Davis Scholars, the Wonder Breads

Davis Scholars are the Wonder Bread that Nia Vardalos always wished she had; they are our magic deep-fried henna zit cream, our Left Eyebrow Relic of the other St. John, our Older Sisters.

When first arriving to Wellesley, the first-year entering the Novitiate gather in the Church of Western Pluralism* and worship at the altar of Success. After singing the hymns to hard work and fame, the Mother Superior or Director of the Novitiate does a roll call of all the sisters present.

The group that surprises most first-years are the Davis Scholars, a small group of older women who cheer the way they did back in "Grease": without shame. Most average first-years are insulted by the presence of these older women. The Older Sisters, entering late into life, have forgone the trials and tribulations that so define the First Year Sister experience.

These trials include said acne, nonexistent budgets, beer binges, living in a room with a Fanatic, calling home more often than you called your first boyfriend, and being Young and Restless without ever having seen a soap opera.

Despite the annoyance of the First Years, they soon learn that the Davis Scholars/Older Sisters are a Blessing sent from God/Success. They are a reminder of Normal Life in a convent that defies Normality and embraces the asceticism of People Who Work Their Asses Off. The Older Sisters have lived their lives as wedding photographers, successful businesswomen, teen mothers. They have embraced Normal Life and decided to complete themselves with a Wellesley degree.

Marie de France wrote an interesting protofeminist Lai called Eliduc. All the principal characters end up in gender-appropriate single-sex religious safehouses; both the Madonna and the whore. This reflected a general ideal for our medieval women: you lived your life, then you finished it in a convent so that you could make your peace with God.

Davis Scholars have Lived, and then entered The Convent. The rest of us entered the Beloved Convent, and...

*More on the Church of Western Pluralism later, if the Medievalist can dare to distinguish between the branches of East and West Pluralism without offending Easterners, Westerners, or those who prefer not to declare their geographical orientation.