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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
3.5
It all began with a prank.
In 1758, out of sympathy and goodwill, Diderot’s friend Marquis de Croismare used his influence in favor of Marguerite Delamarre, a nun in the convent of Longchamp in Paris to help her in her appeal to be dispensed from her vows, as she had been forced by her parents to take the veil.
Their communication was through letters and eventually the case was lost, the nun was forced to remain a nun for the rest of her miserable life and the Marquis, disappointed and frustrated left Paris and his companions.
To lure his longtime friend back to Paris, Diderot began writing letters of appeal to the Marquis, pretending to be Suzanne Simonin, another distraught nun who has been forced to join the religious order against her will.
And the Marquis fell for it, hook, line and sinker.
The practical joke got out of hand when the Marquis demanded to meet the nun and there was no way for Diderot to end the predicament than to kill her off.
The Marquis received a letter informing him of the unfortunate nun’s demise.
Years later, when Diderot decided to publish the letters, there was no other way for him but to reveal the truth to the Marquis, who seemingly took it well, considering the deceased nun hadn’t existed at all.
To add to the fun, in the book Diderot included Marquis’s real name and identity as the receiver of the nun’s letters.
I ask for nothing, hope for nothing, object to nothing, my only incentive to live is gone. If only I could be sure that God would change me, and that the qualities necessary for the religious life would replace the hope of leaving it which I have now lost! But it cannot be, and this nun’s habit has attached itself to my skin and bones, and irks me all the more. Oh what a fate! To be a nun forever and feel that one can never be anything but a bad one! To spend one’s whole life battering one’s head against prison bars!
This book is a series of letters written by Suzanne Simonin to the Marquis, recounting her life story, why has she ended up in a convent and the difficulties she has endured during her stay.
This was a time when the aristocracy and the Catholic Church were being scrutinized and criticized for corruption. France was on the brink of revolution.
Therefore we should make allowances for the most likely Atheist Diderot's too exaggerated description of events and some of the nuns’ and priests’ atrocious behavior.
It all began with a prank.
In 1758, out of sympathy and goodwill, Diderot’s friend Marquis de Croismare used his influence in favor of Marguerite Delamarre, a nun in the convent of Longchamp in Paris to help her in her appeal to be dispensed from her vows, as she had been forced by her parents to take the veil.
Their communication was through letters and eventually the case was lost, the nun was forced to remain a nun for the rest of her miserable life and the Marquis, disappointed and frustrated left Paris and his companions.
To lure his longtime friend back to Paris, Diderot began writing letters of appeal to the Marquis, pretending to be Suzanne Simonin, another distraught nun who has been forced to join the religious order against her will.
And the Marquis fell for it, hook, line and sinker.
The practical joke got out of hand when the Marquis demanded to meet the nun and there was no way for Diderot to end the predicament than to kill her off.
The Marquis received a letter informing him of the unfortunate nun’s demise.
Years later, when Diderot decided to publish the letters, there was no other way for him but to reveal the truth to the Marquis, who seemingly took it well, considering the deceased nun hadn’t existed at all.
To add to the fun, in the book Diderot included Marquis’s real name and identity as the receiver of the nun’s letters.
I ask for nothing, hope for nothing, object to nothing, my only incentive to live is gone. If only I could be sure that God would change me, and that the qualities necessary for the religious life would replace the hope of leaving it which I have now lost! But it cannot be, and this nun’s habit has attached itself to my skin and bones, and irks me all the more. Oh what a fate! To be a nun forever and feel that one can never be anything but a bad one! To spend one’s whole life battering one’s head against prison bars!
This book is a series of letters written by Suzanne Simonin to the Marquis, recounting her life story, why has she ended up in a convent and the difficulties she has endured during her stay.
This was a time when the aristocracy and the Catholic Church were being scrutinized and criticized for corruption. France was on the brink of revolution.
Therefore we should make allowances for the most likely Atheist Diderot's too exaggerated description of events and some of the nuns’ and priests’ atrocious behavior.
Suzanne, the narrator, is sixteen years old, has two sisters, and a lawyer father with "more fortune than necessary to establish them solidly."
The problem is that her father is not her father; the two sisters will each have half of the fortune, and Suzanne will find herself in a convent to atone for her mother's sin.
Her parents' wish is not hers, and she will do everything to escape these convents, which will reserve cruel moments for her.
To write this book, Diderot started with a fact. "Work of public and general utility because it was the cruellest satire we had ever made of the cloisters."
The problem is that her father is not her father; the two sisters will each have half of the fortune, and Suzanne will find herself in a convent to atone for her mother's sin.
Her parents' wish is not hers, and she will do everything to escape these convents, which will reserve cruel moments for her.
To write this book, Diderot started with a fact. "Work of public and general utility because it was the cruellest satire we had ever made of the cloisters."
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
full of narrative inconsistencies, yet deeply engaging.
representative of a serious ras-le-bol of the time regarding inhuman practices within christian convents—and christianity as a whole—, and oddly feminist despite an obvious depiction of the women as deeply superstitious, meek and cruel, unlike the "logical" and firm men helping suzanne throughout the story.
mother de moni and sister ursule turned out to be the most interesting and touching characters next to our tragic narrator.i may have shed a tear at the death of the latter.
even if flawed and dragged down by the moral conventions of the time, the depiction of an overly suppressed, shushed and demonised female (homo)sexuality remains an interesting choice from Diderot.
knowing more about the context behind the story and its author's life, definitely helps further understand the message behind its characters sufferings. (book read after watching and loving the movie)
representative of a serious ras-le-bol of the time regarding inhuman practices within christian convents—and christianity as a whole—, and oddly feminist despite an obvious depiction of the women as deeply superstitious, meek and cruel, unlike the "logical" and firm men helping suzanne throughout the story.
mother de moni and sister ursule turned out to be the most interesting and touching characters next to our tragic narrator.
even if flawed and dragged down by the moral conventions of the time, the depiction of an overly suppressed, shushed and demonised female (homo)sexuality remains an interesting choice from Diderot.
knowing more about the context behind the story and its author's life, definitely helps further understand the message behind its characters sufferings. (book read after watching and loving the movie)
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Totally undecided on my feelings on this one....looking forward to the book club discussion.
I’ve been wanting to read this since December 2023, and I was left satisfied.
The writing here feels very modern and accessible, considering the fact that it was first released in 1796. I also wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the book essentially being a letter written by the fmc, Suzanne, but it went by smoothly and quickly.
Suzanne, forced to be a nun against her will by her cruel parents, faces a lot of harsh treatment from her fellow nuns, along with the mean Mother Superior from the second convent. (The things that happened with the Mother Superior from the third convent keeps me in a state of perplexion, so I’m leaving that out of the review for now.) You can’t help but feel sorry for Suzanne and hope she succeeds in getting out of the convent(s).
Overall very good, but I wish we got more from the ending. And this, imo, read like a feminist text.
The writing here feels very modern and accessible, considering the fact that it was first released in 1796. I also wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the book essentially being a letter written by the fmc, Suzanne, but it went by smoothly and quickly.
Suzanne, forced to be a nun against her will by her cruel parents, faces a lot of harsh treatment from her fellow nuns, along with the mean Mother Superior from the second convent. (The things that happened with the Mother Superior from the third convent keeps me in a state of perplexion, so I’m leaving that out of the review for now.) You can’t help but feel sorry for Suzanne and hope she succeeds in getting out of the convent(s).
Overall very good, but I wish we got more from the ending. And this, imo, read like a feminist text.