The History of the Nun

 Word Count: 267

The History of the Nun by Aphra Behn

"I could wish, for the prevention of abundance of Mischiefs [Page 7] and Miseries, that Nunneries and Marriages were not to be enter'd into, 'till the Maid, so destin'd, were of a mature Age to make her own Choice; and that Parents would not make use of their justly assum'd Authority to compel their Children" (Behn, 3).

"distributing all she had amongst, and for the Use of, the Poor of the Town, especially to the Poor Widows; exhorting daily, the Young, and the Fair, that came perpetually to visit her, never to break a Vow, for that was first the Ruine of her" (Behn, 35).

    The first quotation is a sentiment of the narrator stating that she believes guardians of young girls should not decide the fate of their daughters, but rather that their daughters should decide their own fate once they are mature enough. This is what happened to Isabella. While she grows up in the convent, she has time to explore the outside world once she turns thirteen. At this time, she decides the world is a nasty place where she does not find much beauty. This leads to her decision of becoming a nun. This decision, even though she chose for herself, was still the wrong one. She soon falls in love and escapes the convent. The second quotation shows this. 

    The contrast between the two quotations shows the tragedy of Isabella's life. She had every opportunity to have a perfect life, but fate got in the way. I think this shows the hardship of a women's life during this time. No matter what she does, nothing goes right. She continues to struggle and fail at every opportunity for a new life. There are many periods of happiness that are immediately followed by great disparity. Society's rules for women during this time were very strict, and this story depicts the helpless feeling of constantly failing, even when one feels as though they made the correct decision. This is particularly true for the Catholics of the time as England was going through the Protestant Reformation and Catholicism was shunned and shamed. These feelings of vulnerability show in Behn's writing and are a reflection of society in the late seventeenth century. 

Behn, Aphra. The History of the Nun. 1689,                                           mason.gmu.edu/~ayadav/Behn%20The%20History%20of%20the%20Nun.pdf.

Comments

  1. Mia CiccarelliJanuary 28, 2021 at 7:28 AM

    This story does show the hardships of a women's life back then. Isabella had a conflict and was torn on what to do and resulted in the wrong choice. During this time women had high expectations and I agree that society was very strict towards women. Isabella's love was so strong that she broke her promise with God. I noticed that in Behn's work that she made the theme love and guilt.

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  2. Mike BlanchardJanuary 29, 2021 at 1:33 PM

    You touched a lot on Isabella's self conflict within her decision making. I feel this was a large part of the story and although she had the best intentions for herself, she was still led to the wrong place. I think all of the conflict in her life did drive her a little bit insane, as we discussed in class. You continue to talk about how society's rules were very strict for women, and I also believe that is why Isabella had such a hard time making the right decision for herself. You finish by saying, "These feelings of vulnerability show in Behn's writing and are a reflection of society in the late seventeenth century" and I absolutely agree. I think Behn wanted to depict how hard life can be for a young woman.

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