Portrait of the Daughter of Charity : Safeguarding the Execution of Moral Management

Abstract

The chapter turns to the body of members of the Daughters of Charity to examine the ways the directors managed the morality of the sisters. The chapter argues that the way the sisters were trained to become good Daughters and Christian women was an important survival strategy for the Company. The chapter opens with an analysis of the delicate position of the sisters as active women religious in avoidance of enclosure which would have made their vocation impossible. The subsequent sections discuss the ways the directors aimed to manage the sisters’ spiritual position by controlling their behaviour in public space, education, and devotional practices in order to negotiate an orthodox religious identity and avoid enclosure.