What's in the fresco?

This is a fresco about Monica’s death. Through a deep examination of three smaller images in the fresco of Monica’s death, one can see a centralized theme of the continuous cycle of death and rebirth. In the image there are three central figures: Augustine, Monica, and Augustine again. The first Augustine is mourning Monica’s death as he reads the Bible beside her deathbed. Monica is lying on her deathbed, surrounded by her loved ones. Finally, the second Augustine is in a boat to the right of the fresco, sailing to Africa and leaving the deceased Monica in Ostia.

Starting with the image's focal point -- St. Augustine standing beside Monica’s deathbed reading a book -- the viewer’s eyes follow a series of three lines which connect the images, framing Monica’s deathbed. The fresco then draws the viewer’s eyes from left to right, mentally creating a triangle which encompasses the important details of the piece:  Augustine’s reflection, Monica’s influence, and finally the vision they have together. Standing at Monica’s bedside, one can see Monica’s loved ones, including her grandson Adeodatus (in red) and a transformed Augustine, who is reading the Bible and is depicted with a halo to indicate his recent enlightenment. Augustine reflects on the valuable lessons which Monica has taught him. This can be seen by following the first Augustine’s body position to the boat between the arches at the right of Monica's deathbed. In the boat scene, Augustine is sailing away from Ostia after Monica’s death, once again leaving her behind. As Augustine leaves, he remembers all the lessons Monica taught him, which enables him to have the vision.

From the boat, one can follow the orientation of the line above the heads of Monica’s friends and family to the image of Monica and Augustine’s vision in the left corner. This vision is what allows Augustine to convert fully and changes him into an enlightened individual. Following Monica’s eyes in the vision, the viewer symbolically returns to the bedside Augustine, completing the triangle. 

What's in Confessions?

In Ostia, Monica and Augustine are overlooking a garden and discussing the afterlife when the two share a transcendental vision. While it is remarkable that they shared a vision, it is particularly noteworthy that Monica was able to have a vision because she had no philosophical training, making the experience even more spectacular. This vision is of particular importance because it is the only recorded time in history where two people share the same vision, lending the event even more power.

The knowledge that Monica imparts upon Augustine throughout his life allows him to have this vision, since it enables him to appreciate God and Christianity and leave the vision with a sense of fulfillment. After Augustine reaches the transcendental state where he almost touches God, he accepts his vision as a gift and his heart is no longer restless as he says, “if the tumult of the flesh fell silent for someone…and the very soul silent to itself” (9.9.25).

In the vision, Augustine and Monica “touch that eternal wisdom who abides above all things” (9.10.25). This moment of divinity leaves Augustine transformed and Monica fulfilled.  Soon after, Monica dies, yet she leaves behind wisdom for Augustine as “she neither died in misery nor died altogether…the evidence of her virtues and good faith gave us reason enough to hold this as certain” (9.12.29). As in the fresco, Confessions shows the ironic juxtaposition of Monica’s death and Augustine’s rebirth. While the scene shows the death of Monica, it also shows her last wish that her religious beliefs live on through Augustine, as she admits: “one thing only there was for which I desired to linger a while in this life: to see you a Catholic Christian before I died” (9.10.26).

What's in it for us?

While the majority of college students do not experience God the way that Augustine did, they can have similar experiences regarding the cycle of life and death. When Monica died, Augustine grieved temporarily but then channeled his grief into living the way Monica taught him to live. For college students, when a loved one such as a grandparent passes away, we realize the brevity of life and how important it is to live each day to its fullest.