The motif of reading and translation is central to the novel’s primary conflict, representing the profound power and peril of seeking an unmediated relationship with God. The act of rendering sacred texts into the vernacular, or interpreting them without clerical guidance, is portrayed as the ultimate threat to the institutional Church’s authority. This form of proto-Reformation thinking makes the act of translation a challenge to the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, as it removes the need for an interlocutor to interpret the Latin verses for the lay population.

This motif begins with Aleys’s personal quest to decipher her mother’s Latin psalter, an act that unlocks her spiritual potential and sets her on a path of independent inquiry. It intensifies with Katrijn’s secret work translating scripture into Dutch, a dangerous act of spiritual generosity that empowers the beguine community with direct access to God’s word. The Church’s fear of this direct access is articulated by Ida, who asks, “God rules our lives, our deaths…but Rome won’t let us read his word?” (124). Her question highlights how the control of text is synonymous with the control of souls, making translation an inherently revolutionary act.

This motif extends beyond literal translation to include all forms of direct divine revelation, such as Aleys’s mystical visions. The Church views these personal experiences with the same suspicion it holds for vernacular texts, as they represent a form of divine communication that bypasses its authority. Aleys, through her visions, has transcended the need for religious texts or liturgy, establishing a direct line of communication with the divine and thus eliminating the need for institutions such as the Church. The climax of the novel hinges on this motif, intertwining translation, female authority, and sacrifice. Marte’s act of writing her own “truer” version of Genesis is a key expression of personal interpretation. When Aleys falsely confesses to authoring this “heretical” text, she makes a profound sacrifice. Her choice broadens the definition of sainthood beyond the performance of miracles to include the willingness to be condemned in order to protect a community’s right to seek, read, and understand the divine for themselves.