Alessandra Ferraro compares the two autobiographical Relations by Marie de l'Incarnation, a religious missionary, written in France (1633) and Québec (1654). The essay underlines the transformation in the function of food in the Relations, from a symbolic function to a more practical function. Both the Relations embrace a dualistic vision of many aspects of life. Nonetheless, in the second Relation the connection between the mortification of the body and the ideal of purity changes: the mystical dimension becomes more and more autonomous and abstract with respect to the body.
