--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We were kept at work, and permitted to…" description: "\"We were kept at work, and permitted to speak with each other only on such subjects as related to the Convent, and all in the hearing of the old nuns wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/maria-monk-24805_convent_we-were-kept-at-work-and-permitted-to-sp_2074704.png" --- # We were kept at work, and permitted to speak with each… ![“We were kept at work, and permitted to speak with each other only on such subjects as related to the Convent, and all in the hearing of the old nuns who sat by us.” quote by Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/maria-monk-24805_convent_we-were-kept-at-work-and-permitted-to-sp_2074704.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/maria-monk-24805_convent_we-were-kept-at-work-and-permitted-to-sp_2074704.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/maria-monk-24805_convent_we-were-kept-at-work-and-permitted-to-sp_2074704.png) > “We were kept at work, and permitted to speak with each other only on such subjects as related to the Convent, and all in the hearing of the old nuns who sat by us.” [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Monk describes strict convent rules limiting conversation to religious topics under nuns' surveillance. **In simple terms:** Convent life restricted speech to religious matters under watchful nuns. Key Takeaway Recognize how authority controls dialogue. Themes religion authority surveillance gender history Mood reflective critical Type historical sociological When to use this quote - monastic life - historical oppression - gender roles Key Concepts control silencing institutional power Questions to Reflect On - How does surveillance affect personal expression? - What power does religious authority hold? A Different Perspective Historical accounts may be exaggerated or biased. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Convent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convent/) [Convent Hearing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convent-hearing-4021757/) [Each](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/each/) [Hearing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hearing/) [Kept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kept/) [Nuns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuns/) [Nuns Sat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuns-sat-4021758/) [Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old/) [Old Nuns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-nuns-4021759/) [Only](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/only/) [Other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/other/) [Permitted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permitted/) [Related](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/related/) [Sat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sat/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) [Were](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/were/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [And if the imam and the Muslim leadership in that community is so intent on building bridges, then they should voluntarily move the mosque…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-if-the-imam-and-the-muslim-leadership-in-that-community-is-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I was scarcely the first, nor the only current, girl of impressive derivation to be unceremoniously thrust through the iron gate at the entrance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelsey-brickl/i-was-scarcely-the-first-nor-the-only-current-girl-of-impressive/) [Kelsey Brickl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelsey-brickl/) > [I was educated at a convent in Kent. It was run by Irish and French nuns. I mostly hated it but they did allow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-drinkwater/i-was-educated-at-a-convent-in-kent-it-was-run-by-irish-and-french/) [Carol Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-drinkwater/) > [Nuns fret not at their convent's narrow room;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/nuns-fret-not-at-their-convent-s-narrow-room/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [I went to an all-girls' Christian convent school run by nuns. It was fun, but when I was 15, I said, 'Mum, that's it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freida-pinto/i-went-to-an-all-girls-christian-convent-school-run-by-nuns-it-was/) [Freida Pinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freida-pinto/) > [She gave me another piece of information which excited other feelings in me, scarcely less dreadful. Infants were sometimes born in the convent; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/she-gave-me-another-piece-of-information-which-excited-other-feelings/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) > [A number of girls of my acquaintance went to school to the nuns of the Congregational Nunnery, or Sisters of Charity, as they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/a-number-of-girls-of-my-acquaintance-went-to-school-to-the-nuns-of/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) > [That's the great thing about entering a convent: There are things that you simply can't do, so you don't have to worry about them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-von-trier/that-s-the-great-thing-about-entering-a-convent-there-are-things-that/) [Lars von Trier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-von-trier/) > [Let me tell you about those convents. All that crap about extending the pinkie finger while sipping tea is a myth. Convent schools are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/let-me-tell-you-about-those-convents-all-that-crap-about-extending/) [Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/) > [“The convent of the sacred order of the Blessed Ladies of the Lobster had once been a dank and dark medieval castle but was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/the-convent-of-the-sacred-order-of-the-blessed-ladies-of-the-lobster/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [My