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Title: Marguerite Porete, Annihilation and Trauma
Author(s): FOULCHER, Jane
Journal: Studies in Spirituality
Volume: 32    Date: 2022-2023   
Pages: 87-109
DOI: 10.2143/SIS.32.0.3292454

Abstract :
Can a theology of annihilation, a radically apophatic theology, speak productively to the experience of trauma? In a 2012 study, Susan Shooter argues that The Mirror of Simple Souls, a late thirteenth century text by Marguerite Porete, offers ‘a theological mirror’ for the spiritual journey of survivors of abuse. In this paper I raise and explore some problematic consequences of Shooter’s application of this theology arguing that Marguerite’s apophatic theology offers an equivocal picture for the victim of trauma, and a poor, if not dangerous, mirror for any journey toward healing.

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