Francuski wzorzec dla polskiej szlachcianki. Św. Joanna de Chantal w Żywocie Henri Cauchon de Maupas’a

Abstract

The article focuses on an analysis of the role model of a lay woman as shown in a Polish translation of a biography of St. Joan de Chantal, the foundress of the Order of the Visitation, written by Henri Cauchon de Maupas. The hagiographical image of the main character presents the possibilities of achieving Christian perfection at different stages of a lay woman’s life: as a girl, married woman and widow. Joan’s heroism and her achieviements are presented in the biblical context as well as in relation to the 17th century ascetic literature, such as the first Polish translation of Philotea by St. Francis de Sales, Joan’s spiritual leader. The system of values represented by the French heroine corresponds with the image of a ‘noble, pious and virtuous woman’ rooted in the mentality of Polish lay elites.