carly

This article argues that while Fleabag offers a powerful fem -inist critique of neoliberal society, it also presents an implicit reflection of the limits of feminism and advo -cates for a transcendent element in human relationships as the only adequate place to unburden affective excess.

Neville,

David

O.

"The

Bodies

of

the

Bride:

The

Language

of

Incarnation,

Transcen-

dence,

and

Time

in

the

Poetic

Theology

of

Mechthild

of

Magdeburg."

Mystics

Quar-

terly.

Vol

34,

Nos.

1-2

(Jan-Apr

2008):

1-34.

Hollywood,

Amy.

The

Soul

as

Virgin

Wife:

Mechthild

of

Magdeburg,

Marguerite

Porete

,

and

Meister

Eckhart.

Notre

Dame:

University

of

Notre

Dame

Press,

1995.

when

Mechthild's

mystical

theology

pairs

"the

heights

of

bliss"

with

"the

most

exquisite

pain,"

it

does

so

as

a

faithful

recipient

of

this

tradition,

in

which

love

and

pain

occupy

the

center

of

God's

relationship

to

humankind.

Ultimately,

those

who

are

scandalized

by

Mechthild's

wedding

of

erotic

and

painful

rhetoric

will

be

scandalized

by

what

has

become

the

heart

of

the

Christian

tradition,

as

well.

the

most

important

question

of

all

remains

unanswered:

For

Mechthild,

why

does

union

with

the

Godhead,

the

only

One

who

is

able

to

comfort

and complete

the

soul,

produce

wounding

and

pain?

Certainly,

room

must

be

made

for

the

emphasis

of

medieval

scholasticism

upon

God

as

Wholly

Other

and

the

Aristotelian

notion

of

pain

as

the

aspect

of

bodily

existence

that

is

most

intimately

human.33

But,

for

many,

especially

fe... See more

Mechthild's

poetic

texts

reveal

a

depth

of

theological

insight

that

situates

her

firmly

within

the

Christian

narrative

and

liturgical

tradition.

When

the

consumption

of

Christ's

body

in

the

Mass

brings

literal

nourishment

from,

and

intimacy

with

the

divine,

then

it

is

appropriate

to

understand

that

the

experience

of

pain

in

imitation

of

Christ

brings

pleasure

and

intimacy,

as

well.

For

medieval

women

mystics,

the

pursuit

and

embrace

of

physical

pain

became

a

focal

point

of

their

ascetic

religious

devotion

and

the

primary

means

by

which

they

experienced

union

with

God.

Mechthild

understands

that

fallen

humanity

is

brought

into

intimate

union

with

God

through

the

mediating

work

of

physical

•

23

pain