Marie Louise Habets
Encyclopedia
Marie Louise Habets was the Belgian nun and ex-nun fictionalised as Sister Luke (Gabrielle van der Mal) in The Nun's Story
, a bestselling 1956 book by American author Kathryn Hulme
. Audrey Hepburn portrayed Gabrielle van der Mal in the 1959 Fred Zinnemann
film The Nun's Story
.
.
Hulme recalls in her autobiography how, at a training camp in northern France
, she became aware of a Belgian female colleague who spent most of her time asleep. Even when awake, the woman, a nurse, was taciturn, solitary and preoccupied, almost antisocial. In time, however, the Belgian nurse revealed herself as a diligent worker, a good friend, and a woman with a secret: she had just left a convent after 17 years of struggle with its holy rule. She felt burdened and depressed by a sense of having failed.
Zoe Fairbairns’ article The Nun’s True Story and Fairbairns’ radio play The Belgian Nurse, broadcast in 2007 on the BBC, tell the story of how Habets’s story became Hulme’s bestseller and how the two women became partners and shared a home and a life for nearly 40 years. Their parallel lives are explored in The Nun and the Crocodile: the Stories within The Nun's Story, a paper given by Debra Campbell at the Women and Religion section of the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting on November 21, 2004.
These include a report by Habets about a repatriation transport from the displaced persons resettlement camp at Wildflecken
, Bavaria
, which set off for Poland on April 30 1946. The report is written in English, which Habets did not speak fluently at the time; it was probably translated by Hulme. Read in conjunction with Chapter 14 of Undiscovered Country, it shows the high value placed by Hulme, an American who had not lived under enemy occupation, on the first-hand knowledge, experience and powers of observation of her Belgian colleague. There is also a report by Habets on caring for tuberculosis patients at Wildflecken.
The papers also contain a small number of press interviews given by Habets around the time of the publication of The Nun’s Story and the launch of the film. Habets appears to have been ambivalent about publicity. This is seen in Hulme’s letters to friends and business associates where she frequently refers to Habets’ reluctance or downright refusal to talk to the press or be photographed. But the interviews are there anyway, including an undated (probably 1956) interview in Glamour magazine, in which Habets describes her post-convent difficulties in reacquiring such skills as clothes-buying, money management and drinking alcohol.
There is an undated (probably 1957) interview from The Boston Globe, probably condensed in The Readers Digest, which outlines Habets’ war service between leaving the convent and joining UNRRA
In an interview from The Honolulu Advertiser dated February 15 1963, Habets describes a brief "return" to convent life. Some 19 years after her departure, she attended a refresher course for nurses which involved her sleeping overnight in a convent. She acknowledges that the idea gave her "the shivers" - she thought she would have to sleep in a dormitory with cloth partitions but was relieved to have a single room, albeit an austere one. Haunted by her vow of poverty, she was reluctant to ask for anything, even a glass of water. She describes nuns as "wonderful, dedicated women." Like most of the other interviews, this one carries photographs - not snatched paparazzi snaps, but professionally posed pictures of an apparently willing subject.
There is also a partnership agreement dated 17 April 1959. In signing this, Hulme and Habets acknowledged the existence of their partnership since they first discussed the writing of The Nun’s Story in 1953. It provides for all literary profits to be shared equally between them, and all properties to be owned in equal shares. In the event of a dispute, however, Hulme had primacy. (There is no evidence that this provision was ever invoked.) In spite of the joint ownership, Hulme’s books and articles continued to appear under Hulme’s sole authorship.
, where Hulme continued to write, with Habets’s support and assistance. They grew tropical fruits, bred dogs, rode horses, had friends to stay, gave talks, and socialised among the other Kauai expats. They remained Catholics, and Hulme continued her involvement with the work of the mystic G. I. Gurdjieff
. Habets did some nursing, though mainly on a private basis for friends. Hulme and Habets travelled widely, sometimes together, sometimes independently.
A handwritten note from Habets to Hulme dated 3 November 1975, begins "darling" and ends "I love you. Warmest kisses."
The Nun's Story
The Nun's Story is the title of a 1956 novel by Kathryn Hulme. The book was a Book of the Month selection and reached #1 on the New York Times best-seller list....
, a bestselling 1956 book by American author Kathryn Hulme
Kathryn Hulme
Kathryn Hulme was an American author and memoirist most noted for her novel The Nun's Story. The book is often, mistakenly, understood to be semi-biographical.-Writing:...
. Audrey Hepburn portrayed Gabrielle van der Mal in the 1959 Fred Zinnemann
Fred Zinnemann
Fred Zinnemann was an Austrian-American film director. He won four Academy Awards and directed films like High Noon, From Here to Eternity and A Man for All Seasons.-Life and career:...
film The Nun's Story
The Nun's Story (film)
The Nun's Story is a 1959 Warner Brothers film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Audrey Hepburn. Based upon the 1956 novel of the same title by Kathryn Hulme, the story tells of the life of Sister Luke , a young Belgian woman who decides to enter a convent and make the many sacrifices...
.
Accounts
Hulme’s 1966 autobiography Undiscovered Country describes Hulme and Habets’ first meeting in 1945. Both were volunteers with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) an international project working to resettle refugees and others displaced by World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Hulme recalls in her autobiography how, at a training camp in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, she became aware of a Belgian female colleague who spent most of her time asleep. Even when awake, the woman, a nurse, was taciturn, solitary and preoccupied, almost antisocial. In time, however, the Belgian nurse revealed herself as a diligent worker, a good friend, and a woman with a secret: she had just left a convent after 17 years of struggle with its holy rule. She felt burdened and depressed by a sense of having failed.
