Nuances of Monastery Life

The nuances of living at a monastery are the main theme explored in the novel In This House of Brede. The content of the novel explores and explains the reasons why monasteries exist, how they operate and how they are funded. Apart from the concrete facts of monastery life, the day to day events are also explored. Although one might think a there are no conflicts tolerated at a monastery, the novel proves differently. The nuns react to each other much the same way lay people do; however, they seek a more Biblical more accepting way of handling their differences and approaching their problems.

While nuns are sometimes seen as women without feelings, gender or beauty Godden depicts her nuns in such a way that the reader understands how much these women give up when they decide to dedicate their lives to Christ. Cecily, for...