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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Published over two hundred years ago, I can only imagine what kind of uproar and scandal it must've caused, because it's still pretty caustic and racy, even by today's standards. Telling the sad story of a young woman forced into a convent, Diderot takes aim at organized religion and the social stigmas of his time. The violence, both physical and emotional, is brutal. And Diderot doesn't shy away from frank depictions of lesbianism. While on the surface the book is certainly aiming to shock, there's a lot going on beneath the surface, particularly a strong, feminist polemic that was centuries ahead of its time. Though certainly anti-religious, it's never anti-God, which I found refreshing. Yes, the ending does feel a bit rushed, and at times, the prose does get a bit dense. But it maintains strong momentum and characterization throughout. Von Trier's "Dancer in the Dark" came to mind a lot while reading this. I would definitely love to see what he could do with this material.
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Homophobia, Violence
3.5 stars. This was a very interesting and sad read. I could not believe the things that happened to her at her first house. It was bad enough that she had to pay for her mother’s bad judgment but to suffer like that. And the fact that she was then transferred to another house where she was being molested by her superior was daunting. I think the thing that ended up being so messed up was all the writing of letters to find a place for her. Why did no one just go and get her?? She was out of the convent, injured and alone. And they spent so much time sending letters and debating what to do but it seemed that several of the involved people had money. They couldn’t have just put her up in their homes and taken care of her until they came up with a plan.
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Physical abuse
Moderate: Death, Homophobia
«Να το αποτέλεσμα της απομόνωσης. Ο άνθρωπος είναι γεννημένος κοινωνικός. Απομάκρυνέ τον, απομόνωσέ τον κ' οι ιδέες του θα αλλοιωθούν, ο χαρακτήρας του θα μεταστραφεί, χίλιες γελοίες αδυναμίες θα ξεσηκώσουν την ψυχή του, παράξενες σκέψεις θα γεννηθούν στο μυαλό του, σαν τα βάτα στην ακαλλιέργητη γη».
I found Diderot’s confessional style a bit tiring. And yes, I have to admit I expected all throughout the novel for Suzana to run with some of her confessors, somewhere in the country living happily ever after and having a bunch of kids.
***
putin cam obositor stilul asta confesional abordat de diderot. deci da, admit cu semi-perversitate ca am asteptat ca suzana sa fuga de la manastire cu vreun duhovnic, ascunzindu-se in vreun capat de tara, traind o dragoste patimasa. not the case.
"iata unde duce sihastria. omul e nascut sa traiasca in lume; desparte-l de ea, izoleaza-l si i se vor imprastia gindurile, i se va strica firea, ii vor rasari in inima o mie de patimi ridicole; in minte ii vor incolti ginduri smintite, asa cum incoltesc maracinii in pustiu. lasa-l pe om in padure si-o sa devina fiara; iar daca-l duci in manastire, unde pe linga saracie mai are de indurat si robia, va fi si mai rau inca. dintr-o padure tot mai iesi, dar din manastire niciodata; in padure esti liber, iar in manastire esti rob. poate ca ai nevoie de mai multa putere sufleteasca pentru a indura singuratatea decit pentru a indura saracia cea mai crunta; saracia injoseste, sihastria te corupe. cum oare e mai bine sa traiesti: ca un mirsav sau ca un nebun? asta n-as indrazni s-o hotarasc. dar e bine sa te feresti si de una, si de alta."
***
putin cam obositor stilul asta confesional abordat de diderot. deci da, admit cu semi-perversitate ca am asteptat ca suzana sa fuga de la manastire cu vreun duhovnic, ascunzindu-se in vreun capat de tara, traind o dragoste patimasa. not the case.
