Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely by Andrew S. Curran

Author:Andrew S. Curran
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Other Press
Published: 2019-01-14T16:00:00+00:00

Suzanne is unexpectedly saved from what looks like certain death by Monsieur Manouri, the lawyer whom she had hired to help her with her suit. Through his intervention and financial support, she soon receives word that she will be moving to her third and final convent, Sainte-Eutrope, twenty-six miles due south of Paris, in Arpajon. As her carriage pulls up to the massive square residence, she is startled to see a highly irregular sight: two or three nuns staring down out at her from each of the convent’s bedroom windows. This is, of course, a sign of things to come. In stark contrast to the regime of self-denial and abstinence that she left at Longchamp, Sainte-Eutrope has given in to the lure of desire.

Shortly after she arrives, Suzanne meets the Mother Superior at Sainte-Eutrope, who is languorously sitting up in bed and casting her half-open eyes over her charges like an oriental despot. Suzanne watches as Madame de **** (we are spared the Mother Superior’s real name) rises from her somnolent state and begins inspecting her nun-filled harem:

She did not sit with us but instead walked around the table, placing her hand on one nun’s head, gently tilting it backwards and kissing her on the forehead; lifting up another nun’s gimp, placing her hand underneath it and leaning against the back of her chair; walking past another nun and as she did so letting one of her hands stray over her or touch her mouth; and nibbling some of the food that had been served and then offering it to this nun or that.28

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.