29. Love Ends in the Unkindest Cut of All
To protect Heloise from her uncle, Abelard sent her to a convent, where she pretended to be a nun. Her uncle interpreted that as Abelard trying to bury the scandal by forcing Heloise to become a nun. The enraged Fulbert set out to make Abelard pay for defiling his niece. So he hired some thugs to break into Abelard’s room one night, where they beat him up. Then delivered the unkindest cut of all, by castrating him.
After recovering from his injuries, Abelard became a monk and retired to a monastery. He cajoled Heloise, who was reluctant to become a Bride of Christ, into becoming a nun for real. Eventually, Abelard got over the trauma and resumed lecturing and writing. Heloise became prioress of her convent, and the duo spent the rest of their lives writing each other letters.