"iata unde duce sihastria. omul e nascut sa traiasca in lume; desparte-l de ea, izoleaza-l si i se vor imprastia gindurile, i se va strica firea, ii vor rasari in inima o mie de patimi ridicole; in minte ii vor incolti ginduri smintite, asa cum incoltesc maracinii in pustiu. lasa-l pe om in padure si-o sa devina fiara; iar daca-l duci in manastire, unde pe linga saracie mai are de indurat si robia, va fi si mai rau inca. dintr-o padure tot mai iesi, dar din manastire niciodata; in padure esti liber, iar in manastire esti rob. poate ca ai nevoie de mai multa putere sufleteasca pentru a indura singuratatea decit pentru a indura saracia cea mai crunta; saracia injoseste, sihastria te corupe. cum oare e mai bine sa traiesti: ca un mirsav sau ca un nebun? asta n-as indrazni s-o hotarasc. dar e bine sa te feresti si de una, si de alta."
finally finished my first french book since 2017!!
a bit of a difficult read as all classics are but such a fresh, fun story! and the fact that the novel is based off a practical joke by diderot to the real marquis makes the whole thing so interesting
a bit of a difficult read as all classics are but such a fresh, fun story! and the fact that the novel is based off a practical joke by diderot to the real marquis makes the whole thing so interesting
Not sure if this was such a good idea after all.
On the one hand, this book has a weird backstory. Diderot had a friend (a count or marquis, I forget) who once tried to help a young woman break her vows after being forced into monastic life. Then said friend left Paris and Diderot thought it would be funny if he could lure his friend back with fake letters from another lady in distress. Which is weird. And also Diderot reportedly got really into the exercise as he learned more about the plight of women essentially imprisoned against their will.
On the other hand... it's got a really unsavory tone to it. Suzanne is clearly living in terrible circumstances. Her parents favor her two ugly sisters and constantly put her down, both privately and publicly. Then she gets shoved in a convent after she tells her parents that one of her sisters' suitors is courting her instead. She doesn't expect the change to be permanent but quickly realizes her family has no intention of letting her out, as her sisters would lose money by splitting their inheritance three rather than two ways.
The weird treatment is eventually explained (Suzanne is the fruit of her mother's affair with another man) but this doesn't really make sense because her rights would be those of a child raised AS SHE WAS, regardless of what happened behind the scenes.
Then the rest of the novel is just torture. Literally torture. Diderot really enjoys writing about the horrible treatment of Suzanne at the hands of nuns trying to force her to stay and accept her situation. I completely believe that there was severe abuse in some of the institutions (I don't even NEED to refer to modern examples of this, since several centuries' worth of medieval literature supply more than enough of them). However, Diderot can compliment himself all he likes on his chameleon skills: he's not convincing as a person in these letters. There are essentially no other people in this story, except to bully Suzanne, and often in impersonal ways. It's also a little sadistic and once the sexual abuse began, I realized maybe he was getting a little too into the material (so... it's less about Suzanne realizing she's being sexually abused and more descriptions of the abuse with Suzanne being COMPLETELY unaware and describing everything in total innocence... gross, Denis, what are you doing??)
So not sure if I recommend, but if you were curious about this, you can read it very quickly, it's quite short.
On the one hand, this book has a weird backstory. Diderot had a friend (a count or marquis, I forget) who once tried to help a young woman break her vows after being forced into monastic life. Then said friend left Paris and Diderot thought it would be funny if he could lure his friend back with fake letters from another lady in distress. Which is weird. And also Diderot reportedly got really into the exercise as he learned more about the plight of women essentially imprisoned against their will.
On the other hand... it's got a really unsavory tone to it. Suzanne is clearly living in terrible circumstances. Her parents favor her two ugly sisters and constantly put her down, both privately and publicly. Then she gets shoved in a convent after she tells her parents that one of her sisters' suitors is courting her instead. She doesn't expect the change to be permanent but quickly realizes her family has no intention of letting her out, as her sisters would lose money by splitting their inheritance three rather than two ways.
The weird treatment is eventually explained
Then the rest of the novel is just torture. Literally torture. Diderot really enjoys writing about the horrible treatment of Suzanne at the hands of nuns trying to force her to stay and accept her situation. I completely believe that there was severe abuse in some of the institutions (I don't even NEED to refer to modern examples of this, since several centuries' worth of medieval literature supply more than enough of them). However, Diderot can compliment himself all he likes on his chameleon skills: he's not convincing as a person in these letters. There are essentially no other people in this story, except to bully Suzanne, and often in impersonal ways. It's also a little sadistic and once the sexual abuse began, I realized maybe he was getting a little too into the material (so... it's less about Suzanne realizing she's being sexually abused and more descriptions of the abuse with Suzanne being COMPLETELY unaware and describing everything in total innocence... gross, Denis, what are you doing??)
So not sure if I recommend, but if you were curious about this, you can read it very quickly, it's quite short.