This place is pryson | Hacker News Reader

This place is pryson

lrb.co.uk

39 pointsTomte11 comments

It is interesting that such religious hysteria was actually possible though.

Honestly at least personally this whole idea of enclosure is quite disturbing. I wonder if conditions were that bad such that this was the rational choice?

It seems like extreme ascetism, a step farther than eschewing the material world in Buddhism and a step up from the punishment for Roman vestal virgins who broke their vow.

I can see why they'd encourage it, though. A death sentence to solitary confinement would induce a radically altered state of consciousness, and provide visitors with the closest thing to an oracle who's experienced death.

I'd definitely have many questions. Wouldn't want to volunteer!

Just looked up the Vestal Vergins. That was grim reading. People really can be incredibly awful to one-another when they put their minds to it.

There are plenty of examples of other, arguably even more extreme forms of slow religious self-sacrifice:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stylite

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokushinbutsu

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sallekhana

Buñuel made a movie about Simon the Stylite:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_of_the_Desert

It still happens to an extent; e.g the cloistered nuns of the Carmelites.

Also related; the female members of Opus Dei never look directly at a male; even though they are engaged preparing food in an all-male residential college.

I knew a cloistered Discalced Carmelite nun, though as I recall she met my stepmother and me (male) in the convent garden for a handoff of plants.

Are you sure about Opus Dei? I've known at least a couple of kids who went to OD-affiliated high schools in the Washington area, and none of the moms had difficulties making eye contact with men.

It's not about the mothers; it's about the (typically) non-married devotees who work in Opus Dei run institutions.

My specific experience was with the servers at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrane_College,_University_of...

I guess compared with your prospects as a woman in the middle ages (especially one being pursued by an unwanted suitor) the prospect of being sequestered away in a cell with lifetime free food and lodgings has its merits.

catchy hook, but the paywall ruined it...

Indeed. I ran it through outline. It's a fascinating read. https://outline.com/quXJhb

Reply on news.ycombinator.com