In Chapter III, Julian describes how her sickness affected her body, as well as how these enlightening visions were bestowed upon her in the first place. “After this my sight began to fail, and it was all dark about me in the chamber, as if it had been night, save in the Image of the Cross whereon I beheld a common light and I wist not how.” (Chapter III) His face in particular was dry and lined, making the scene even more striking. In describing the state of his body, she says that his skin looked 'like a dry board when it is aged,' painting an unpleasantly vivid description of the scene. In this chapter, Julian is describing yet another of her visions, this one being of Christ's crucified body. “The skin of the flesh that shewed (of the face and of the body), was small-rimpled with a tanned colour, like a dry board when it is aged and the face more brown than the body.” (Chapter XVII) This is how badly Jesus's head was bleeding in Julian's vision: it's a striking image. To aptly convey the volume of this blood, Julian uses the simile of water falling off tree leaves after heavy rain, so thickly concentrated that individual drops are no longer visible. In this chapter, Julian is writing about one of her visions, in which she saw an image of the dying Christ with the crown of thorns on his head, digging into his flesh and causing his head to bleed profusely. “.the plenteousness is like to the drops of water that fall off the eaves after a great shower of rain, that fall so thick that no man may number them with bodily wit” (Chapter VII) By doing so, she describes the metaphysics of the concept quite simply while also drawing a connection to the physical body, emphasizing the complete transformation down to the very physical matter of the Christian. To do so, she uses four images: the cloth around the body, the skin around the flesh, the flesh around the bones, and the whole around the heart. In this analogical simile, Julian is describing how God's love encompasses a person completely and serves to redefine their appearance. 'For as the body is clad in the cloth, and the flesh in the skin, and the bones in the flesh, and the heart in the whole, so are we, soul and body, clad in the Goodness of God, and enclosed.' (Chapter VI) Written by people who wish to remain anonymous We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.

Revelations of divine love