Assignment #5
Due Thursday, October 2 by 5pm.
Send to phobbspe@austincc.edu
The Western Humanities, 6th Edition
SLICE OF LIFE, pg 260
Heloise, The Abbess of La Paraclete, Founded by Abelard
When Love Knows No
Boundaries
The letters of
Abelard, a monk, and his student Heloise (about 1101-1164), who later became a
nun, are still read because they offer glimpses into the hearts of lovers whose
devotion transcends any historical period or social context. In this letter,
Heloise writes to Abelard after they have been forced to separate. His
scholarly reputation has been tainted, and, for his transgression, Abelard has
been castrated by men in the hire of Fulbert,
Heloise’s uncle and protector.
You know, beloved, as the whole world knows, how much I have lost in you, how at one wretched stroke of fortune that supreme act of flagrant treachery robbed me of my very self in robbing me of you; and how my sorry for my loss is nothing compared with what I feel for the manner in which I lost you. Surely the greater the cause for grief the greater the need for the help of consolation, and this no one can bring but you; you are the sole cause of my sorrow, and you alone can grant me the grace of consolation. . . . God knows I never sought anything in your except yourself; I wanted simply you, nothing of yours. I looked for no marriage-bond, no marriage portion, and it was not my own pleasures and wishes I sought to gratify, as you well know, but yours. The name of wife may seem more sacred or more binding, but sweeter for me will always be the word mistress, or, if you will permit me, that of concubine or whore. I believed that the more I humbled myself on your account, the more gratitude I would win from you, and also the less damage I should do to the brightness of your reputation.
Interpreting This
Slice of Life