Analysis of “A Handbook for William” and “The Letters of Abelard and Heloise”
Casey Reynolds
In these texts, Abelard, Dhuoda, and Heloise each strive to be the foremost
individual in his or her reader’s life. At the times they were written, the social
atmosphere of medieval France was not one of gender equality. Men controlled the
church, and the church’s rule was present in almost every facet of French society.
Ergo Abelard, a well-known philosopher, theologian, and teacher of his time period,
could draw his information from a wide array of sources [scripture, social views,
political and church reforms, and even personal crises (See Letter 1, P 3-43)] and
remain credible. In contrast, both Dhuoda and Heloise cleverly used strongly
religious themes in order to attain credibility and make their thoughts and ideas
heard.
Abelard was striving to be one of the prime individuals in 12th century
philosophy. A man of the church, he was to be honored and given careful
consideration. Consequently, he was able to base his commands and assertions on
pure scriptural lessons (without a need for slant) and easily gain and maintain his
reader’s attention (P 20). Dhuoda and Heloise, however, needed to utilize biblical
lessons in order to lead their readers to focus their thoughts on them. Without a
strong basis a woman’s words could be totally ignored, regardless of her level of
education or the validity of her message. Dhuoda often tells William that the Bible is
the only valid source of truth, but builds from that by adding, “…As you pray to God
you may be able to look upon me as if in a mirror.” And “…you will have other
teachers…but not anyone like me, your mother, whose heart burns on your behalf.”
(P. 13). Through all of these methods she strives to keep herself in the forefront of
her son’s mind.
Heloise tells Abelard that he is very devoted “…to another’s vineyard; think
what you owe to your own (referring to herself and the Abbey)” (P 50). Here she
reminds him of the command from Corinthians to cultivate the community of
Christians whom you establish. By doing this, she causes him to feel obligated to
tend to her specifically.
While Abelard’s being a man allows him to directly pursue his agenda(s),
Dhuoda and Heloise each utilized foundational Biblical phrases and associations to
make their words carry further importance to their male readers. In book 8 of “A
Handbook for William”, Dhuoda talks exclusively about the ways in which William
should pray. These guidelines, however, seem to be more of a personal list as
opposed to a biblically correct guide. For example, she uses such phrases as “I
suggest how you may pray for all the ranks of the clergy.” and “End with the words
“and for all the holy people of God.”” She also utilizes many biblical tales of
misfortune in order to instill in William the importance of respecting his male
leaders (who will soon, if they’ve yet to already, potentially attain the motives
and/or power to kill William if they chose)(P 21).
Heloise is more interested in getting Abelard close to her rather than
protecting him, yet she uses Biblical teachings as well in order to ensure she is his
focus. Throughout the letters, she is prone to lamenting over what a wretch she is,
and how sinful and indebted to Abelard she remains. Focusing on Biblical teachings
about the seriousness of purity, she says “What misery for me- born as I was to be
the cause of such a crime!” (speaking of his castration, P 66) and “For if I truthfully
admit to the weakness of my most wretched soul I can find no penitence whereby to
appease God.” (P 67). Abelard replies, saying “Even when you were unwilling,
resisted to your utmost power and tried to dissuade me, as yours was the weaker
nature I often forced you to consent with threats and blows.” (P 82) As she likely
hoped for, Abelard continues with a sorrowful apology for the wretch he is (P 81). In
making him feel guilty for the things he did to her, she reminds him that he is
indebted to her.
Abelard’s word is regarded as truth and law by both his fellow monks and
the nuns; his professionalism and power of regulation is established. The women,
however, rise up and become unyielding on a few occasions. Therefore, such
instances truly stand out in their writing. Each of the women parallels her act of
speaking out with a religious reason for doing so.
By the sixth letter of the letters between Abelard and Heloise, Heloise
suddenly takes on a very serious countenance and begins to behave in an especially
professional manner. She becomes assertive, and demands that Abelard address the
issues that remain ignored in the abbey (P 94). In one of her boldest moments, she
says, “Certainly those who laid down the rules for monks were not only completely
silent about women but also prescribed regulations which they knew to be quite
unsuitable for them.” (P96). Here, she is linking the heavy physical workload
imposed on the nuns with God’s call for men to be the providers and protectors of
women. This sudden change of character from the humble, sulky nun to a leader of a
woman who is demanding answers from a monk is quite a stark contrast!
Dhuoda also becomes very stern in her teachings, but does so by leaning on
the fact that she is William’s mother and will therefore always have authority over
him. On page 79, she even tells him that she is his spiritual guide. She says this after
writing a vast amount of information that is centered upon spirituality. Were
William to accept this statement about her being his spiritual guide, he would place
much more importance on every other shred of knowledge she has included in her
message seeing how it is almost entirely of spiritual content. When looked at from
this angle, we can see that Dhuoda has placed utmost importance on religion, and
then proceeded to make herself the primary gateway into Wiliam’s being connected
with that spirituality.
Throughout the first letter, we develop a greater understanding of Abelard’s
personal history and about the times and places from which he can draw his
credibility. He has been a tutor, a thinker, a musician, a theologian, a monk, and the
list goes on. He can utilize these experiences when looking for new routes to make
himself more outspoken and more credible. Women of this time, while separated
into their own social hierarchy just like the men, were regularly discredited and
taught to let men speak on important business. Because of this, Heloise and Dhuoda
each choose to use religion as a means of gaining acknowledgment and respect for
themselves as individuals. While a somewhat prevalent man such as Abelard could
speak with authority, sans religion, Dhuoda and Heloise were able to masterfully use
religion as a crutch of sorts in order to make themselves heard. Considering the fact
that their writings are some of the few literary works of women to survive so many
hundreds of years, it would seem as though they met their goals.