What is The Turtle Dove?
An introduction
The turtle dove is a bird which hides itself in the clefts of the rock; these birds are considered rare and precious, a perennial symbol of purity and fidelity, because they avoid the company of all others besides their lifelong mate.
If, as John Paul II teaches, “the body reveals the person,” then the turtle dove is a model for the way in which we should reverence ourselves. And are not our bodies and the homes we make for them an intimate, integral part of ourselves? This is why our choices in fashion and interiors are so personal, because they in part reveal who we are to others.
Like the turtle dove, we are naturally drawn to reveal more of ourselves to those whom we know and trust, and prefer to keep veiled in the company of strangers.
However, through our clothing and the decoration of our homes, we simultaneously seek to communicate who we truly are to those whom we do not yet know. Relation often begins here in this unarticulated space, when someone is perceptive enough to comprehend your person through the subtle language of your sartorial choices and the appearance of your home.
On The Turtle Dove I will explore the ways in which fashion and interior design affect our ability to apprehend and communicate our own existence. My intellectual inspiration will be principally drawn from Martin Buber, John Paul II, Edith Stein, and Simone Weil, among others. Some work will be intersectional with both a “sex-realist feminism” and a “catholic feminism.” I hope you enjoy!