| Abstract |
How can we interpret Bernard of Clairvaux’s burst of emotion upon the death of his brother? To answer this question it is instructive to compare Augustine’s grief over the loss of his mother, a grief kept very private. Both write about their loss but Bernard’s discourse makes it possible to view and assess his grief from different angles, whereas Augustine’s tears have never been seen and known by anyone but God. This paper examines how these two authors take the reader into their confidence and what this tells us about them.
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