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Celebrating the Ordinary: Church, Empire and Gender in the Life of Mère Marie‐Michelle Dédié(Senegal, Congo, 1882–1931)
Author(s) -
Martin Phyllis M.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
gender and history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.153
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1468-0424
pISSN - 0953-5233
DOI - 10.1111/j.0953-5233.2004.00342.x
Subject(s) - empire , colonialism , institution , face (sociological concept) , saint , sociology , gender studies , religious studies , history , ancient history , political science , law , art history , philosophy , social science
Member of the congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Cluny, Mère Marie‐Michelle Dédié worked within a highly gendered institution, the Catholic church and within a highly gendered colonial society. Although at considerable personal cost, she successfully achieved her goals – the training of African girls and women in the Christian life – by working within prescribed boundaries rather than contesting them. She was lauded by churchmen for her dedication and fortitude, and celebrated by colonial men, who found and imagined in her the kinder face of the imperial enterprise. Mère Marie's life suggests a study of the lives of missionary nuns in the outposts of empire may add to our understanding of the contradictions of empire and the complexities of colonial society, as well as the predicaments and successes of religious women.