Hadewijch

Hadewijch (sometimes referred to as Hadewych, Hadewig, ... of Antwerp, or ... of Brabant) was a 13th-century poet and mystic, probably living in the Duchy of Brabant. Most of her extant writings are in a Brabantian form of Middle Dutch. Her writings include visions, prose letters and poetry. Hadewijch was one of the most important direct influences on John of Ruysbroeck.

Life

No details of her life are known outside the sparse indications in her own writings. Her Letters suggest that she functioned as the head of a beguine house, but that she had experienced opposition that drove her to a wandering life. This evidence, as well as her lack of reference to life in a convent, makes the nineteenth-century theory that she was a nun problematic, and it has been abandoned by modern scholars. She must have come from a wealthy family: her writing demonstrates an expansive knowledge of the literature and theological treatises of several languages, including Latin and French, as well as French courtly poetry, in a period when studying was a luxury only exceptionally granted to women.

Hadewijch (film)

Hadewijch is a 2009 French film directed by Bruno Dumont. It won the International Film Critics' award at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival.

Plot

Hadewijch (Julie Sokolowski), a young novice Sister, is a fanatic Christian making herself suffer by fasting and standing in the winter rain. The Mother Superior (Brigitte Mayeux-Clergot) expels her deeming her blind faith dangerous. She becomes Céline again, daughter of a Parisian diplomat. She meets a young man named Yassine (played by Yassine Salim), but tells him that she cannot fall in love with him because she is in love with Jesus; she is still a virgin and planning to stay that way.

Scholarly and critical reception

Critics have noted the influence of Robert Bresson and Mathieu Kassovitz. Bruno Dumont has remarked that the comparisons between his work and Robert Bresson are often exaggerated.

Cast