university of hawai'! u8~ary

68 Pages·2006·2.08 MB·English

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'! U8~ARY
THEPERSONAL LETTERS OFHELOISEAND ABELARD
MANIFESTATIONS OF CULTURAL INFLUENCES ONPATTERNS OF
LOVE, DESIREAND GENDERINEQUALITY
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATEDIVISION OF THE
UNIVERSITY OFHAWAI'IINPARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FORTHEDEGREE OF
MASTEROF ARTS
IN
LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES OF EUROPEAND THEAMERICAS
(FRENCH)
DECEMBER2002
By
Hui-tzuWendyChen
Thesis Committee:
Marie-Christine Garneau, Chairperson
Marie-JoseFassiotto
KathrynKlingebiel
© 2002, Hui-tzuWendy Chen
111
Table of Contents
ChapterI Introduction 1
ChapterII Fundamental Characteristics ofLove andDesire .4
Chapter III Ovidian and Other Classical Influences 10
ChapterIV Feudal Values 18
ChapterV ChristianImperatives 24
ChapterVI Medieval Misogyny 32
ChapterVII The Self-Defense ofHeloise .41
ChapterVIII ThePowerStruggle 50
ChapterIX Conclusion 59
Works Cited 64
IV
Chapter I. Introduction
According to a surveyonmedievalepistles, the four personal letters ofHeloise
and Abelard are by far the "most celebrated exchange oflove-letters inthe Middle
Ages."l Taking place in twelfthcenturyFrance, their storyhas since transcended time
and space to inspire countless adaptations, novels, poems, plays, operas and even aTV
movie.2 Scholars since Jean de Meun, Christine de Pisan and Francesco Petrarchhave
shownkeen interests inthe letters fromboth literary and humanist standpoints.
Moreover, since the eighteenthcenturythere has been an incessant debate among
academics and historians overthe authenticity and authorship ofthe letters. No other
exchange oflove letters has since achieved a comparable leveloffame or generated as
much controversy.3
Throughthe centuries, the images ofHeloise (1101-1164) and Abelard (1079-
1142) have evolvedto symbolize love to those familiar with their story. Today,
thousands oftourists flock to the couple's final resting place in Paris' Pere-Lachaise
cemeteryto paytribute and homage to their love. However, onclose reading ofthe
letters, it is "sheer paradox" that Heloise and Abelard have beenregarded as "the
1GilesConstable, LettersandLetterCollections (Turnhout: Brepols, 1976),34.
2Amongthenumerous worksinspiredbyHeloiseandAbelard's storyareAlexanderPope's 1717
poem"EloisatoAbelard;"Jean-JacquesRousseau's 1761 epistolarynovelJulie oulanouvelleHeloise; the
1988TVmovieStealing Heaven; and, mostrecently, a2002operaproductionbyAmericancomposer
StephenPaulus, see<http://www.frenchcuHure.orgimusic/events/02paulusheloise.html>.
3Someoftheothercelebrityloveletters byrenownedFrenchwritersincludetheexchangeofletters
betweenEvelinaHanskaandHonoredeBalzac, JulietteDrouetandVictor Hugo, GeorgeSandandAlfred
deMusset,LouiseColetandGustaveFlaubert, as well as SimonedeBeauvoirandNelsonAlgren.
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incarnation ofthe Couple, the Lover and his Mistress.',4 As Regine Pernoud points out,
the couplewas united for only abriefperiod oftime and there was very little evidence of
disinterested love onthe part ofAbelard, ifsuchmeans the"capacity to reach beyond the
self, to transcend thevery pleasures onwhichlove feeds."s Indeed, inbothhis letters to
Heloise and inHistoria calamitatum, an autobiographical account addressed to an
anonymous friend,6 Abelard displays very littlegratia-a love freely given and based on
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chastity ofthe spirit-towards Heloise. Moreover, contrary to popularbelief, Heloise's
love for Abelard was not truly unconditional, despite herwillingness to renounce the
world at his command.
Inmy study, I shall attemptto analyze the love sharedbyHeloise and Abelard.
They desired each other, yet in theirown ways they attempted to manipulate each other,
during and aftertheirtime together. In fact, the letters disclose apower strugglebetween
the two, with Abelard attempting to dominate Heloise and Heloise staging arebellion
underfeigned submission.
In orderto understand whatmotivated Heloise and Abelard in their struggle for
power and control, it is paramountto examine the models ofdesire available to them as
well as prevalent attitudes toward love, sex, and marriage during the MiddleAges.
