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La Religieuse (novel)La Religieuse (also called The Nun or Memoirs of a Nun) is an 18th-century French novel by Denis Diderot. Completed in about 1780, it was first published by Friedrich Melchior Grimm in 1792 (eight years after Diderot's death) in his Correspondance litt�raire in Saxony, and subsequently in 1796 in France.

Plot
Based in the Eighteenth century, Suzanne Simonin is an intelligent and sensitive sixteen-year-old French girl who is forced against her will into a Catholic convent by her parents. Suzanne�s parents initially inform her that she is being sent to the convent for financial reasons, stating it is cheaper for her to become a nun rather than paying a dowry in marriage. However, while in the convent, it is revealed to Suzanne that she is actually there because she is an illegitimate child as her mother committed adultery with another man. By sending Suzanne to the convent, her mother thought she could make amends for her sins by using her daughter as a sacrificial offering for a new salvation.

At the convent, Suzanne suffers humiliation, harassment and violence because she refuses to make the vows of the religious community. Suzanne agrees to enter into the sisterhood; however, she is placed in isolation for six months for her reluctance to take her vows. Suzanne eventually finds companionship with the Mother Superior, Sister de Moni, as she pities Suzanne�s anguish. In the days leading up her death, Sister of Moni comforts Suzanne through prayer and her understanding of Suzanne�s torment in the convent.

Sister de Moni was succeeded by Sister Sainte-Christine, who does not share the same empathy for Suzanne that her predecessor had. In fact, the new Mother Superior blames Suzanne for the death of Sister de Moni and for the unrest the convent faces under the new leadership. Suzanne is physically and mentally harassed by Sister Sainte-Christine, almost to the point of death.

Suzanne contacts her lawyer, Monsieur Manouri, who attempts to legally free her from her vows. She loses the legal battle; however, Monsieur Manouri manages to transfer Suzanne to another convent, Sainte-Eutrope, liberating her from Sister Sainte-Christine's persecution. At the Sainte-Eutrope convent, the Mother Superior is revealed to be a lesbian and she grows affectionate towards Suzanne. The Mother Superior attempts to seduce Suzanne, but her innocence and chastity eventually drives the Mother Superior into insanity, leading to her death.

Suzanne escapes the Sainte-Eutrope convent using the help of a priest. Following her liberation, she lives in fear of being captured and taken back to the convent as she waits for the help of Marquis de Croismare.

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