A Rule for Children and Other Writings

Theological Studies, June, 2004 by Phyllis Zagano

A RULE FOR CHILDREN AND OTHER WRITINGS. By Jacqueline Pascal. Translated from the French by John J. Conley, S.J. Series: The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2003. Pp. xxiii 152. $18.

This important entry to the ambitious series, The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe, presents selected writings of Jacqueline Pascal (1625-1661), eternally linked--where she is known at all--with her better-known older brother, Blaise. Born third and last in her upper-class Parisian family, Jacqueline entered the Port-Royal convent in 1652 against her parents' wishes. She died nine years later as Soeur Jacqueline de Sainte Euphemie, a novice mistress whose novices had been turned out by ecclesiastical authority.

P.'s life in Port-Royal spans the angriest years of official responses to Jansenism. Her own beliefs shine mixed oil and water: they may display Jansenism, but they also clearly present a woman who thought for herself. She taught by example and exemplified what she taught.

John Conley's selections from P.'s works trace her life against a 17th-century backdrop guarded by men. He presents clear translations of her early poetry--she was known in polite society as a child prodigy--and of her treatise "On the Mystery of the Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ," written before she entered Port-Royal. The autobiographical "Report" to her prioress details P.'s determination to break the connection between dowry and religious profession, a necessity in her case as her family refused to relinquish her portion of her father's estate to her dowry. P.'s humiliation underscores Port-Royal's efforts to allow women to live religious vocations independent of family approval.

P.'s "Rule for Children" details students' horaria, clearly aimed at development of their interior lives. As PortRoyal came under increasing scrutiny, her "Interrogation" by Monsieur Louis Bail, a cleric imposed as convent superintendent by Louis XIV, belayed his fears as quickly as it belied her intelligence. Other letters and memoirs round out the collection of pieces that display the wiles and will of a woman intent on living her own life.

One flaw may be shared by the other books of the series: the typeface is too small to allow easy reading of a masterful translation of a mistress of the intellect.

PHYLLIS ZAGANO

Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y.