" How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd; "
The above lines are taken from Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope, the story of a tragic love affair where the heroine's forgetfulness became her only comfort. There was a film made using the the line "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". In this post I'll talk about the real life incident that forms the subject of the poem.
Eloisa and Abelard were student and teacher, respectively in the 11th or 12th century in France. Eloisa was known as a very intelligent scholar of languages (latin, greek, hebrew) and was living with her Uncle. She was going to be sent off as a Nun. Abelard, was from a noble family who rejected knighthood to be a philosopher. He was tutoring Eloisa and they both fell in love. They had a child, a son and they married each other secretly in France. Soon after, news spread in society of their secret marriage and child and Abelard asked Eloisa to live away. Eloisa's uncle, enraged by the whole situation, along with a few friends broke into abelard's house and castrated him. Abelard was then sent to a monastery and Eloisa went on to become a nun and took a vow of silence.
They both never met each other. There son was brought up by Eloisa's family, although she was away being a nun. They both turned to religion, and this was a time when religion was reigning it's power in Europe. Condemned by society and now a eunuch, Abelard turned to religion. He internalized the idea that he felt lust and not love for Eloisa and because he committed a sin he needed to redeem himself. I think he internalized these ideas because although he still felt strongly for her, after his castration he was incapable of loving her anymore (physically and psychologically). Eloisa, on the other hand continued to love him.
Eloisa's perspective was very different from abelard. She felt both love and passion for him and was convinced that it was never lust for any of them but it was always love. Moreover, their different views show male and female perspectives and eventually clashes between the male and female mind. Historically, they corresponded with 4 letters between them while they were at the monasteries.
These 4 letters were highly personal and show us the stark differences between Eloisa and Abelard's thinking. While abelard in his letter tells Eloisa that she cannot ever love him again, because he had seduced her before and had committed a sin, Eloisa feels that it was a beautiful time in her life. Finally, Abelard tells Eloisa he will only correspond with her in religious/scholarly matters. From then on most letters have questions about languages, religion etc. They bot continued to live separately as a monk and a nun.
It becomes to difficult to imagine such a situation from our current modernist perspective. But many many years ago, the church and religion had a lot of power- to keep lovers away. Alexander Pope's poem (which was written in the 17th or 18th CE as a fictionalized account) - shows us the ill-fate of two lovers. One of them still proud of her love, the other not so much. I think we can't really blame Abelard- after castration and living with holy scriptures anyone would be brainwashed into thinking it was an act of sin. What is truly admirable is Eloisa and her insistence (even after becoming a nun and taking a vow of silence) that she chose Abelard over God. She chose to love a person and she wasn't ashamed of it.
These are my favorite line's from alexander pope's poem (I have randomly picked up my favorite lines, they are not in correct order) :
In these deep solitudes and awful cells,
Where heav'nly-pensive contemplation dwells,
And ever-musing melancholy reigns;
What means this tumult in a vestal's veins?
Why rove my thoughts beyond this last retreat?
Why feels my heart its long-forgotten heat?
Yet, yet I love!—From Abelard it came,
And Eloisa yet must kiss the name.
Come, Abelard! for what hast thou to dread?
The torch of Venus burns not for the dead.
Nature stands check'd; Religion disapproves;
Ev'n thou art cold—yet Eloisa loves.
Ah hopeless, lasting flames! like those that burn
To light the dead, and warm th' unfruitful urn.
Yet here for ever, ever must I stay;
Sad proof how well a lover can obey!
Death, only death, can break the lasting chain;
And here, ev'n then, shall my cold dust remain,
Here all its frailties, all its flames resign,
And wait till 'tis no sin to mix with thine.
