Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2014 i'ay recours a vous: An Historical and Discursive Analysis of the Lettres Circulaires des Décédées of the Ursuline Order in Old and New France during the Louisiana French Colonial Period Jarrette K. Allen Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the French and Francophone Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Allen, Jarrette K., "i'ay recours a vous: An Historical and Discursive Analysis of the Lettres Circulaires des Décédées of the Ursuline Order in Old and New France during the Louisiana French Colonial Period" (2014). LSU Master's Theses. 3276. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/3276 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. I’AY RECOURS A VOUS: AN HISTORICAL AND DISCURSIVE ANALYSIS OF THE LETTRES CIRCULAIRES DES DÉCÉDÉES OF THE URSULINE ORDER IN OLD AND NEW FRANCE DURING THE LOUISIANA FRENCH COLONIAL PERIOD A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in The Department of French Studies by Jarrette K. Allen B.A., Louisiana State University, 2000 December 2014 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to start by expressing my profound gratitude to the New Orleans Ursulines for their gracious generosity and affection as I researched this thesis. The Prioress, Sister Carla Dolce; the Archivist, Mrs. Mary Lee Harris; and the Director of Mission and Ministry, Mrs. Nicole Fuller, welcomed me into their community and went above and beyond in assisting me in locating sources for my research. With warmth, affection, and keen interest in my work, they opened their offices, the door of the ancient vault, and their hearts to me, and I am forever grateful. Also, I owe a debt of immense gratitude to Sister Marie-Andrée Jégou and the Ursuline sisters in Beaugency, France, who not only opened their archives to me but also twice invited me to their table. The guidance and direction provided by Sister Jégou was an invaluable help in understanding and organizing my work, and the weekend spent among the sisters was a rare opportunity and will always be a cherished memory. For their assistance and guidance, and for taking time out of their busy schedules to assist me, I would like to thank Dr. Emily Clark of Tulane University, Dr. Elizabeth Rapley of the University of Ottawa, Dr. Thomas Carr of the University of Nebraska, Mrs. Christèle Potvin of the Departmental Archives of Seine-Maritime, Sister Rosemary Meiman of the Central Province of the Ursuline Roman Union, Miss Sarah Flettrich of Louisiana State University, and Reverend Chad Partain of the Alexandria Diocese. For guidance in the analysis of the corpus and for reading and providing insights into this thesis, I would like to thank my committee members, Drs. Mary Jill Brody and Kate Jensen of Louisiana State University. ii Lastly, I have the immense honor of thanking Dr. Sylvie Dubois, to whom I owe the entirety of this research and publication. Without Dr. Dubois, I would never have been introduced to the letters I have studied; I would never have known where even to begin in my research; I would not have understood the procedures of archival research; I would not have known what to do with myself upon my arrival in France; I would not have known how to structure this thesis or to organize my thoughts. To her I owe an indelible debt of thanks, and she will always have my immense and sincere gratitude and affection. From visits to the archives in New Orleans and across France, to an uncountable number of emails and meetings, to an encouraging lunch in a quaint sidewalk restaurant in Montpelier, I pray that this thesis validates her efforts on my behalf. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................ii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................. vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................vii LIST OF NOMENCLATURE .............................................................................. x ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2. THE URSULINES IN OLD AND NEW FRANCE ..................... 6 2.1 Founding and Establishment in France ............................................................................ 7 2.2 The Ursuline Mission to New France ............................................................................ 14 2.3 The Ursulines in New Orleans ....................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER 3. OBJECTIVES AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE ................... 26 3.1 Questions Arising Out of the Literature ......................................................................... 28 3.2 Hypotheses ..................................................................................................................... 35 CHAPTER 4. CORPORA AND METHODOLOGY ........................................ 37 4.1 Primary Corpus .............................................................................................................. 37 4.2 Secondary Documents ................................................................................................... 48 4.3 Methodology .................................................................................................................. 50 CHAPTER 5. THE OBITUARY CIRCULAR LETTER TRADITION ............ 53 5.1 Hagiographical Documents in the Ursuline Tradition ................................................... 56 5.2 The Public and Personalized Character of the Obituary Circular Letter ....................... 68 5.3 The Pragmatic Nature of the Obituary Circular Letter .................................................. 79 iv 5.4 The Edificatory and Collective Purposes of the Obituary Circular Letter ..................... 82 5.5 The Prayers and Suffrages for the Deceased, and Other Requests ................................ 86 CHAPTER 6. THE NEW ORLEANS OBITUARY CIRCULAR LETTERS ... 89 6.1 External and Internal Trials ........................................................................................... 89 6.2 Attitudes toward and Aptitudes for the Vocation .......................................................... 95 6.3 The Looming Spectre of Death ...................................................................................... 99 6.4 The Discourse of Humility and Respect ...................................................................... 102 6.5 The Ideal New Orleans Ursuline .................................................................................. 107 CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSION.......................................................................... 112 7.1 The DNA of Angela Merici ......................................................................................... 112 7.2 Possibilities for Future Research ................................................................................. 113 7.3 The Ursuline Outlook of Today ................................................................................... 115 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................. 116 APPENDIX A: LIST OF LETTERS ANALYZED: THE DECEASED ......... 120 APPENDIX B: LIST OF LETTERS ANALYZED: THE WRITERS ............. 121 APPENDIX C: ORIGINAL FRENCH TEXTS ............................................... 122 VITA ................................................................................................................. 130 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Saint Avoye Pre-printed Obituary Circular Letter ........................................................ 67 Figure 2: Count and Classification of Directives, Listed by Diminishing Force........................ 104 Figure 3: Traits Eulogized in the Letters .................................................................................... 110 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Archives & Collections ADBR Archives départementales des Bouches-du-Rhône, Marseille, France ADHV Archives départementales de la Haute-Vienne, Limoges, France ADN Archives départementales du Nord, Lille, France ADPD Archives départementales du Puy-de-Dôme, Clermont-Ferrand, France ADSM Archives départementales de Seine-Maritime, Rouen, France BIS Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de la Sorbonne, Département des Manuscrits et des livres anciens, Paris, France BMAZ Bibliothèque Mazarine, Paris, France BNFA Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arsenal site, Paris, France BNFFM Bibliothèque nationale de France, François-Mitterand site, Paris, France BNFRL Bibliothèque nationale de France, Richelieu-Louvois site, Paris, France CFFS Center for French and Francophone Studies, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana HNOC Archive of the Ursuline Nuns of the Parish of Orleans, The Historic New Orleans Collection, New Orleans,