4ReginePemoud,HeloiseandAbelard,trans. PeterWiles (NewYork: SteinandDay, 1973), 81.
SIbid.
6BettyRadicepointsoutthatthetraditionaltitleofHistoriacalamitatum found inthebestoftheearly
manuscriptsisAbaelardiadamicumsuumconsolatoria <epistula> ('Abelard'sletterofconsolationtohis
friend'). Despitethepersonalcontent,Abelard'sletter"fallsintooneofthe categoriesrecognizedbythe
artofrhetoric." The"friend"whomAbelardaddressesappearstobefictitious and isapartofthe
convention. TheLettersofAbelardandHeloise, trans. BettyRadice(Baltimore: Penguin, 1974),57,n 1.
7Thedefinitionofgratia isfrom GlendaMcLeodin" 'WhollyGuilty, WhollyInnocent': Self
DefinitioninHeloise'sLetterstoAbelard,"inDearSister: Medieval Women andtheEpistolaryGenre, ed.
KarenCherewatukandUlrikeWiethaus(Philadelphia: UniversityofPennsylvaniaPress, 1993),68.
2
Indeed, classical, feudal as well as Christianvalues exertedprofound influences on the
way Heloise and Abelard desired and related to each other. Byplacingtheir attitudes and
behaviors inthe context ofcontemporary culture, I shall illustratethe extentto which
Heloise and Abelard wereinfluencedby culture. Moreover, the two were perhaps more
indoctrinatedby contemporary ideologies than were theirless-educatedpeers.
Finally, I shall attempt to offersometheories as to why theirstoryhas not only
remained themost celebratedmedieval love story overthe centuries,but also continues to
fascinate us.
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Chapter II. Fundamental Characteristics of Love and Desire
As all humanbeings, Heloise and Abelard wereproneto the influences ofculture,
which dictates humanbehaviorin all aspects oflife, including love and desire. Although
lovemay feel like aunique experience for the amorous individual, it actually follows a
general patternprescribedby culture. Using Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' LesLiaisons
dangereuses as an example, Angelica Goodden writes:
As Mmede Tourvelwould surelyconcede,humanbeings are
fatally pronetotake theirown caseasunique, andto spurnthe
counsel ofthose, likeMme deRosemonde, whocan seethe
overallpatternto which alover's wooingwillprobably
conform.8
While the story ofHeloise and Abelard maybe the most celebrated and fascinating
medieval love story, it is by no means original. Like all love stories, the relationship
between these two displays typical characteristics oflove and desire. I shall discuss in
particularthree fundamental characteristics, namely the apprehension oflovethrough
language, desire by imitation, and fulfillment as the death ofdesire.
While sexual urges are dictated by nature and essential for the propagation ofthe
human species, romantic lovedeals with emotional responses that are fonnulated and
expressed through language. Roland Barthes describes language as a"skin"that allows
an amorous subject to rub against the lovedbeing as ifthere were "fingers at the tips of
words:,9 Perceptively aware oftheroleplayedby language inthe game ofseduction,
8AngelicaGoodden,The CompleteLover:Eros, NatureandArtificein theEighteenth-CenturyFrench
Novel(Oxford, ClarendonPress, 1989),41.
9RolandBarthes,ALover.'sDiscourse: Fragments (NewYork: HillandWang, 1983),73.
4
Abelard sought outHeloisepartlybecause shewas highlyliterate and thus couldbe
easilyinflamedwithwords. He writes:
Knowing [Heloise's] knowledge andloveoflettersIthoughtshe
wouldbeallthemore readyto consent. When separatedwe
couldenjoyeachother'spresencebyexchange ofwritten
messagesinwhichwe couldspeakmore openlythaninperson
and soneedneverlackthepleasures ofconversation.10(66)
FromHeloisewe have ampleproofthat Abelard actedonthese assumptions and took full
advantage oflinguistic powerto seduceher. For example, in herlettercomplainingto
Abelard abouthis neglect ofher since their entryinto religion andbegginghim to restore
his presenceto herbywayofcorrespondence, Heloisereminds him ofhis once abundant
letters:
... Ibegyoutorestoreyourpresenceto me inthe wayyoucan
- bywritingme somewordofcomfort...Wheninthepastyou
soughtme outfor sinfulpleasuresyourletters cameto me thick
andfast, andyourmanysongsputyourHeloise oneveryone's
lips, sothateverystreetandhouseechoedwithmyname." (117)
The fact that Heloise andAbelard availedthemselves oftheirliterarytalents to
arouse each otherwith skillfullycraftedwords oflove is further impliedbyapassage in
Abelard's secondletterto Heloise. While imploringHeloise tojoinhiminthanking God
forhis castration, an act ofdivine gracethat savedtheir souls, Abelard writes that the
Lord was indignant orgrievedbecausetheir"knowledge ofletters,"the talents that the
Lordhad entrustedto them, "werenotbeingused to glorifyhis name"(149).11
10ThisandallsubsequentquotesfromAbelardandHeloise'slettersarefromthetranslationbyRadice.
