I found Him in the shining of the stars,
I marked Him in the flowering of His fields,
But in His ways with men I find Him not.
I waged His wars, and now I pass and die.
O me! for why is all around us here
As if some lesser god had made the world,
But had not force to shape it as he would,
Till the High God behold it from beyond,
And enter it, and make it beautiful?
Or else as if the world were wholly fair,
But that these eyes of men are dense and dim,
And have not power to see it as it is:
Perchance, because we see not to the close;—
For I, being simple, thought to work His will,
And have but stricken with the sword in vain;
And all whereon I leaned in wife and friend
Is traitor to my peace, and all my realm
Reels back into the beast, and is no more.
My God, thou hast forgotten me in my death;
Nay — God my Christ — I pass but shall not die.
[5][6]《悲憐上帝的女兒》上映後獲得了評論界普遍的好評,在
爛蕃茄網站上影片的新鮮度為81%
[8]。評論家大多特別讚揚了兩位主角的表演。《
時代周刊》的Richard Schickel稱讚女主角瑪麗「擁有能夠將情緒都過手語表現出來並吸引觀眾的不尋常天賦,表現出強烈但又不致令人感到疏遠的聰明才智
[9]。」《
芝加哥太陽報》知名影評人
羅傑·埃伯特給予影片三星的評價(最高為四星),稱這部影片「新穎而富挑戰」,並表示自己「對這部電影所告訴他的每一個與聾啞有關的內容都很感興趣。」他還稱讚影片中的無論是威廉·赫特這樣其時代最優秀的男演員之一,還是瑪麗這樣初登大銀幕的女演員,其表演氣場均強大而完美
[10]。《
華盛頓郵報》的Paul Attasanio也稱讚瑪麗「面對的最大挑戰就是在無法言語的情況下進行交流,但瑪特琳已經像無聲片時代的那些演員們所做到的那樣,用她的眼神和手勢來進行表演
[11]。」