like fuck yo brother Scott fitzgerald.
Moreover I’ve come to the thorough conclusion that if this was a dark romance written today I’d probably fuck with it heavily. Super freaky
February 10, 2022
I found the ending to be unclear, and to be honest, the brother and sister seemed to like each other... a little too much
August 2, 2023
Beautiful short story...Fitzgerald packs so much into so few words.
February 22, 2016
A young girl, while making a short visit to her brother, questions the decisions he has made in choosing a religious, monastic life.
Fitzgerald wrote about 170 short stories according AbeBooks.com, some of which, like this one, have been published alone. This one also appears in a collection of his stories, Flappers and Philosophers. Written in 1920 I did not find this one as entertaining as the previous short stories I read by Fitzgerald, Bernice Bobs Her Hair and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
I listened to these stories on LoyalBooks.com podcast. In addition to the above three stories, the other two available are The Camel's Back (very funny, review coming soon) and The Lees of Happiness.
Fitzgerald wrote about 170 short stories according AbeBooks.com, some of which, like this one, have been published alone. This one also appears in a collection of his stories, Flappers and Philosophers. Written in 1920 I did not find this one as entertaining as the previous short stories I read by Fitzgerald, Bernice Bobs Her Hair and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
I listened to these stories on LoyalBooks.com podcast. In addition to the above three stories, the other two available are The Camel's Back (very funny, review coming soon) and The Lees of Happiness.
August 16, 2014
This is a fine example of the short story form by a master, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Wonderful elements of sibling relationships, Catholicism and giving one's life in the service of their religion, and posing the secular and the non-secular. The events that so strongly affect Lois were well chosen and written with wonderful detail and sensitivity to the character and her dilemma. Remember, it's a short story, not a novel. And as such, I feel it does a fine of expressing multiple cases of people struggling/having struggled within the human condition to find themselves and their direction.
April 12, 2019
A story that has a lot more going on in it than it first appears: sibling relationships, secular vs. religious life, societal changing values, courage to take a leap with a relationship that most, perhaps even yourself, feels doomed or doing the safe or "right" thing. While one of his earlier stories, many of the themes of his later works and those that defined this time are present.
November 14, 2012
Brilliant!
December 4, 2025
An interesting story that made me think a bit about all the priests, nuns and pasters hanging out in my Catholic-Lutheran family tree. Not forgetting that there's a local Saint hanging out in that tree also.
I was earmarked to be a priest. But I was a bad boy/girl. Just like Lois in the story. I can distinctly remembering sitting in a church and having the same kind of experience she had. I didn't faint. I just got the hell out of there and got on with living my life.
I can see the snuffing out of the candle as a metaphor for abortion, but it also serves to point out that, for many people, choosing to take up the vocation of a religion, is akin to giving up the chance to live your own life, the only way you can. That is, the way you, and only you, want to.
I'm not altogether sure what point FSF was trying to make in this story, but I found this an insightful view point on the unexpressed influence all religions have on the daily life of people. An influence that is still debatable as to whether it is beneficial or negative.
I was earmarked to be a priest. But I was a bad boy/girl. Just like Lois in the story. I can distinctly remembering sitting in a church and having the same kind of experience she had. I didn't faint. I just got the hell out of there and got on with living my life.
I can see the snuffing out of the candle as a metaphor for abortion, but it also serves to point out that, for many people, choosing to take up the vocation of a religion, is akin to giving up the chance to live your own life, the only way you can. That is, the way you, and only you, want to.
I'm not altogether sure what point FSF was trying to make in this story, but I found this an insightful view point on the unexpressed influence all religions have on the daily life of people. An influence that is still debatable as to whether it is beneficial or negative.
April 14, 2020
3.5 might read again sometime to truly understand it.
January 28, 2022
A commentary on religion
October 20, 2022
Not my favorite Fitzgerald short story but definitely not the worst!
December 17, 2022
Average read short stories are difficult to write some are better than others
January 5, 2023
A short story that has a lot to do about faith and morals. To run away with one’s lover or not to?
January 19, 2023
This is one that I guess I just didn't quite get.
May 7, 2023
it was very interesting.... how love changes people
July 21, 2023
A brother and sister reunite. There is a large age gap between the siblings and her brother is a monk. An ok short story.