parents sent me from Venezuela to the Convent of Our Lady, a boarding school in Hastings, which was horrible - like Harry Potter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-busquets/my-parents-sent-me-from-venezuela-to-the-convent-of-our-lady-a/) [Carmen Busquets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-busquets/) > [“And for you, I think, a religious life,' she said, a calm certainty all over her crisscrossed face. She didn't even bother with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-lockwood/and-for-you-i-think-a-religious-life-she-said-a-calm-certainty-all/) [Patricia Lockwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-lockwood/) > [I went to the Convent of the Sacred Heart for four years. It was interesting to me because, in a family where men were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/i-went-to-the-convent-of-the-sacred-heart-for-four-years-it-was/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [I was brought up a Catholic and I was quite fervent, because I was sent to a convent school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-was-brought-up-a-catholic-and-i-was-quite-fervent-because-i-was/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [“Is that what they teach you at the convent? That the gods demand the hearts from our bodies?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-lafevers/is-that-what-they-teach-you-at-the-convent-that-the-gods-demand-the/) [Robin LaFevers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-lafevers/) ## More by Maria Monk > [Others too would occasionally entertain and privately express such doubts; though we all had been most solemnly warned by the cruel murder of Saint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/others-too-would-occasionally-entertain-and-privately-express-such/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) > [My parents were both from Scotland, but had been resident in Lower Canada some time before their marriage, which took place in Montreal; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/my-parents-were-both-from-scotland-but-had-been-resident-in-lower/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) > [Some of the priests from the Seminary were in the nunnery every day and night, and often several at a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/some-of-the-priests-from-the-seminary-were-in-the-nunnery-every-day/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) > [All around me insisted that my doubts proved only my own ignorance and sinfulness; that they knew by experience they would soon give place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/all-around-me-insisted-that-my-doubts-proved-only-my-own-ignorance/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) > [We were constantly hearing it repeated, that we must never again look upon ourselves as our own; but must remember, that we were solemnly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/we-were-constantly-hearing-it-repeated-that-we-must-never-again-look/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) > [I must be informed, that one of my great duties was, to obey the priests in all things; and this I soon learnt, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/i-must-be-informed-that-one-of-my-great-duties-was-to-obey-the/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) > [The Bishop, as I have remarked, was not very dignified on all occasions, and sometimes acted in such a manner as would not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/the-bishop-as-i-have-remarked-was-not-very-dignified-on-all-occasions/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) > [The day on which I received confirmation was a distressing one to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/the-day-on-which-i-received-confirmation-was-a-distressing-one-to-me/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) > [Unfortunately, I was not wise enough to listen to her advice, and hastily married. In a few weeks, I had occasion to repent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/unfortunately-i-was-not-wise-enough-to-listen-to-her-advice-and/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) > [A number of girls of my acquaintance went to school to the nuns of the Congregational Nunnery, or Sisters of Charity, as they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/a-number-of-girls-of-my-acquaintance-went-to-school-to-the-nuns-of/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) > [The manufacture of wax candles was another important branch of business in the nunnery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/the-manufacture-of-wax-candles-was-another-important-branch-of/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) > [On the day, therefore, when I went to the church to be confirmed, with a number of others, I suffered extremely from the reproaches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/on-the-day-therefore-when-i-went-to-the-church-to-be-confirmed-with-a/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) > [I often remembered also that I had been told, that we shall have as many devils biting us, if we go to hell, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/i-often-remembered-also-that-i-had-been-told-that-we-shall-have-as/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) > [Great dislike to the Bible was shown by those who conversed with me about it, and several have remarked to me, at different times,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/great-dislike-to-the-bible-was-shown-by-those-who-conversed-with-me/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) > [So far as I know, there were no pains taken to preserve secrecy on this subject; that is, I saw no attempt made to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/so-far-as-i-know-there-were-no-pains-taken-to-preserve-secrecy-on/) [Maria Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) [Explore all 24 Maria Monk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/) ## More Convent quotes > [“Is that what they teach you at the convent? That the gods demand the hearts from our bodies?