GOTBERGA: In Burgundy, I knew a venerable woman who was compelled to marry an evil and revolting man, but steadfastly refused. To protect herself from him and other ghastly suitors, she persuaded her father of her great zeal for Christ. He allowed her to renounce the world and remain continent, a true bride of Christ. And though this woman longed for marital union and pleasures of the flesh, and further felt no genuine stirring to monastic life, she fled the world to elude the unjust machinations of men. Puffed up men, convinced of their own perfect piety, might have deemed her a hypocrite, feigning devotion to God, but I and other women admired her fight to govern the body that God gave her and no one else.
BERTRAND: I do not think I would have married Gotberga had I been aware of her doubt and hatred for God’s natural laws. But I carried on treating her with the utmost tenderness, as we were lawfully bound by the sacrament of marriage, and I sought to be one with her in Christ. In our homeland, she was always content and loving to me. But Gotberga had a strange affection for unruly women. I had felt uneasy for some time with her heedless spirit and associations with sinful wenches—known fornicators—and disobedient wives in our village.
GOTBERGA: Just as men commit unlawful acts, lying with whores to satiate the flesh, women are bound to such desires and acts as well. And in our village in Burgundy, while it was not the Godliest state of affairs, at least our community led joyous lives. The weaker sex was not totally subdued. I was a shoemaker, able to provide myself here and there with comforts at my own discretion. I was able to save enough to commission a tutor to aid me in reading the remarkable writings of ancient men. My life was cheerful in Burgundy.
BERTRAND: I first heard of Stepford, a land to the West, from my dear brother who crossed the English Channel to live among the Anglo-Saxons some time ago. He wrote to me of the women there and their great deference to their husbands and to God. Stepford, he wrote, was like nowhere else in Christendom in the sublime perfection of its women.
GOTBERGA: One night after supper, Bertrand informed me that we were to make an arduous journey westward to reunite with his brother, whom he so longed to see. He had made arrangements to sell our lodgings and we were to leave at once the next day. I wept for some time, regretful to leave my beloved home and encounter barbarians and dangers on the perilous voyage. However, I understood Bertrand’s desire to see his kin and came to believe the move would be exciting for the both of us.
BERTRAND: After a long journey, we reached Stepford yesterday. Upon arrival, we were greeted by my brother and his wife, Sibyl. Sibyl’s demeanor was as sweet as can be. My brother tells me that she reads and recites the scriptures constantly, save for when she must perform her conjugal duties with him in the evenings.
GOTBERGA: It has now been seven days since our arrival in Stepford and I must admit I feel quite perturbed by the people we have met here. There are no women in Stepford with any form of occupation and I was told that I could not make shoes here under any circumstances. No unmarried women here indulge in the pleasures of the flesh or even think of them. No women here converse on any matter, save the excellence of their husbands.
BERTRAND:
I have met with my brother and the other men of Stepford to arrange the plans for Gotberga’s pending transformation. Once we have gathered all of the materials, she will soon be a perfect Christian wife, like the others.
GOTBERGA:
The other day, I met one called Mary who demonstrates unmatched virtue and devotion to God. However, when I asked Mary why and how she came to achieve such piety, she told me that it is a wife’s foremost duty to invigorate her husband in the service of God, like Clovis’ wife did him. Mary’s convictions have little to do with her own heart and everything to do with the wellbeing of her husband. I spoke to Bertrand thus of my concerns, after supper.
BERTRAND: I asked Gotberga: Is it not out of honor and sweetness that the woman Mary dutifully attends to her husband’s wishes, as God would have it? Is her excellent devotion not a testament to God’s favor for the docility of wives?
GOTBERGA:
Bertrand and I had a remarkable quarrel that evening. I have never seen his face so red, flushed with anger. He claims I am ungrateful for taking him to this “lovely” place and unwilling to follow the noble example of the local women. I do not think I shall forget his fury for the remainder of my days. I imagine I will dream of him tonight, embodied as the Adversary ready for battle.
BERTRAND:
The men of the village have informed me that the time is now. When she awakes, Gotberga will demonstrate a piety of which she could never have dreamed. Unchecked obedience is imminent.
GOTBERGA: It has been several weeks since our arrival in Stepford and I feel that I have made a great change of heart in the right direction. I have forgotten the terrible folly of my ways in Burgundy and now realize the importance of Bertrand’s will above all else. No longer will I engage in vile talk of sexual sin nor empathize with unruly women who refuse the marriage arrangements set before them. I have been illuminated in the importance of conjugal chastity and wifely honor. I will be forever thankful to Bertrand for taking me here, where I have discovered the errors of my past outlook and adopted the proper station of a wife, as God would intend.
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