What elements of the religious life appeal to Elouisa? Eloisa to Abelard is a long poem, and I'm using the term "religious life" loosely to cover a number of different things that Eloisa expresses longing for at different points in the poem as she seeks alternatives to her feelings for Abelard. Comment on this thread by identifying some lines (no more than four) in which you can isolate what it is she seeks in religion and why. You can also comment on this thread by improving (kindly and collegially) on someone else's interpretation of lines that interest you.
Deadline: Wednesday (10/14), start of class.
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In Pope's "Eloisa to Abelard," readers gain a sense that it is the idea of retreat and silence which is emphasized in religious life that draws Eloisa to the vocation. "How happy is the blameless vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind," Pope writes hinting at the idea that the religious life serves as a vacation away from the real world (207-209). Eloisa turns to a future as a nun as a way to attempt to forget about Abelard and his effect on her emotions. The religious life is free from ties to marriage and the issues that come along with it. Eloisa is drawn to the liberty that comes with being a nun by escaping the pressures of society's obsession with marriage. She is "free" as a nun-to a certain extent, even though her own mind will not let her forget about it-to be her own definition of a citizen of society, without Abelard.
i would agree with Whitney that although Eloisa was forced to enter into a convent, she would have felt certain freedoms there from other men and enjoyed days of solitude. A day praying could be spent a day thinking about Abelard, with no one the wiser, and she mentions a few times how she intertwines God with Abelard (Line 140). She also shares a sense of guilt for not feeling the punishment he did (castration), and says "the crime was common, common be the pain" (Line 105). She is ashamed that she was sent away while a gang tortured him, and replies with anger and "burning blushes." Another reference that could be used to say she is praising Abelard in her days rather than the Lord is her description of prayers is "I ought to grieve, but cannot what I ought; I mourn the lover, not lament the fault;" (Lines 183-184). Although she is in a place of worship, her sadness comes from missing her lover, not from sinning with him. She maintains that although she is in a convent, she cannot do what she ought; to free her mind from Abelard. Her occupation allows this; there would be no way to tell what one is praying, worshipping, or crying over.
While I agree that religion is her freedom from Abelard, I think lines 300-304 give us a better glimpse of her faith. "And faith, our early immortality! Enter each mild, each amicable guest; Receive, and warp me in eternal rest!" Clearly, she believes that religion is her way to immortality on earth and in heaven.
"Dim and remote the joys of saints I see, Nor envy them, that Heav'n I lose for thee."
The speaker indicates here that although she does believe in the religious tenets of her time she rejects them. The poem is an illustration of love and how the speaker is dealing with the internal conflict she faces at the choice of her "eternal soul" and her physical and current happiness. According to the line above, she has chosen to reject her soul for her love, but the next lines reveal that she still has qualms about this decision. she wishes a "curse on all the laws but those which love has made!". This implies that she accepts the laws of her religion but does not chose to follow them and longs for them to be different. The quote above also elucidates her opinion of the happiness found with in religious life she points out the joyless life of saints and how she does not envy them. These expressions towards religion lead the reader to believe that the speaker has little regard for the aspects of her religion. She seeks it to be different in that it would provide room for her to enjoy her love while still being pure.
I agree with Julia in the sense that Eloisa does not regret her sins, rather she is sad from her separation from Abelard. She admits that her love for Abelard at times triumphs over her religious devotion, but she also attempts to bring herself back to God. Lines 205-206 states, "Fill my heart with God alone, for he/Alone can rival, can succeed to thee." Eloisa turns to God to overcome her feelings for Abelard, for God can "rival" and "succeed" over Abelard. Though, she later goes on to write of the "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind (Line 209)." While she may cherish that which she has learned through religion, she still desires more so the ignorance of being in love without the religious responsibilities and rules (having been FORCED into life in a convent as punishment for her behavior as opposed to being drawn to it).
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