Novitiate (2017) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Cathleen chooses to join the convent in 1964 after years of instability at home. Her father abandoned the family when she was young, and her mother cycled through a series of fleeting relationships, leaving Cathleen feeling abandoned and longing for affection. When two nuns visit her family and offer her a scholarship to Catholic school, she finds solace in Catholicism. After yet another encounter with one of her mother's transient partners, she decides to dedicate her life to God as a way of escaping her troubled home environment.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the film, as a child, Cathleen already finds comfort in religion after the nuns visit her family, establishing her initial connection to faith.

• cathleen
• convent
• become nun
• vocation
• faith

The Discipline is a knotted whip used for self-flagellation during weekly 'chapter of faults' sessions. When postulants confess their wrongdoings, Reverend Mother Marie Saint-Clair imposes this harsh penance as punishment. The postulants are expected to whip themselves as a form of self-punishment and spiritual purification, reflecting the extreme and repressive discipline enforced within the convent.

• the discipline
• self-flagellation
• penance
• chapter of faults

Reverend Mother Marie Saint-Clair enforces harsh discipline out of fear that her connection with God will be severed if she allows any deviation from tradition. She is a strict traditionalist who believes the Church is perfect exactly as it is. When Vatican II reforms begin threatening the old ways, her severity intensifies because she fears losing her relationship with God. Her harshness stems from a deep-seated anxiety about spiritual purity rather than pure cruelty.

Foreshadowing: Early in the film, the Reverend Mother ignores letters from Archbishop McCarthy about Vatican II, showing her resistance to any change before it even begins.

• reverend mother
• strict
• harsh
• tradition
• authority

Sister Mary Grace leaves because she recognizes that the Church must change with the times, but Reverend Mother Marie Saint-Clair refuses to accept any modernization. When Sister Mary Grace advocates for the necessity of change in light of Vatican II, the Mother Superior sharply rebukes her, insisting the Church is perfect as it is. This fundamental disagreement, combined with the toxic environment under the Reverend Mother's rule, leads Sister Mary Grace to depart.

• sister mary grace
• leave
• convent
• vatican ii

Vatican II (1962-65) was a council that reformed many Catholic practices. In the film, these changes include switching from Latin to English during Mass, encouraging religious tolerance, and no longer mandating that nuns wear traditional habits. Archbishop McCarthy visits the convent to inform the Reverend Mother that the order must adapt to these reforms or face replacement, forcing the traditionalist Mother Superior to confront the end of the old ways.

• vatican ii
• council
• reforms
• church changes
• mass

After Cathleen faints from starvation in the dining hall due to her emotional turmoil, she is confined to the infirmary. There, she confides her struggles to Sister Emanuel, and in a vulnerable moment, they share an intimate encounter. This moment provides Cathleen with a sense of peace and connection she had been lacking. However, after this episode, the two women never revisit their passionate moment, and Sister Emanuel later leaves the convent without saying goodbye to Cathleen.

• cathleen
• sister emanuel
• intimate
• encounter
• infirmary

Cathleen faints during dinner because she is deliberately starving herself. After experiencing an awakening of her sexuality and struggling with intense guilt and shame about her feelings, she withdraws into herself and begins to neglect eating. Her physical health deteriorates to the point that she collapses during a meal, leading to her confinement in the infirmary where her emotional struggles eventually surface.

• cathleen
• faint
• starvation
• infirmary
• guilt

When Cathleen takes her final vows and is asked what she seeks, she answers 'I seek something more' instead of the traditional response about marrying Jesus Christ. This statement is deliberately ambiguous, it could mean she seeks a deeper spiritual fulfillment within the Church, or it could indicate she desires something beyond what the convent can offer her. The ending leaves her ultimate path uncertain, suggesting she has not fully resolved her internal conflict between religious devotion and personal desire.

• cathleen
• final vows
• something more
• ending
• profession

Cathleen experiences an awakening of her sexuality after taking her Simple Vows and becoming a novice. In the repressive environment of the convent, where physical desire is considered sinful and must be suppressed, she struggles with guilt and shame about these natural feelings. This internal conflict manifests physically, she becomes isolated, loses her appetite, and eventually starves herself, reflecting the psychological toll of reconciling her sexual identity with the extreme demands of religious devotion.

• cathleen
• sexuality
• guilt
• shame
• awakening

Reverend Mother Marie Saint-Clair deliberately ignores letters from Archbishop McCarthy regarding Vatican II because she refuses to accept any changes to traditional Church practices. As a strict traditionalist, she believes the Church is perfect exactly as it is and views the reforms as threats to her faith and authority. By refusing to acknowledge the correspondence, she attempts to preserve the old ways and maintain control over the convent, though this resistance ultimately proves futile.

• reverend mother
• letters
• vatican ii
• ignore
• mcarthy

The chapter of faults is a weekly ceremony where postulants and novices confess their wrongdoings before Reverend Mother Marie Saint-Clair. During these sessions, the women must publicly acknowledge their mistakes and sins, often facing harsh penalties and humiliating penances. The Reverend Mother uses these gatherings to maintain strict control and discipline, imposing punishments like The Discipline (self-flagellation) as a means of spiritual purification and compliance.

• chapter of faults
• confession
• penance
• ceremony

During a visit to the convent, Nora sees that Cathleen appears frail and malnourished, causing her mother serious concern. When Nora confronts Reverend Mother Marie Saint-Clair about her daughter's deteriorating physical condition, the Mother Superior dismisses the concern remorselessly, stating that Cathleen is now entirely devoted to the Church. This interaction highlights the Reverend Mother's prioritization of spiritual devotion over physical well-being and her refusal to acknowledge any problems with her methods.

• nora
• reverend mother
• confront
• concern
• daughter

Cathleen is forced to publicly humiliate herself during a chapter meeting after confessing her need for emotional comfort and her past intimate encounter with Sister Emanuel. The Reverend Mother uses Cathleen's confession as a form of public penance, making her reveal her struggles before her peers. This public humiliation pushes Cathleen toward an emotional breakdown, demonstrating the extreme psychological control the Reverend Mother exerts over the nuns and the destructive nature of the convent's approach to confession and penance.

• cathleen
• humiliation
• confession
• penance
• breakdown