hrj

Like all historic questions, the answer starts with "where and when?" The specific observations about convents being an option only for the wealthier families was specifically about Italy (and possibly specifically about urban Italy). In those Italian examples, the general context seems to suggest that this would be a family decision, not a personal one. But I'm not an expert in monastic dynamics, so I don't know how things worked in general. I do know that there was a distinction in some convents between nuns from working-class backgrounds who did more of the everyday labor and those who came in with more education and money whose lives would lean more toward the devotional work. But this probably differed in part based on which order it was. I know some orders had a stronger emphasis on manual labor for all. (Or was that just for men?) I know there was a tendency for establishments to require the equivalent of a "dowry" for entrance, which helped to sustain the convent. But in some times/places charitable funds were established to pay this for poor women. If xrian is reading, perhaps she could chime in with some good resources on this question.