The letters of Abelard and Heloise
The letters between Abelard and Heloise are proof of the love that existed between a teacher and his student. Abelard fell in love with a lady, Heloise, who was twenty years younger than him. After a torrid affair between the two lovers, the young lady became pregnant. The two lovers got married soon after the birth of their child, but their marriage was short-lived. After the uncle of Heloise exacts revenge on Abelard, the two lovers decide to resign to religious orders as Abelard goes to a monastery and Heloise retreats to a nunnery. Despite their misfortunes, the two lovers continue to exchange love letters to ease the burden of loneliness. In one letter, Abelard writes to his friend Philintus and gives him a detailed account of his life. In the letter, Abelard narrates his life story from his childhood, his youth life, his academic quests and his love life. From the letter, it is clear that the most significant point of the life of Abelard is his love for Heloise. In another letter, Heloise is writing to Abelard. Heloise is unhappy with the last letter Abelard wrote to her. Heloise tells Abelard that enough misfortune has already befallen them. Therefore, Abelard should not add more grief to their life by writing about death. The themes of love, suffering, and religion come forward from the two letters.
Love
The love between Abelard and Heloise was love at first sight. In his letter to Philintus, Abelard says, “Heloise was the mistress of the most polite arts. You may easily imagine that this did not a little help to captivate me; I saw her, I loved her, I resolved to make her love me.” (8). Abelard confesses to Philintus that he thought of nothing but Heloise and he conceived a plan to get close to her. With time, Heloise confesses her love to Abelard, and she even gets pregnant. The romance between Abelard and Heloise faces many misfortunes because of the disapproval from Fulbert, the uncle to Heloise. When Abelard gets castrated by Fulbert as punishment for eloping with his niece, the two lovers decide to resign to religious orders and remain faithful to each other. The theme of love between Abelard and Heloise proves that pure and true love never dies. Abelard and Heloise face many challenges in their love life to the point of giving up their child and resigning to religious orders. However, the two lovers continue their affection by writing to each other. Therefore, Abelard and Heloise can be used as an example of the eternity of love.
Suffering
Abelard and Heloise each suffer as a result of their love. Their relationship face objection from Fulbert and his vengeance separates Abelard and Heloise. Abelard narrates his misfortunes to Philintus, “He bribed my servants; an assassin came into my bedchamber by night, with a razor in his hand, and found me in a deep sleep. I suffered the most shameful punishment that the revenge of an enemy could invent; in short, without losing my life, I lost my manhood.” (17). Abelard further says that his life at the monastery is wretched and his only source of consolation is Heloise and the letter she writes. Heloise also suffers in the nunnery. She writes to Abelard, “Can you have the cruelty to abandon me? The fear of this stabs my heart; the fearful presages you make at the end of your letter, those terrible images you draw of your death, quite distract me.” (62). It is evident from her letter that Heloise also suffers. She urges Abelard to write about other things than death since their life is already full of misery. The theme of suffering goes forward to prove that love can, indeed hurt. When love is firmly rooted, it can endure pain just as Abelard and Heloise endured the misery that came upon them.
Religion
Abelard and Heloise resign to religious orders. When Abelard loses his manhood, he goes to live in the desert, but people still follow him (19). This scenario is likened to that of John the Baptist. Just like John the Baptist, Abelard goes to the desert to purify himself his sins. However, people who love his teachings follow him to the desert. The same way people got baptized by John the Baptist. Heloise also gives up her worldly possessions, including her child and goes to live in a nunnery. Heloise likens herself to the Biblical women who caused the downfall of great men. Heloise compares herself to Delilah and how she caused the destruction of Samson (67). Just like Delilah, Heloise had blinded a great philosopher, and because of her, Abelard had been reduced to a castrated monk.
Both Abelard and Heloise find refuge and redemption in religion after their separation. Heloise tells Abelard that her sin is love, and she is serving her punishment in the nunnery (70). Abelard also believes that his suffering the monastery is punishment for his sin of fornication. Abelard tells Philintus that although he suffers a great deal in the monastery, he is at peace because he is getting redeemed from his previous sins (20). Therefore, the two lovers use religion to repent their sins and seek redemption.
In conclusion, the love between Abelard and Heloise is eternal. The two lovers share a deep affection for each other. They also suffer together as a result of their passion. At last, they seek redemption in a religious order. Although they are separated, Abelard and Heloise keep their love alive by writing love letters.
Work Cited
Peirre Abelard, Heloise. The Love Letters of Abelard and Heloise (1901). Kindle Edition published by Evinity Publishing , 2009.