Section Julian's Cell / The Essence of Julian

Spiritual Setting - Julian's Context

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General Notes: Catherine, Wayne, Jock Discussion:
 Catherine's Introduction: Book's Themes

For those that haven't yet had the opportunity to read the book yet, here is a quick summary of the plot of Milton's historical novel. The novel begins with Julian as a girl being hauled off by her mother to meet her husband to be. The girls name is Katherine and she is 14 years old. This time is a time of plague. Katherine's mother was so embittered by the loss of her husband to plague that it fell to Katherine to be the mother to the other children. This new marriage turns out well. The man is kindly and there are two children. But the plague returns and both children die. Then her husband is so distaught that he suicides. Katherine decides then to live with her mother that has taken up lodging in association with a nunnery. Here Katherine teaches herself to read both English and Latin. A maid was included in her mother's fee and after some time a maid, Alice, joins the story. Alice was a prostitute in the Bishop's whorehouse and had run away.

And that's only the start of the story.

Two themes stood out. First, how healing can happen in tremendous pain and betrayal. This applies even today. As when cancer strikes. And then the theme "The devil made me do it."

"Healing doesn't happen in a day or week or month. The gaping holes of cold depression that such tragedy cuts into a soul are never healed, but if the tears are not suppressed, if the anger is not buried, each passing day blunts the edge a little more."

"Daughter. As you come to know my pain, so also you shall know my joy."
Wayne's Introduction: JULIAN AS MYSTIC

Milton suggests that Julians primary motivation was neither the Bible nor the theology of the church fathers (though she may have known quite a bit about them both).  She lived, read and wrote out of her personal experience with the Holy. That is why she is known as a mystic.

We, like Julian, are also just beginning to emerge out of a long tradition of biblical-theological domination of the Christian faith.  Just as in her day, only an elite few had access to biblical-theological truths (clergy, the theologically educated) so too do we find ourselves in a time of reaping the unfortunate benefits of a biblical-theological elitism. Now, as then, one of the ways to transcend that problem is to do what Julian did. Live, read and write out of our own personal experience of the Holy. In other words, develop our own mystical understanding of God.

Mysticism and theology need not be adversarial. They can be complementary. Trouble begins when one tries to be exclusive rather than inclusive of the other. Theology needs mystery to keep it open-ended and not confined to the rational. Mysticism needs theology to keep it focused and balanced and not left to the mercy of feelings or emotions.

JULIAN AS WOMANIST THEOLOGIAN

Julian emerged from an era of male dominance. While the same situation continues to exist for some women today, circumstances are quite different. Julian really had few feminine models to work with. Even the Virgin Mary was portrayed as a mere vessel or conduit of life; impregnated not by a man, but by God.

In her day, the suppression of the feminine resulted on women being confined to convents and anchorholds. This was how the male dominated church sought to confine and control women.

It is not that long ago that women were treated in much the same fashion in our society and church.

Two generations of feminist thinking have changed a lot of that. In a true sense, to gain justice and more (not as yet all) of their rights feminists needed to fight power with power.

But Julian comes to us with a theology we might define as womanist, not feminist. I would like to suggest three ways that her mystical theology stands in contrast to feminist theology, and hope this might stimulate some discussion and critique.

Womanist theology is: inclusive, not exclusive; complementary, not unisex; committed to justice for women and men

JULIAN AS ADVOCATE OF COVENANTAL LOVE

Finally, a few introductory words about Julians understanding of love. She emerges out of an era when contractual, or dutiful, love dominated. Indeed, during the middle ages, romantic love was touted by the wandering minstrels and troubadours. We engage in the luscious entanglements of Romeo and Juliet, for example. But for the vast majority of people, arranged and enforced love was the reality.  That applied to Gods relationship to humans as well as to human relationships.

Julian helps us to better understand Gods covenantal love relationship between humans of whatever gender.

These comments are not meant to be definitive, but to set us thinking and moving, hopefully, in new and creative directions.
Jock's Introduction: - Personal Perspectives of Milton's Julian

THEOLOGY

Ø Her theology not determined or constrained by medieval theology because she was not trained so, and at a point where she might have been she was locked up.
Ø Her vision seems to have determined her religious view, and not a theological development to others before her particularly.
Ø And her vision was to some extent framed in a language and by the experience before - that which Milton has researched and put forward as most reasonable - a language of family, community and love.
Ø Her "mother" image was not an opposition to the patriarchy of her time, but simple a balanced view. A completion, a complement, of the anthromorphic metaphor of God in the image of human beings.
Ø But most particularly, her "all is well" theme is a remarkable inspiration to have come from such a time and such a life. Who among us could think that way if we lost our family and indeed half our town to plague? An echo is found in the hymn "It is well with my soul". Those works have even more power to move, when you know the story of the author, Horatio Spafford. A Chicago lawyer, he lost his holdings in the 1871 Great Fire, and his son the year before. A ship sinking in 1873 caused the loss of his 4 daughters. The hymn was written in 1873.

RELATIONSHIP WITH ALICE

Ø This invention of Milton is pivital in many ways. Alice becomes the vehicle of expression for much of the story
Ø And the "earthy" part is fun and may well be the element that sells, that introduces more to Julian.
Ø Alice is the primary complement. Everything that Alice is is opposite from Julian. And the opposites flower into complements.
Ø Alice felt completely outside of holy affairs. She existed in a secular world only. God wouldn't notice her. Those that God had appointed were certainly not interested in her. God just didn't fit her world she was alone. She became a vehicle for expressing discovery of the sacred in the profane.
Ø Julians constant encouragement erased her fear and she developed from a servant to a sister, even an extension of Julian
Ø The first Alice was belligerant yet dutiful. The final Alice was confident and creative.
Discussion
A lively discussion was had centered on the introduction of the new term "womanist theology" as justaposed with "feminist theology". (See Wayne's notes above).
Marsha felt an undertone of abandonment of feminist ideals in this new terminology at a time when important feminist objectives are not being met, and also a sense of patronizing these same feminist ideals. Woman have not yet reached full equal status, and equality will not be achieved with equal application to present circumstance.
Jock recalled Sam Keene's (Fire in the Belly) notion that the feminist agenda had alerted us to the fact that the imbalance and injustice reached to men also. That clearly millenia of patriarchal authority had resulted in patriarchal abuse on the grand scale, but it had also put forward a model unsuited to the human race. That we required a new model and should not require of women that to achieve equal opportunity they should become like men. Especially Keene was against the military/business model of society.
Marsha added that St. David's is not there yet either, and Deb concurred, adding that much progress is visible, and that that at work she was team leader of 13 men and not expected to be "one of the boys". Deb added that from her experience much has to do with learning to communicate better.
Brenda recalled how being offered a principalship was a double edged sword, because it entailed sacrifice of family life, a price she was unwilling to pay. There were other outstanding issues of values, responsibility, pay and the labels we give each other. In this Marsha felt much perpetuates the way things are and so prevents things improving.
Wayne pointed out how Milton in his portrayal of Julian rather made a "Back to the Future" statement.
Bruce expressed difficulty with the Julian study having turning into a discussion of feminism, and wondered what relevance it had to the study.
Marjorie wrapped up the discussion with an impassioned connecting of exactly this concern. What value is our religion unless we can relate it to everyday concerns. As a liberated women who has seen the worst, she celebrates what changes have come, and is especially thankful for the feminist movement.
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September 21, 2002