Convents and Nuns in Eighteenth-Century French Politics and Culture
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: June 2004
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 272
ISBN-13: 9780801441103
Subjects: Christian communities & monasticism; c 1700 to c 1800; History; Church history; United States - Colonial Period; History - General History; History - U.S.; Monasticism and religious orde; History: World; France; Christianity - General; Europe - France; Religion, Politics & State; Christianity - Catholic; 18th century; Monasticism and religious orders for women
First sentence: AT THE ONSET OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, THE FRENCH READING public was inundated by anticlerical pamphlets, many of which called for the abolition of convents and monasteries.
Description: "Representations of convents and nuns took on power and urgency within the volatile political culture of eighteenth-century France. Drawing from a range of literary, cultural, and legal material, Mita Choudhury analyzes how, between 1730 and 1789, lawyers, religious pamphleteers, and men of letters repeatedly asked, "Who should control the female convent and women religious?" These sources chronicled the conflicts between nuns and the male clergy, among nuns themselves, and between nuns and their families, conflicts that were presented to the public in the context of potent issues such as despotism, citizenship, female education, and sexuality."--BOOK JACKET.