Recently occurred to me that...
A few great things about having nuns as characters in historical fiction is that:
- It can be assumed that they are better educated than their neighbors and so capable of more. They could be one of the few in the story who could read a manuscript or a secret ledger. They can read edicts for the village, putting them in a position of power, and letters for the individual so they are privy to information that others won't possess.
- They have been brought up to be leaders. They organize things and investigate/snoop/assist so there's an excuse for them being the center of attention, or one of the key powers in the story.
- Nuns have more of their own agency and freedom to move about the village and surrounding area which makes it easier for her to move through the story, unencumbered. They visit the sick and isolated, and so can be a conduit for information or communication from afar.
- They are also protected by a level of sanctity that can lessen the chance of assault, because no one wants to write about that.
- Nuns are excused from the typical social or sexual obligations women face with men and so can co-exist with men in a story without coupling up.
- It is reasonable for a nun to be an orphan or a cast-off from her family, or at the very least 'stationed' away from her family, so you can get away with a truncated backstory. They have fewer resources to call upon (no father/brother/sister to come to the rescue) which can increase tension in the story and keep this character focused on/dependent upon the protagonist.
- Her room and lodging can also be extremely sparse so there doesn't have to be a lot of description of decoration and dressing.
So, I think nuns are very handy. However, the downside is that Read More