Witches, Devils and Sex

The Devils is a historical horror-drama film released in 1971. Ken Russell wrote, produced, and directed The Devils, a historical horror-drama film released in 1971, which features Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed in the lead roles. The latter plays the role of Urbain Grandier, a 17th-century Roman Catholic priest accused of witchcraft, whom we'll explore in the first part of this article.

Fig.1. Vanessa Redgrave as Sister Jeanne

Fig.2. Oliver Reed as Urbain Grandier

Fig 3 Affiche for The Devils (19971)

Ideologies and the dilemma surrounding sex

In 1617, Urbain Grandier, a French Jesuit, was appointed as the priest for both the Church of SaintPierre-du-Marche in Loudun and the Church of Sainte Croix. In hindsight, 17 years later, Grandier's understanding of Christianity would fail to save his own life. 

Fig.4. Brodequins Torture

On August 18, 1634, Urbain Grandier faced a fateful atmosphere as religious authorities sentenced him to death by burning him alive at the stake for witchcraft. Before his execution, the state’s legal representatives, a royal commissioner and two Franciscans, used a heavy mallet to hammer eight wedges between his legs. This brutal act reduced his legs to a bloody pulp. It’s hard to imagine that the birth of the Marquis de Sade happened in France, 106 years after Grandier’s death, embodying the themes of freedom, torment and sex. Following Sade’s death, 42 years would pass before the birth of Sigmund Freud, who introduces an era of extensive exploration into the sexual tendencies of humanity in the early 20th century. It is visible from the consistent patterns in history that Western religious ideologies do not coincide with sex. 

Fig 5. The burning of Urbain Grandier 

What caused Urbain Grandier to be perceived as evil?

Grandier gained a reputation for breaking his vow of celibacy and neglecting his religious duties within his institution. Popularly known for his promiscuity, he took it a step further by authoring a book where he criticized the doctrine of clerical celibacy. But one theory suggests it was the events related to the “Loudun possessions” that led to Grandier’s downfall. He avoided a relationship with Jeanne des Anges, the mother superior of an Ursuline convent. Despite her condition of kyphosis, Sister Jeanne found herself drawn to the charming and intelligent Grandier. She hoped to have Grandier as Father confessor for her convent. She tried to start a sexual relationship, but Grandier declined. The rejection Sister Jeanne experienced caused her to develop a deep loathing for Grandier, prompting her to build a narrative that accused him of committing a sexual assault on the astral plane

Fig 6.

Minions and the Authorship of Royalty

Restless and yearning for male attention, the repressed nuns feed Jeanne des Anges phantom. The bored nuns, motivated by an exciting storyline, embarked on nightly exploits that were new and erotic. The archbishop and Cardinal Richelieu, France’s chief minister, were aware of these circumstances. Having such formidable opponents made life more harsh and problematic for Grandier. The crime’s invisibility appealed to the church’s exclusive authority in metaphysics. It’s worth mentioning that Sister Jeanne attempted to hang herself during Grandier’s interrogation. In a convenient turn of events, nuns stumbled upon written documents exposing the pact Grandier had entered with several devils, including Satan. While the nuns later retracted their statements, the priest had entered a state of preparation to endure a rigorous interrogation.

Fig 7

No surprise it was political

After careful analysis, many scholars have reached the conclusion that Grandier’s unfortunate fate resulted from a motivated persecution orchestrated by the influential Cardinal Richelieu, known as l’Éminence Rouge, the Red Eminence. Richelieu had a strong interest in centralizing France, which led him to advocate for demolishing the walls of London. Grandier was in favor of keeping the walls intact to serve as a border. This was a Jesuit priest aligning himself with the Huguenots, who were Protestants. Most Catholics backed the monarchy, causing Grandier to become a troublesome figure for Louis XIII. Along with cutting off causal connections, Grandier had engaged in a relationship with the daughter of the king’s persecutor, leaving her with an illegitimate child. 

Fig 8

Ken Russell and ‘The Devils’ and Psychodrama

In 1952, Aldous Huxley published ‘The The Devils of Loudun' and in 1971, the film adaptation directed by Ken Russell recounts the events and trial of Urban Grandier. The movie based on the book The Exorcist, written by William Peter Blatty, scared an entire nation two years later. It is important to mention that Blatty’s earlier role as a lieutenant in the Psychological Warfare Division adds a layer of depth to how a narrative can infect an audience’s belief. Both films share related themes, but their arrangement varies according to how an audience perceives religion and sexual wishes. Ken Russell’s film is the source of special effects like the spider walk (nuns contorting their bodies and walking with their hands clasped to their heels), vomiting (exposing bodily fluids besides blood), along with using the cross to symbolize phallic imagery for sexual stimulation. Later, these details influence the horror special effect used in The Exorcist. More recently, Florentina Holzinger’s performance piece, Sancta, draws inspiration from Paul Hindemith’s early-20th-century opera Sancta Susanna. The plot explores similar themes of a nunnery descending into a state of sexual mania. The intensity of the performance left the audience feeling deeply unsettled, reawakening past traumas, or inducing intrusive thoughts. 

Fig 9.

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