The Letters of Abelard and Heloise
French philosopher Peter Abelard was known for his sharp ideologies and philosophies. In his Historia Calamitatum (Stories of His Misfortunes), he discloses a handful of details of his life as a student, a philosopher, and a lover to Heloise. Reading through his letters, we can assume that Abelards status as a nobleman and the most sought-after logician of his time swelled his self-pride. When he moved to Paris to advance his education, he was disappointed with his teacher Champeaux whom he considered intellectually inferior to him. He resented and provoked him into arguments. Abelard admits in his Historia Calamitum that his resentment towards Champeaux was the start of his misfortunes (4). When he met Heloise, he thought it would be easy to make her yield to his advances. He states I... was confident that I should have an easy success for at that time I had youth and exceptional good looks as well as my great reputation to recommend me and feared no rebuff from any woman who I might choose to honor with my love (10) Heloise, on the other hand, was a meek young woman who was under her uncles ward. Her uncle tried everything he can to advance her nieces education. She was her uncles pride for her education and intelligence was said to be superior over other women in Paris. In Historia, Abelard tells that Heloises knowledge has made her most renowned throughout the realm of France (10). This proves that Abelard and Heloise were both intellectually gifted and shared the same interest in literary knowledge.
The twelfth century is noted as a patriarchal period in history, a time when Abelard and Heloise were supposed to have lived. In their relationship, we can observe that Abelard was the dominant one. Abelards decisions about their relationship were the ones that were executed. After a long time of murmurs about the clandestine affair, Heloises uncle took time to prove it for himself. He was enraged at finding out the truth. He kept them apart by banishing Abelard from his house and by appointing a guard to look after Heloise. However, they still found a way to correspond with each other.
When Heloise learned that she was pregnant, she sought her lovers opinion on what to do. She agreed at Abelards idea of elopement. He took her way to Brittany at his sisters house and there he brought up the subject of marriage which Heloise strongly refused. She thought that if they marry, it would be like robbing a shining ember from its midst. The world will curse her for the the loss of the church and the grief of the philosophers (Heloise 13). She points out in her letter that her uncles rage would not be pacified by their matrimony and Abelards reputation would surely suffer. Marriage would only be a suffering and a burden to both of them. Apart from this, one of her minor reasons of arguing against matrimony was that she was not sure that the man she loved would continue adoring her throughout their marriage. The title of mistress was what she preferred instead of being called his hidden wife. In her first letter to Abelard she states
The name of wife may seem more sacred or more binding, but sweeter for me will always be the word mistress, or, if you will permit me, that of concubine or whore. I believed that the more l humbled myself on your account, the more gratitude I should win from you... (Heloise 51)
However, Heloise soon gave in and agreed to be secretly married to Abelard. When she gave birth to their son, they left him under the care of Abelards sister. Abelard decided to lead the life of a monk and bid Hlose to do the counterpart to join the nunnery. It is a life that centers on abstinence and devotion to God. This was the way he believed he could vanquish the guilt of what he had done. Heloise, although very young to consider becoming a nun, submitted to her husbands request in order to be equal with him in terms of suffering, unconcerned about the fact that she could still live a full life for she was only in her youth or that she could raise their son Astrolabe.
In her letters to Abelard, she declares that men are superior to women and their protection is needed by them (Gans). Expressing her pride to have attracted a man who seems irresistible to women, she also speaks highly of her teacher and lover. With these, we can infer that Heloise was obedient to the demands of the patriarch or the masculine. She gives us a vivid picture of the status of women in those times the inequality between the sexes and the oppression of women. Abelard, on the other hand, states his thought about the opposite gender that womens prayers are more readily heard by God than that of men. Their correspondence by the means of letters also reflects their views on religion. We can observe that Abelard often quotes biblical passages from the New Testament while Heloise mostly quotes the Old.
The following incidents after the marriage dramatically changed the fate of these two lovers. Canon Fulbert, who was Heloises uncle, concludes that Abelard cast off his niece by urging her into becoming a nun in Arguentil. He plots a vengeance against the man to whom he entrusted his beloved niece before. They came without warning one night while the man was sleeping in his room. They bribed Abelards servant to execute their vengeful acts that is to remove Abelards manhood. Castration, at that time, was the punishment for men who were discovered committing adultery and non-marital sexual union in some areas in Europe (Irvine). It only implies that the practice of sexual union outside the bonds of matrimony is condemned by the church and their followers in the twelfth century. Abelards loss of manhood made him undergo a long enduring pain and public humiliation.
It is safe to say that in those moments, Abelard has lost everything he used to have his love, prestige, and self-esteem. His lengthy narrative of his emasculation in his letter to a friend speaks of his remorse towards the letter of the law stating that being a eunuch is an abomination to the Lord, and that no man whose testicles have been crushed or whose organ has been severed shall become a member of the assembly of the Lord (Abelard 18). Through Abelards letter, we can also observe his rage towards that bitter incidentthat losing his manhood is equivalent to losing power in a society led by the masculine. He also admits that his confusion induced by his remorse and misery led him to seek solace in the monastery of St. Denis while Heloise also devoted herself in a religious habit because of her obedient will. Their resolve to accept the religious vows marked the end of their affair until their correspondence after ten years.
So the couple went on their lives as servants of the Lord, devoting each day in repentance of their past. When Abelards letter to his monk friend landed on the hands of Heloise, it opened an access to the memories of their past and an opportunity to divulge what they repressed for too long a time. In their exchange of letters, their quotes and allusions are based mostly in the Bible or the Christian doctrines, a shift from their early philosophical years. Their history of a passionate yet elicit love affair in the period where they treated Christian doctrines as law, had a stronger inclination to philosophy than theology, and Heloise opposed marriage could be the basis to accuse them of being irreligious. However, in the latter part of their lives, they emphasized that God is the most influential force in their livesthat their parting was their way of repenting their sins and turning to the one who is above all else, the omnipotent God. With that, both of them transformed a strong physical love into a love which is beyond all bounds based on what Heloise calls as the chastity of spirit (50).
Abelard and Heloise were two lovers united by their similaritiestheir love of knowledge and learning and a love ever so passionate. But it seems like their love was beyond their time. Back then, a teacher-student relationship was viewed as improper. A non-marital union was considered as filthy as any crime. To have a child out of wedlock was immoral. It was the kind of love that broke all the rules and in consequence, they had to go through a series of misfortunes. Although many people still frown upon these things, they have been accepted as a choice everyone is free to make. Their differences, however, are additional factors of the ruin of their relationship. Heloise opposed marriage and described the implications it will have on both of them, but Abelard was insistent on his idea of what should be. The marriage stipulated the following misfortunes they encountered. Heloises obedience and submission to her master and lover, Abelard, prevented her from defending what she believed in. Abelards pride and selfishness, however, won him many enemies. But altogether, they were able to endure a life full of regret and misery through the courage that came from their loveknowing that they have each other, though they were denied by each others presence. Their striving love might have not succeeded in the end, but their letters have stood the tests of time. In the hearts of many, they are rejoiced simply because they serve as a reflection and inspiration to their lives.
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