April 11, 2025
reminds me of some Dosteovsky passages in Brothers Karamazov specifically with Aloysha and the elder
June 15, 2025
i finished this so long ago not sure why i never updated it
October 5, 2019
A short story in the early collection Flappers and Philosophers.
A grown brother and sister are unable to fully connect. He is a priest and his sister doesn’t think he’s fully human because of this. It’s implied she’s pregnant and is off to elope but she doesn’t confide in her brother. He seems stuck in a Madonna/Whore view of his sister and is trapped in his perceptions also. The sad part is that they really do love each other very much.
A grown brother and sister are unable to fully connect. He is a priest and his sister doesn’t think he’s fully human because of this. It’s implied she’s pregnant and is off to elope but she doesn’t confide in her brother. He seems stuck in a Madonna/Whore view of his sister and is trapped in his perceptions also. The sad part is that they really do love each other very much.
May 9, 2011
I'm not sure why someone decided to publish just one short story as its own volume, but they did. This is just one short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It's okay. Certainly not his best.
I love Fitzgerald's prose, and they're as fantastic as ever, although this is one of his earliest stories, and you can tell. Some of the details seem less well integrated to the story and the dialogue is a lot less authentic than much of his later work. The plot of the story isn't all that fantastic either. I have to say when reading short stories I often feel like I'm missing something. My mind isn't tuned to the type of subtlety that typifies much of literary short fiction. This piece in particular I felt that way about. However, being familiar with many other of Fitzgerald's stories it occurs to me the confusion may arise partly from Fitzgerald's inexperience at the writing of this story. I'm sure Fitzgerald had something to say with this piece, I'm just not sure he got it across in the way he intended.
I love Fitzgerald's prose, and they're as fantastic as ever, although this is one of his earliest stories, and you can tell. Some of the details seem less well integrated to the story and the dialogue is a lot less authentic than much of his later work. The plot of the story isn't all that fantastic either. I have to say when reading short stories I often feel like I'm missing something. My mind isn't tuned to the type of subtlety that typifies much of literary short fiction. This piece in particular I felt that way about. However, being familiar with many other of Fitzgerald's stories it occurs to me the confusion may arise partly from Fitzgerald's inexperience at the writing of this story. I'm sure Fitzgerald had something to say with this piece, I'm just not sure he got it across in the way he intended.
August 8, 2015
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this one, mainly because I don't think I fully understand it. It's another 'different' story from Fitzgerald, and I certainly get some of it, but I'd be lying if I said I could write an essay on this confidently. Lois is clearly struggling with her religion and morals, and her brother has his own struggles in his past to relate. Maybe the conversation they have about help is reflected in the overall story? He says people want help from strong people who have been weak, Lois says people want help from someone who can offer human sympathy. Her brother offers her his form of help, and it doesn't help her. I don't know; I'm not sure. I'll be thinking about this one for quite some time, and for that (plus the always gorgeous writing of Fitzgerald) I'm giving it four stars.
January 21, 2025
Bless You.
🖊 This is the story of Lois, a young girl who is on her way to have a tryst with Howard, her lover. On the way, she stops to meet her much older brother, Kieth [sic], who is in a seminary and about to become a priest.
📕Published in 1920.
જ⁀ 🍓 🟢 E-book version on Project Gutenberg.
༺ ༅ ✬ ༅ ༻ ༺ ༅ ✬ ༅ ༻
🖊 This is the story of Lois, a young girl who is on her way to have a tryst with Howard, her lover. On the way, she stops to meet her much older brother, Kieth [sic], who is in a seminary and about to become a priest.
📕Published in 1920.
જ⁀ 🍓 🟢 E-book version on Project Gutenberg.
༺ ༅ ✬ ༅ ༻ ༺ ༅ ✬ ༅ ༻
May 12, 2016
The ones who think and read a lot don't seem to believe in much of anything anymore -- see ! Life. Turning your back on it- a flame burning light to weaker souls-- people want sympathy-- people want to see weakness- that's what they mean by being human. Saving your life by losing it-- courteous trees grow overhead..bestow a blessing. That's the definition of benediction
August 4, 2015
Forgettable novella.
November 6, 2016
i didnt understand it
November 25, 2015
I really enjoyed this short story, though I don’t believe I fully understood it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews