Summary

This study aims to give insight into the life and activities of the young pastor Jean-Jacques Bovet during his ministry in the bocage of Vendée (1931-1936). The letters which his mother, Amy Bovet, sent to his father, Pierre Bovet, an eminent Swiss psychologist, are pervaded by a certain subjectivity. Amy was a woman of strong character, and when she describes the parish activities of her son Jean-Jacques during his first ministerial charge, along with the difficulties he encountered there, she does not always refrain from giving her opinion on what was happening in Mouilleron-en-Pareds.

The letters are a valuable source of information for the life of a Protestant village parish. In 1931, Mouilleron-en-Pareds had a population of 1,416, but the parish extended to the many surrounding hamlets. This article sketches the historical context, gives a brief overview of Amy and Pierre Bovet as the writer and recipient of the letters, and then examines at their content. To make them easier to read, the epistolary exchanges have been organised under five headings that take up the recurring subjects appearing in the missives: pastoral activities, Jean-Jacques Bovet’s celibacy, the problems encountered by a young rural pastor, Amy Bovet’s life within the village community, and, finally, recreational activities, some of which were purely for relaxation while others had a faint connection with the exercise of his pastoral ministry. The article deals with Amy Bevet’s first, brief visit in August 1931, and her second, more extensive visit, which began in December 1931 and lasted until February 1932.