Heloise and Abelard - Letter 4 - Love, Despair, and Repentance - Sadler's Lectures

30/10/2025 13 min
Heloise and Abelard - Letter 4 - Love, Despair, and Repentance - Sadler's Lectures

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Episode Synopsis

This lecture discusses key ideas from the sequence of letters between two great Medieval intellectuals, lovers, and religious Heloise D'Argenteuil and Peter Abelard

It focuses specifically on the fourth letter, which is by Heloise. In this letter Heloise reaffirms her love for her husband Abelard, and asserts that life will have little value or attraction for her after he dies. She explains what emotions she experiences, and the despair she feels about their situation, and then discusses the conflicts within her heart and mind that stand in the way of genuine and consistent repentance on her part

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Read Heloise and Abelard's Letters - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/35977/35977-h/35977-h.htm

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