# Story of a Soul: Chapters I ## The Writing Timeline (What Was Happening as She Wrote it) * **Date Written:** Early 1895 (The beginning of Manuscript A). * **Thérèse's Age:** 22 years old. * **The Context:** Thérèse is writing these memories out of strict obedience to the prioress, Mother Agnes of Jesus—who is none other than Pauline, the sister she chose as her "second mother" back in Chapter I. While she is writing about the loss of her earthly mother and the subsequent shrinking of her childhood personality, she herself is experiencing a period of intense spiritual expansion and grace in Carmel, which will culminate in her offering to Merciful Love later that summer.  **Date:** 20st November 1894. ## The Event Timeline (What Was Happening then) * **Dates:** January 1873 to late 1881. * **Thérèse's Age:** Birth to 8 years old. * **The Context:** Chapter I covers her deeply loved early childhood in Alençon. It is a time of immense security that is shattered by the traumatic death of her mother in August 1877. The day after the burial, Thérèse chooses her sister Pauline as her second mother. Chapter II then shifts to the family's move to Lisieux to be near their uncle, settling at Les Buissonnets. This period marks a massive shift in her personality; the outgoing toddler becomes hypersensitive and withdrawn. ## 1873 (newborn) January 2: _Birth of Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin, 36 Saint Blaise Street, Alençon._ January 4: Baptism in the church of Notre-Dame; godmother: her sister, Marie. March 15 or 16: sent out to be nursed to Rose Taillé, at Semallé (Orne). ---  This is where his nurse lived, [Rose Trimmed](https://archives.carmeldelisieux.fr/en/personnage/taille-rose-madame/), who had saved her thanks to her milk in March 1873. Thérèse stayed with the Taillés until April 2, 1874. ---  Alençon - This house was then the scene of the family life of the Martins from 1871 to 1877. This is where Saint Thérèse was born on January 2, 1873. She lived there with her parents and sisters until the death of her mother. Zélie Martin on August 28, 1877. --- ## 1875 (age 2) At this age she thinks: "I will be a religious." March 29: Voyage to Le Mans. May 23: Léonie makes her First Communion. ## 1876 (age 3) "From the age of three, I began to refuse nothing of what God asked of me." July 16: First photo: Thérèse is pouting. ---  Therese at three and a half years old (July 1876) – Zélie Martin dies one year later, on August, 1877 ## Synthesis & Notes * The contrast between the fragile, grieving child in the story and the spiritually grounded 22-year-old writing the story provides a powerful lens for understanding.