Metamorphosis

About Metamorphosis:

First published in 2009, Metamorphosis features scholarly and creative work at COPLAC member institutions across the United States and Canada. The journal is interdisciplinary by design, highlighting work in the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, arts and professional programs. Undergraduate research and creative activity has become a "COPLAC Distinctive" with all member campuses focusing on this recognized "high impact" educational practice. Work published in Metamorphosis must be reviewed and approved by the appropriate campus committee or undergraduate research director. The URSCA director must send the approved work to COPLAC for publication. We do not accept work sent directly to the journal by the author/artist.

Submission Guidelines

We request two documents, each sent electronically to bailey@coplac.org:

Doc One: Summary

  • Document must be in MS Word
  • Title this document with your last name and school acronym (for example, Bill Spellman at UNC Asheville would title his Summary Document spellmanunca)
  • In this document please list the following in this order:
  1. Title of Presentation Author(s)
  2. Faculty mentor(s) School
  3. 200-250 word abstract (submissions over the 250 word limit will be edited)
  4. Up to 5 keywords related to your submission

Doc Two: Research

This is your actual paper.

  • Document must be a PDF
  • Title this document with your last name, school acronym and the letters RD (for example, Bill Spellman at UNC Asheville would title his Research Document spellmanuncaRD)
  • On the first page, include paper’s title, author(s), faculty mentor(s) and school name
  • Document should be single-spaced text with 1” margins, 12 pt font, and a maximum of 10 pages
  • All references are to be organized as endnotes

Fall 2026 / Current Issue

Sex and Submission: Heloise's Rhetoric of Coercion

Sarah Donegan
Faculty Mentor: Brandon Alakas
University of Alberta, Augustana Campus

Abstract

The letters between Héloïse d’Argenteuil and her estranged husband, Peter Abelard,allow a glimpse into the intricate dynamics at play between men and women in twelfth-century monastic communities. Most surprising to many modern readers is Heloise’s use of sexual language. This language is not simply a lapse in morality or a vulgar display from a renowned abbess; instead, it is a deliberate, quietly orchestrated move to affirm female spirituality. Heloise utilizes the submissive, and dismissed, character that Abelard has portrayed her as in the Cura Monialium to create a public exchange that Abelard can not afford to deny. The blatant sexual language within the letters, despite the inappropriateness of an authoritative woman writing this way, is a rhetorical device used by Heloise to position herself as intimately in need of Abelard’s aid.

Abelard’s Historia Calamitatum establishes his authority over Heloise. The sexualitypresent in the letters calls upon the conjugal debt that Abelard owes Heloise; as he requested his wife to forfeit the marriage bed for the veil, he owes her not only as his wife but as her brother in Christ. The text of Heloise's letters serves as a net, capturing Abelard and forcing him to give her a female monastic guide. By utilizing the sexual, submissive figure with which Abelard has painted her in his Historia Calamitatum, and the public forum of letter correspondence, she can establish her own spirituality and provide authoritative spiritual guidance to other women. 

❐ PDF

Keywords: Medieval Literacy, Women’s Agency, Gender, Monasticism, Religious Women

Metamorphosis Archive