Clarissan

Strict enclosure presented additional complexities when the convent churches were open to the lay public, as was the case in the Clarissan order ("Poor Clares").

There are two commissions for the Clarissan order (or Poor Clares), that warrant attention, the convent church at Santa Chiara in Bra and the convent church at Santa Chiara in Turin.

The image of the crowds of fallen women can be seen as both the diametrical opposite to and the necessary contrast or "negative space" for the emergence of the unique woman, the paragon. Obviously, the "luster" of the Clarissan diamond is best perceived against these "common stones", to paraphrase Johnson.

This sort of reading identifies the whole novel with a naïve Clarissan view...

The rule of the Clarissans, who take their name from St Clara, was very strict.