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-lafevers/is-that-what-they-teach-you-at-the-convent-that-the-gods-demand-the/) [Robin LaFevers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-lafevers/) > [I was brought up a Catholic and I was quite fervent, because I was sent to a convent school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-was-brought-up-a-catholic-and-i-was-quite-fervent-because-i-was/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [I went to the Convent of the Sacred Heart for four years. It was interesting to me because, in a family where men were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/i-went-to-the-convent-of-the-sacred-heart-for-four-years-it-was/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [“And for you, I think, a religious life,' she said, a calm certainty all over her crisscrossed face. She didn't even bother with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-lockwood/and-for-you-i-think-a-religious-life-she-said-a-calm-certainty-all/) [Patricia Lockwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-lockwood/) > [My parents sent me from Venezuela to the Convent of Our Lady, a boarding school in Hastings, which was horrible - like Harry Potter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-busquets/my-parents-sent-me-from-venezuela-to-the-convent-of-our-lady-a/) [Carmen Busquets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-busquets/) > [“The convent of the sacred order of the Blessed Ladies of the Lobster had once been a dank and dark medieval castle but was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/the-convent-of-the-sacred-order-of-the-blessed-ladies-of-the-lobster/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [Let me tell you about those convents. All that crap about extending the pinkie finger while sipping tea is a myth. Convent schools are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/let-me-tell-you-about-those-convents-all-that-crap-about-extending/) [Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/) > [That's the great thing about entering a convent: There are things that you simply can't do, so you don't have to worry about them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-von-trier/that-s-the-great-thing-about-entering-a-convent-there-are-things-that/) [Lars von Trier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-von-trier/) > [I'd love to play a femme fatale in a film noir. I'm thinking of one of those roles that Lauren Bacall or Bette Davis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-quick/i-d-love-to-play-a-femme-fatale-in-a-film-noir-i-m-thinking-of-one-of/) [Diana Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-quick/) > [“Indeed, a convent was a kind of early think tank for women, since it was the preferred choice of intellectuals wanting to escape marriage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magnus-flyte/indeed-a-convent-was-a-kind-of-early-think-tank-for-women-since-it/) [Magnus Flyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magnus-flyte/) > [The best convent for a woman is the seclusion of her own home. There she may find her vocation and fight her battles, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/the-best-convent-for-a-woman-is-the-seclusion-of-her-own-home-there/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [I went to an all-girls' Christian convent school run by nuns. It was fun, but when I was 15, I said, 'Mum, that's it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freida-pinto/i-went-to-an-all-girls-christian-convent-school-run-by-nuns-it-was/) [Freida Pinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freida-pinto/) > [Convent - a place of retirement for women who wish for leisure to meditate upon the sin of idleness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/convent-a-place-of-retirement-for-women-who-wish-for-leisure-to/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“The place suggested a convent with the modern improvements—an asylum in which privacy, though unbroken, might be not quite identical with privation, and meditation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-place-suggested-a-convent-with-the-modern-improvements-an-asylum/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [Nuns fret not at their convent's narrow room;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/nuns-fret-not-at-their-convent-s-narrow-room/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) [Browse all 38 Convent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We were kept at work, and permitted to speak with each other only on such subjects as related to the Convent, and all in the hearing of the old nuns who sat by us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maria Monk" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/we-were-kept-at-work-and-permitted-to-speak-with-each-other-only-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Convent" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/we-were-kept-at-work-and-permitted-to-speak-with-each-other-only-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/maria-monk-24805_convent_we-were-kept-at-work-and-permitted-to-sp_2074704.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/maria-monk-24805_convent_we-were-kept-at-work-and-permitted-to-sp_2074704.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/maria-monk-24805_convent_we-were-kept-at-work-and-permitted-to-sp_2074704.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We were kept at work, and permitted to speak with each other only on such subjects as related to the…” — Maria Monk", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Maria Monk", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-monk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We were kept at work, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/we-were-kept-at-work-and-permitted-to-speak-with-each-other-only-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-monk/we-were-kept-at-work-and-permitted-to-speak-with-each-other-only-on/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```