French Literature Reviews - 2026

Antoinette Gimaret, Souffrir et jouir. Corps féminins en religion au XVIIe siècle
Medieval and Renaissance Studies

This anthology aims to shed light, for a broad readership, on the religious memory of the female body in the early modern era, both within and outside convent walls. It explores the core aspects of this female corporeality, examining its nature, plasticity, and implications through the lens of a major literary genre of the period: the hagiography, or Life of the Saint. In doing so, it invites readers to (re)discover an hagiographic literature that has long been overlooked, having been unjustly confined to the narrow fields of religious historiography or bigotry. What exemplary role do these representations of the female body serve? What female agency do they manage to suggest? Do they merely recount the orthodox dictates of devotion, or conversely, their transgression? What are we to make, yesterday and today, of these overwhelming scenarios of incarnation—of corpses that remain fragrant or heal the sick, of the constant exhibition of wounds, blood, and decay—which authors forge into a strange discourse that edifies even as it horrifies, fascinating and repelling in equal measure? What mystical or devotional virtue can be attributed to this compilation of symptoms, to this insatiable drive to inflict pain upon oneself or to minister to others? Why do biographers focus so intently on the physical body to articulate female sanctity, and what does this reveal about the feminine at the margins of canonical discourse? What space do these narratives afford to a pure excess of the flesh, to a dark undercurrent that channels conventual loathing, the desire for blasphemy, death wishes, erotic fantasies, the aporias of religious vocation, the suffering or ecstasy of ascetic discipline, sexual frustration, the burden of harassment, and the yearning for emancipation? Guided by these overarching questions, this volume reveals the rich anthropological and literary depth of this fascinating historical corpus.

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Hagiography and Narratives of the Female Body in the Early Modern Age

Sources and Editorial Principles

Part I: Corpus Dolens

Chapter I: Falling Ill

Chapter II: The Nuptials of the Cross

Chapter III: Inflicting Pain

Part II: The Flesh of Wonders

Chapter I: An Air of Scandal

Chapter II: Living Miracles

Chapter III: Sublimations: From Corpse to Relic

Part III: The Virtues of Agency

Chapter I: Working on Appearance

Chapter II: Charitable "Industry"

Chapter III: The Laboring Body, the Efficacious Body

Complete List of Sources

List of Female Figures Discussed

Selective Critical Bibliography

This volume situates itself within the broader context of early modern religious literature and cultural history, engaging with the complex traditions of hagiographic writing across the period. Hagiography served as a major literary genre through which religious communities articulated devotion, orthodoxy, and spiritual authority. By examining representations of female corporeality both within and outside convent walls, the anthology connects with ongoing scholarly discussions regarding the literary forms used to shape religious memory and devotional practice. Readers interested in early modern hagiographic literature and the cultural history of the body may find it relevant.

The texts gathered here address the multifaceted dimensions of female sanctity, focusing on physical suffering, mystical experience, and the porous boundaries between devotion and transgression. The materials explore how biographers articulated female sanctity through the physical body, engaging with themes of ascetic discipline, miraculous phenomena, and the negotiation of canonical discourse. Through its structured exploration of the corpus dolens and the flesh of wonders, the anthology reflects the rich anthropological and literary depth of a historical corpus often confined to narrow fields of religious historiography.