Take for example, the letter she conducts to Abelard, requesting and at the same time criticizing the Benedictine rule. According to scholar Karma Lochrie, this letter has undergone a general minimization by scholars in the past, because it was the first letter which broke away from the previously mentioned first depiction of Heloise, in which “…she seems to abandon her earlier protestations of desire for Abelard and requests, instead, a history of female monasteries and a rule appropriate for nuns (Lochrie 29).” What is missed out on when this letter is left unexamined, includes an interesting glimpse into Heloise’ views on sexuality, perhaps not as a reflection of her actual considerations about sexual acts, but rather her understanding of the use of sexuality as a tool in order to build her case in particular situations which she found opposition with.
In this letter she addresses two key issues regarding sexuality. Her first argument sets itself against the enclosure of cloistered women. Heloise begins by stating that no enclosed person, man or woman could be …show more content…
Lawrence, that one of Teresa’s most famous visions, known as the rapture, was the only way in which she, as an active member of the Roman Catholic Church, could have given her blessing to sexual pleasure. It seems that Lawrence was a minor bit short sighted in reference to the church as her main, or only, according to his text, short coming in expressing the positive aspect of sexual desire and understanding. If she could not speak openly about sexuality like the other mystics examined here, it was likely not just because she was a Catholic. It likely had far more to do that her location was in Spain, during the Spanish Inquisition, and because she had already been investigated several times since beginning to express her visions, and the fact that she was of Jewish consent did not aid her in finding support to say extremely controversial things
In this letter she addresses two key issues regarding sexuality. Her first argument sets itself against the enclosure of cloistered women. Heloise begins by stating that no enclosed person, man or woman could be …show more content…
Lawrence, that one of Teresa’s most famous visions, known as the rapture, was the only way in which she, as an active member of the Roman Catholic Church, could have given her blessing to sexual pleasure. It seems that Lawrence was a minor bit short sighted in reference to the church as her main, or only, according to his text, short coming in expressing the positive aspect of sexual desire and understanding. If she could not speak openly about sexuality like the other mystics examined here, it was likely not just because she was a Catholic. It likely had far more to do that her location was in Spain, during the Spanish Inquisition, and because she had already been investigated several times since beginning to express her visions, and the fact that she was of Jewish consent did not aid her in finding support to say extremely controversial things