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E-kniha Denis Diderot: The Nun
Anotace
Diderot’s The Nun (originally published in French as La Religieuse) is the seemingly true story of a young girl forced by her parents to enter a convent and take holy orders. A novel mingling mysticism, madness, sadistic cruelty and nascent sexuality, it gives a scathing insight into the effects of forced vocations and the unnatural life of the convent. A succes de scandale at the end of the eighteenth century, it has attracted and unsettled readers ever since. For Diderot’s novel is not simply a story of a young girl with a bad habit; it is also a powerfully emblematic fable about oppression and intolerance.
This edition includes an extensive introduction and notes about Denis Diderot and this piece, written by Russell Goulbourne.
O autorovi
Denis Diderot[5.10.1713-31.7.1784] Denis Diderot se narodil roku 1713 ve městě Langres ve Francii. Navštěvoval jezuitskou základní školu v Langres. Poté studoval od roku 1732 na College d’Harcourt v Paříži. Knězem se však stát nechtěl, začal studovat práva, což ho brzy přestalo bavit. Otec se ho zřekl, protože Denis se chtěl stát spisovatelem a začal žít bohémským životem. Diderot se spřátelil s...
Denis Diderot: životopis, dílo, citáty
LETTER
FROM MADAME MADIN TO MONSIEUR LE MARQUIS DE CROISMARE
MONSIEUR, our dear invalid is finally getting better. No more fever, no more headaches: all is set fair for a most speedy convalescence and the best of health. Her lips are still a little pale, but her eyes are regaining their sparkle. The colour is starting to come back to her cheeks, and her skin is fresh and will soon be firm again. All has been going well since her mind has been at rest. It is now, Monsieur, that she appreciates the full value of your kindness, and nothing could be more touching than the way she talks about it. I wish I could describe to you what went on between us when I took her your latest letters. She took hold of them; her hands were trembling, she was hardly breathing as she read them, and she stopped at the end of every line. When she had finished, she threw her arms round my neck and, weeping copiously, said: ‘So, Madame Madin, God has not abandoned me after all, at last he wants me to be happy! Yes, it was God who prompted me to contact this dear Monsieur. Who else in the whole world would have taken pity on me? Let us thank God for these initial mercies, so that he may grant us yet more...’ And she sat on her bed and started to pray. Then, looking back at several parts of your letters, she said: ‘He’s entrusting me with the care of his daughter! Oh! Mama, she will be like him, she will be gentle, kind, and sensitive, as he is...’ After this, she became a little worried and said: ‘Her mother has died! I’m sorry I don’t have the necessary experience, I don’t know anything about that, but I shall do my best. I shall remind myself morning and night of my debt to her father. Gratitude must make up for lots of things. How much longer shall I be ill? When shall I be allowed to eat? I can’t feel the effects of my fall any more, not at all in fact.’ I offer you these little details, Monsieur, because I hope you will enjoy them. Her words and her actions displayed such innocence and enthusiasm that I was overjoyed. I do not know what I would not have given to have enabled you to see and hear her. No, Monsieur, either I know nothing about these things or you will have a unique creature who will be a blessing in your home. What you were kind enough to tell me about yourself, your daughter, your son, and your circumstances fits perfectly with what she was wishing for. She is adamant about what she first suggested to y…
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