Mariana Alcoforado (1640–1723)
Forfatter af The Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun
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Disambiguation Notice:
(dut) De brieven van de Portugese non Marianna Alcoforado zijn mogelijk geschreven door de graaf de Guilleraques. Ook de antwoorden van de Franse militair zouden van zijn hand zijn.
Image credit: Marianna Alcoforado (Wikimedia Commons)
Værker af Mariana Alcoforado
Cartas de Amor - Carta de Guias de Casados Livro 1 2 eksemplarer
Cartas de Amor de uma Freira Portuguesa 1 eksemplar
nuevas cartas portuguesas 1 eksemplar
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Almen Viden
- Kanonisk navn
- Alcoforado, Marianna
- Fødselsdato
- 1640-04-22
- Dødsdag
- 1723-07-28
- Køn
- female
- Nationalitet
- Portugal
- Fødested
- Santa Maria da Feira, Beja, Portugal
- Dødssted
- Beja, Portugal
- Bopæl
- Beja, Portugal
- Erhverv
- nun
- Kort biografi
- Literary scholars continue to debate whether Sister Mariana (who was a real person) was the true author of The Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun. Some consider the letters a work of fiction and ascribe authorship to others, including possibly Gabriel-Joseph de La Vergne, comte de Guilleragues (1628–1685).
- Oplysning om flertydighed
- De brieven van de Portugese non Marianna Alcoforado zijn mogelijk geschreven door de graaf de Guilleraques. Ook de antwoorden van de Franse militair zouden van zijn hand zijn.
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Statistikker
- Værker
- 4
- Also by
- 1
- Medlemmer
- 285
- Popularitet
- #81,815
- Vurdering
- 3.4
- Anmeldelser
- 2
- ISBN
- 54
- Sprog
- 11
There has been much controversy about the authorship of the letters. Did she really write them, or were they forged by the Count of Guillerages? It seems like it all began as a prudish attempt to dismiss the possibility that a Nun could have had an affair with a soldier - and written him letters! Love letters, of all things!
The more I read, the more convinced I am that Mariana Alcoforado did write those letters. In those days, it wasn't unusual for love letters to be publicly read in fashionable salons and reunions – in fact, when these were published, people merely complained about the cowardice of mentioning Mariana but keeping her lover's name a secret.
Life in a 17th century convent was far from austere – these women had their own servants and private quarters inside the main enclosure, and it wasn't unusual for soldiers to visit and flirt with them more or less openly. Those behaviors were tolerated, but still had to be kept secret.
So it's not at all implausible that the affair happened, and that the letters were written and made public. But if there's something that makes the story more convincing it's the letters themselves. There's no way these were written by a man and meant as entertainment. They have the consistency of tone of a person in terrible pain, and all the little incoherencies in content that come with it.
Which is to say, these are over the top. It's so sad to think about this woman, buried alive because her family wouldn't take care of her, living in such a small world. No wonder she went all “Fatal Attraction” on the guy. For me, the initial feeling of “Whoa – get a grip, crazy lady” slowly became sort of a “What a waste. What a sad, fucking waste.” Poor girl.… (mere)