Zoe Fairbairns’ article The Nun’s True Story and Fairbairns’ radio play The Belgian Nurse, broadcast in 2007 on the BBC, tell the story of how Habets’s story became Hulme’s bestseller and how the two women became partners and shared a home and a life for nearly 40 years. Their parallel lives are explored in The Nun and the Crocodile: the Stories within The Nun's Story, a paper given by Debra Campbell at the Women and Religion section of the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting on November 21, 2004.
Hulme papers
Documents relating to Marie Louise Habets can be found among the Kathryn Hulme papers which are held at the Beinecke Library at Yale University in the USA.These include a report by Habets about a repatriation transport from the displaced persons resettlement camp at Wildflecken
Wildflecken
Wildflecken is a municipality in the Bad Kissingen district, at the border of northeastern Bavaria and southern Hesse. In 2005, its population was 3,285; the postal code is 97772. Wildflecken is in the picturesque Rhön hills and nature-park....
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, which set off for Poland on April 30 1946. The report is written in English, which Habets did not speak fluently at the time; it was probably translated by Hulme. Read in conjunction with Chapter 14 of Undiscovered Country, it shows the high value placed by Hulme, an American who had not lived under enemy occupation, on the first-hand knowledge, experience and powers of observation of her Belgian colleague. There is also a report by Habets on caring for tuberculosis patients at Wildflecken.
The papers also contain a small number of press interviews given by Habets around the time of the publication of The Nun’s Story and the launch of the film. Habets appears to have been ambivalent about publicity. This is seen in Hulme’s letters to friends and business associates where she frequently refers to Habets’ reluctance or downright refusal to talk to the press or be photographed. But the interviews are there anyway, including an undated (probably 1956) interview in Glamour magazine, in which Habets describes her post-convent difficulties in reacquiring such skills as clothes-buying, money management and drinking alcohol.
There is an undated (probably 1957) interview from The Boston Globe, probably condensed in The Readers Digest, which outlines Habets’ war service between leaving the convent and joining UNRRA
She became attached to the Belgian army which in turn served with the British forces. She aided the wounded and dying when the first V-bombs were fired at Antwerp by the Germans. Scarcely had the tide of the German advance in the Battle of the Bulge been blunted and turned than she was nursing the American wounded who held Bastogne and survived.
In an interview from The Honolulu Advertiser dated February 15 1963, Habets describes a brief "return" to convent life. Some 19 years after her departure, she attended a refresher course for nurses which involved her sleeping overnight in a convent. She acknowledges that the idea gave her "the shivers" - she thought she would have to sleep in a dormitory with cloth partitions but was relieved to have a single room, albeit an austere one. Haunted by her vow of poverty, she was reluctant to ask for anything, even a glass of water. She describes nuns as "wonderful, dedicated women." Like most of the other interviews, this one carries photographs - not snatched paparazzi snaps, but professionally posed pictures of an apparently willing subject.
There is also a partnership agreement dated 17 April 1959. In signing this, Hulme and Habets acknowledged the existence of their partnership since they first discussed the writing of The Nun’s Story in 1953. It provides for all literary profits to be shared equally between them, and all properties to be owned in equal shares. In the event of a dispute, however, Hulme had primacy. (There is no evidence that this provision was ever invoked.) In spite of the joint ownership, Hulme’s books and articles continued to appear under Hulme’s sole authorship.
Later life
In 1960, Hulme and Habets moved to the Hawaiian island of KauaiKauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
, where Hulme continued to write, with Habets’s support and assistance. They grew tropical fruits, bred dogs, rode horses, had friends to stay, gave talks, and socialised among the other Kauai expats. They remained Catholics, and Hulme continued her involvement with the work of the mystic G. I. Gurdjieff
G. I. Gurdjieff
George Ivanovich Gurdjieff according to Gurdjieff's principles and instructions, or the "Fourth Way."At one point he described his teaching as "esoteric Christianity."...
. Habets did some nursing, though mainly on a private basis for friends. Hulme and Habets travelled widely, sometimes together, sometimes independently.
Novel vs. life
Anyone who, inspired by the integrity, rebelliousness and self-assertion of Gabrielle van der Mal, goes to the Hulme papers looking for signs of Habets as a religious or sexual revolutionary, will search in vain. Comments attributed to her in interviews show her as socially conservative (though tolerant) and a staunch admirer of nuns, her one regret being that she herself was not strong enough to remain one. If she and Hulme had any criticisms of the Catholic Church or convents, they kept them out of their archive. If they were aware of or interested in women’s liberation or lesbian/gay liberation, they show no sign of it, though clearly they lived openly as a couple, and were acknowledged as such by friends and business associates. Numerous letters to Kathryn Hulme, from friends and business associates alike, contained among the Kathryn Hulme papers, include greetings to Habets, enquiries about her health and activities, plans for social events in which she is to be involved as Hulme’s partner - the normal stuff of communication among friends who are relaxed about each other‘s status.A handwritten note from Habets to Hulme dated 3 November 1975, begins "darling" and ends "I love you. Warmest kisses."