Seen6.
11Abelarddescribeshiscastrationnotasanactofdivinejustice,butofgrace. He writesthatthe
castrationhealedtwosoulsby"awhollyjustifiedwoundinasinglepartof[his]body." Radice, 146-147.
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Inseparably intertwined with love, language is notonly themedium that enables
lovers to declare and arouse desire, but also the channel through which culture dictates
the discourseofdesire. That is, lovers not onlyuse words for amorous ends, theyindeed
"speak in adelirium conformingto literature.,,12 In a study on love stories in Western
culture, Catherine Belsey notes the inherent cultural influence in various genres oflove
literature:
Lovers speak, andyet indoing sotheyare spokenbya language
that precedesthem, that is notattheirdisposal, undertheir
control; this languageis at the sametimedispersedamong
banalities,poetry,the sacred,tragedy.13
This languagethat precedes lovers who speak it, I suggest, is precisely culture as
represented inliterature, which paradoxically dictates the very beings who create it. A
more detailed discussion onhow love literature influenced Heloise and Abelard will
follow in the next chapter.
In addition to dictating lovers in theirdiscourse, culture also influences them in
theirchoice ofpartners. Rene Girard coined the term "mimetic desire" to showhow
desirability is determined by public consensus. In his triangularmodel ofmimetic desire,
Girard states that one desires by imitation, which depends onthe existence ofat least
three individuals. Forinstance, A desires Bbecause C also desires B. He further states
that culture is formed wheneverthere are more than two individuals. Similarto Girard's
triangularmodel, Barthes's ideaofinduction stipulates that "amorous desire is discovered
by induction," and that ''the loved being is desired because anotherorothers have shown
12Barthes, 171.
13CatherineBe1sey,Desire:LoveStories in Western Culture(OxfordUKandCambridgeUSA:
Blackwell, 1994),84.
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the subject that such abeing is desirable.,,14 William Shakespeare calls this "lovethat
stood upon the choice offriends," "loveby another's eye," and "lovebyhearsay.,,15
The forces that drew Abelard and Heloiseto each otherclearly illustratemimetic
desire at work. Considerhow Abelard introduces Heloiseintohis autobiographical
account:
Therewas inParis at thetime ayoung girl namedHeloise, ... In
looks shedidnotrank lowest, while intheextentofherlearning
she stoodsupreme. A gift for letters is sorare in womenthat it
added greatlyto hercharm andhad wonherrenownthroughout
therealm. Iconsideredalltheusual attractions for aloverand
decided shewastheonetobringto mybed... (66)
Abelard had heard ofHeloise and consciously singledheroutto behis lover, because of
herliterary talents and herlooks. While Abelard mayhaveemployed litotes to describe
Heloise's appearance, Heloise's assessment ofAbelard is hyperbolic and leaves no doubt
that publicunanimity fueled herdesire for Abelard. Shewrites to Abelard in LetterI:
What king orphilosophercouldmatchyourfame? What district,
town orvillagedidnot long to seeyou? Whenyou appeared in
public, who didnot hurryto catch aglimpse ofyou, orcranehis
neck and strainhis eyestofollow yourdeparture? Every wife,
everyyoung girl desiredyou in absence andwas on fire in your
presence; queensand great ladies enviedme myjoysandmy
bed. (115)
So far Ihaveidentified in the story ofHeloise and Abelard two typical
characteristics oflove, namely mimetic desire and the intertwining oflove and language.
Fulfillment as the death ofdesire is yet another common characteristic oflovethat
manifests itselfin theirrelationship. By definition, desireis alonging or craving for the
14Barthes, 136.
15ReneGirard,A TheatreofEnvy: William Shakespeare(NewYorkandOxford: OxfordUniversity
Press, 1991),5.
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