Summary
Summary of The Nun
The Nun at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 5 h 5 min4 h 5 min fast, 6 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 73,000 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1796by Denis Diderot
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Suzanne asks someone to hear her
A young woman stands at the altar of a convent church, with her parents watching. Asked whether she freely gives herself to God, she says no, then says it again. Suzanne Simonin's refusal introduces a struggle over who has the right to decide her future.
She writes her life for the Marquis de Croismare, hoping to win his help. Her account leads through a cold family, three convents and a lawsuit, showing how both cruelty and kindness can exist inside a closed house.
Key idea 2
Her refusal becomes a public act
Suzanne repeatedly refuses to profess, but priests, a bishop and relatives keep pressing her.
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Key idea 3
A family secret closes her choices
Back at home, Suzanne finds no refuge.
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Key idea 4
The whole house becomes her punishment
Under Sister Sainte-Christine, Suzanne's refusal to submit brings sustained punishment.
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Key idea 5
Suzanne takes her claim outside
Suzanne turns to the law to have her vows cancelled.
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Key idea 6
Warm affection can conceal another danger
At Arpajon, the superior welcomes Suzanne warmly and quickly makes her a favorite.
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Key idea 7
A vow needs freedom behind it
Suzanne is asked to promise her whole life when she cannot control even a single coin.
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Key idea 8
Her confession is also a plea
Suzanne writes to the Marquis de Croismare because she needs protection.
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Key idea 9
Small acts make freedom matter
A girl saying no before a crowd, a friend sweeping glass from a path, a grand vicar confronting a superior after seeing bruised arms: these images bring Suzanne's struggle into focus.
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Go deeper: the whole of The Nun
About 5 h 20 min to read.Who it’s for
For readers who love a bold first-person voice, a young woman fighting for her own life, and French writing that argues about freedom, faith and conscience through vivid scenes.
What this book is
Picture a young woman at the altar of a convent church. A priest asks whether she gives herself freely to God. She answers no, and then no again, with her parents among those watching.
That scene opens the way into The Nun, the novel by Denis Diderot, who died in 1784. Suzanne Simonin writes her life for the Marquis de Croismare, whose help she hopes to win. She tells of a cold family, three convents, a lawsuit, and the women who rule each house. You follow a clever, stubborn girl through cruelty and kindness, and you see how a closed house can bend a person. Her troubles begin in a Paris home where she is the unloved daughter.
In this summary
- 1An unloved daughter is sent to a conventFree
- 2Suzanne refuses her vows before everyone
- 3A mother's secret closes every door
- 4Madame de Moni gives Suzanne a brief refuge
- 5A new superior turns cruelty into a game
- 6Suzanne fights back through a lawsuit
- 7The case is lost and a friend is gone
- 8Arpajon brings a new kind of danger
- 9The book asks what freedom and consent are worth
- 10A confession written to win a protector
Key point 1 of 10
An unloved daughter is sent to a convent
Suzanne Simonin is the youngest of three daughters of a Paris lawyer. She is the prettiest and the cleverest, and her parents seem to punish her for it. When strangers praise her, the house turns cold after they leave.
A young man courting her eldest sister begins to favor Suzanne instead. She warns her mother, and a few days later she is taken to the convent of Sainte-Marie. Her sisters marry soon after.
At sixteen and a half she expects a dowry too. Instead Father Séraphin tells her that the family money has gone to her sisters and that she must take the habit. The superior then offers a gentle trap. The veil binds her for only two more years, she says, and much can change. Worn out, Suzanne lets herself be led. Then a nun in chains runs screaming through the house, and Suzanne vows never to take vows.
Pressure often wears soft clothes, and a kind voice can steer a girl toward a door she never chose.
That’s 1 of 10 key points.
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Check yourself
Why does Suzanne's family insist that she enter a convent?
Right. “The family has arranged its property so that she cannot claim a share.”Not quite. “The family has arranged its property so that she cannot claim a share.”
What makes Monsieur Hébert turn against the superior?
Right. “When he sees her bruised arms and bare feet, he turns on the superior in anger.”Not quite. “When he sees her bruised arms and bare feet, he turns on the superior in anger.”
What is the novel's central question about Suzanne's vows?
Right. “The story keeps asking whether a vow made without freedom is a vow at all.”Not quite. “The story keeps asking whether a vow made without freedom is a vow at all.”
Go deeper: the whole of The Nun
About 5 h 20 min to read.Paperback, hardcover and large print, printed for you at cost, are on their way.Email me when it is printed
Who’s who
- Suzanne Simonin
- The unloved youngest daughter of a Paris lawyer, who is forced toward vows and wants only her freedom and an honest life.
- Madame de Moni
- The wise, loving superior of Longchamp, who comforts Suzanne and prays through the night before her profession.
- Sister Sainte-Christine
- The narrow, superstitious superior who succeeds her and sets the whole house against Suzanne.
- Sister Ursule
- A frail, devoted young nun who helps Suzanne send her case to a lawyer and tends her through illness.
- Monsieur Manouri
- The Paris lawyer who takes up Suzanne's case and works to find her a new place.
- Monsieur Hébert
- The blunt, just grand vicar who investigates the charges against Suzanne and sees the truth.
- The Arpajon superior
- A restless, warm and unpredictable woman who makes Suzanne her favorite and wants more than affection.
- Sister Thérèse
- A jealous young nun at Arpajon who fears losing the superior's favor to Suzanne.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 85,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 5 h 40 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 10 other languages
Questions about The Nun
What is The Nun by Diderot about?
It tells the story of Suzanne Simonin, a young woman forced by her family to become a nun. She resists, moves through three convents, and fights to have her vows cancelled, writing her memoir to win a protector.
Who is the Marquis de Croismare in The Nun?
He is the nobleman to whom Suzanne addresses her memoir. She hopes his kindness will protect her after her escape, and she writes her life story so that he will understand her case and help her.
Is The Nun based on a true story?
It is a novel written in the eighteenth century by Denis Diderot, shaped as a memoir. It draws on real debates about forced vows and convent life, and it is presented through one narrator's voice.
Is The Nun easy to read?
Its first-person voice is direct and warm, and the story moves through clear scenes with quick dialogue. Each convent has its own personalities, so the plot is easy to follow from one stage to the next.
What is the main message of The Nun?
The novel argues that a vow only counts if it is made freely. It shows how family greed and institutional power can turn religious life into a prison, and it values honesty, courage and friendship.
Cite this edition
Diderot, Denis. The Nun. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-nun.
Diderot, D. (2026). The nun. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-nun (Original work published 1796)
Diderot, Denis. The Nun. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-nun.
@book{diderot2026nun,
author = {Diderot, Denis},
title = {The Nun},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-nun},
note = {First published 1796}
}
