4/5
It is 1158 and Marie has been removed from the court of Queen Eleanor because she is “a giantess” with a head like a horse and likely, no one would marry her. Eleanor finally found a use for Marie at a poverty-stricken Abbey in England where the nuns are starving, buildings are falling apart, and the land is unproductive. Marie will serve as prioress, basically manage the property, and take the veil.
Marie is the bastard child of Eleanor’s brother, a product of rape and was raised by independent women – her mother and aunts. Raised on the family estate in Le Maine, France, she grew up learning sword fighting, multiple languages and a love of nature. She, her mother, and sisters joined the Ladies’ Army and a failed crusade to Jerusalem. By the time her mother dies of cancer, her aunts are gone too. Several died on crusade, and one became a nun. After her mother’s death, 12-year-old Marie ran the family estate for two years until extended family heard of the death and took over the estate. Marie was forced on the Court as penance for her mother’s rape.
Marie arrives at the Abbey devasted to be separated from Queen Eleanor but quickly rises to the challenge of remaking the Abbey. After a series of visions, she makes changes that improve their income and productivity.
Matrix (old Latin for mother) leans into women’s empowerment and the allure of power. Marie taps into the nuns’ skills and finds architects, glassmakers, healers, and financial acumen among the pious women. Between prayers, she puts the nuns to work. First repairing the decaying Abbey and eventually expanding it. The only work that needs to be outsourced to men is stonecutting.
But Marie is soon drawn to the same power which she abhors in the opposite sex. Much of the book centers on her growing and keeping her power through the implementation of her “visions” for the Abbey. But this quest for dominance affects her relationships with her sisters. She convinces herself that she is doing everything for the good of Abbey, but do her nuns believe her?
All the main characters in Matrix are women; men are interlopers who appear briefly as rapists, condescending churchmen, or stonecutters. Honestly, I don’t recall a positive male character in the entire book. But the book works without them, and I don’t miss them either!
I found Matrix to be a captivating story full of women characters surviving and thriving, using only their personal skills, labor, and love to create a thriving Abbey home. This would be an excellent book club discussion.
Tip: Lauren Groff uses a lot of old Latin words and there is a lot of Catholic terminology. Either use an e-reader with access to a dictionary and Wikipedia or keep a device close by to look up all those unfamiliar words.
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