Le Rouge et le Noir. Biographies of Pious Women between France and Italy in the Seventeenth Century

The author of this essay aims to establish a comparison between two models of female sanctity that took shape during the seventeenth century. The first model – the French one – promotes the valorization of lay sanctity and is thus metaphorically referred to as ‘le rouge’, in deference to the symbolic chromatics of the novelist Stendhal. The second model – rooted in Italy – focuses instead on monastic sanctity and is therefore more closely tied to the Church, being metaphorically designated in this sense as ‘le noir’. Following an overview of the mysticism of the period, the essay investigates the relationship between seventeenth-century hagiography and literary topoi, the paratext, as well as other aspects such as stigmata, the mystical experience, and the value of memory. Finally, it demonstrates that, unlike the French hagiographical model, which was destined for oblivion, the Italian one achieved greater success. This occurred ipso facto, precisely due to the stringent connection between the latter model and the ecclesiastical institution, which guaranteed its long-term durability.