Karen
As a work of imagination about a historical figure, this is a great book. Groff writes from the assumption that Marie de France was Marie the Abbess of Shaftesbury, illegitimate half sister of Henry II of England. From there, she writes a surprising novel about an ungainly, unwanted girl from a family of "viragos" coming into herself in a place that was meant to be a dustbin or a prison--a place where she would be out of the way, among a group of other unwanted girls and women.
When Marie first arrives at the Abbey, it is so poor that the nuns are starving. The Abbey was willing to accept her because she came with a dowry which would buy food for a while. By the end of the novel, Marie as Abbess has made the Abbey rich and powerful in its community and increased the number of nuns and oblates many times over. Over the course of the novel, she and the Abbey grow in stages, maneuvering around threats from outside and pushing through internal resistance. It's a portrait of leadership, among other things.
I was curious about the title of this book, Matrix. The book is full of "-trices," meaning female staff: cellatrix, infirmatrix, etc. So, what is the meaning of "matrix"? The latin meaning is "Womb," a place within which something grows. Similarly, in biological sciences a matrix is the substance in which a sample grows. So, Marie is the womb in which the Abbey of Shaftesbury grew, but I think the name also suggests some other less literal growing. I'm enjoying thinking about that.
Also, the writing in this book is so good.
As a work of imagination about a historical figure, this is a great book. Groff writes from the assumption that Marie de France was Marie the Abbess of Shaftesbury, illegitimate half sister of Henry II of England. From there, she writes a surprising novel about an ungainly, unwanted girl from a family of "viragos" coming into herself in a place that was meant to be a dustbin or a prison--a place where she would be out of the way, among a group of other unwanted girls and women.
When Marie first arrives at the Abbey, it is so poor that the nuns are starving. The Abbey was willing to accept her because she came with a dowry which would buy food for a while. By the end of the novel, Marie as Abbess has made the Abbey rich and powerful in its community and increased the number of nuns and oblates many times over. Over the course of the novel, she and the Abbey grow in stages, maneuvering around threats from outside and pushing through internal resistance. It's a portrait of leadership, among other things.
I was curious about the title of this book, Matrix. The book is full of "-trices," meaning female staff: cellatrix, infirmatrix, etc. So, what is the meaning of "matrix"? The latin meaning is "Womb," a place within which something grows. Similarly, in biological sciences a matrix is the substance in which a sample grows. So, Marie is the womb in which the Abbey of Shaftesbury grew, but I think the name also suggests some other less literal growing. I'm enjoying thinking about that.
Also, the writing in this book is so good.