1570 italy girl prisoner in convent

In een klooster in Ferrara rond 1570 leven nonnen uit rijke families min of meer gedwongen samen. Soms worden jonge meisjes ‘verkocht’ aan het klooster, zoals Isabetha/Serafina, die een relatie had met haar muziekleraar. Abdis Chiara probeert haar huis te runnen met zachte maar politiek bewuste hand, wat Serafina slecht bekomt. Ze verneemt dat haar geliefde haar verlaten heeft, en besluit om zich dan uit te hongeren om de pijn niet te voelen. De tegenstandster van Chiara, novicebegeleidster Umiliana, forceert Serafina in haar vasten, tot ze bijna sterft. Suora Zuana, die zich van in het begin over Serafina ontfermd heeft, doorziet de plot van Chiara, die Serafina voorgelogen heeft over haar geliefde: hij werd hardhandig aangepakt en voor dood achtergelaten, en ook die van de ascetische Umiliana, die zich van Serafina bedient om zelf abdis te worden, wat niet lukt. Dankzij Zuana wordt Serafina via een schatkist uit het klooster gesmokkeld en wordt ze herenigd met haar lief. Het klooster blijft van schandaal gespaard. Goede historische context van wat bisschoppen betrachtten in die 16de eeuw, de tijd van de contrareformatie.
Herlezen in 2020 ( )

3.5 stars

In 1570 in the Santa Caterina convent, Suora Zuana manages the dispensary and is called to sedate the newly arrived novice Serafina, who has absolutely no desire to be there. Serafina is known throughout the convent to be an exceptionally talented singer but absolutely refuses to sing; instead, she is assigned to help Zuana in the dispensary. The two develop a highly fraught bond as winds of political change threaten the convent's independence and relative freedom.

For a while, I think ever since I read The Name of the Rose, I'd been wanting to find more books featuring religious orders, especially nuns; this seemed like a really good fit, especially since I also enjoy reading about the Renaissance. The setting was vivid, and I found it really interesting how much political machination played out in the convent - it was really interesting to see these nuns being quite aware of goings-on in the outside world, especially with the backdrop of the Counter-Reformation. I didn't love the ending (it felt a little overdone, though I'm satisfied with the overall resolution to the plot), but I could see myself picking up another of Dunant's works in the future. ( )

A story of love, the imprisonment of women in convents when society gives them no alternative, powerplays between women in enclosed worlds where there is little to no immediate contact with the outside world (and the little contact would be taken away soon after this book finishes).

I did enjoy the book and the different relationships between the women and how they have all handled their entry into the convent - or not, as the case may be. I dont normally go for books about religious orders - having gone to a convent school for 14 years I generally have had my fill of real life experiences of nuns ! - but nevertheless am pleased that I have read it to completion.

Although I will remember the theme and conclusion, it was painfully slow reading. The story moved eventually. Zuana, as the dispenser of remedies following her father’s instructions, accepted her way of life. When the young nun full of life and sent to the convent to prevent a marriage, Serafina, comes into the convent Zuana seems to realize how cruel their ways can be to make young girls conform. As the friend of the abbess she helps the reader understand the political aspects as well as the spiritual rules. Serafina first rebels, tries accepting through her singing, then is encouraged to fast to the extreme. ( )