what does the that-clause refer to?
I read this sentence from Wikipedia:
She was noted not only for her spiritual writings, but also for founding a religious community which refused to accept becoming an enclosed religious order that it might continue her vision of caring for those in need.
I am not sure about the clause with "that". Does it mean:
- She refused to become an enclosed religious order so that her endeavor might continue her vision of caring for those in need.
or
- She refused to become an enclosed religious order that might continue her vision of caring for those in need?
In 2, my understanding is the clause with that refers to the "enclosed religious order".
The meaning in 1 is opposite.
Thanks in advance.
Solution 1:
Number 1. The clause with "that + subject [it]" would be equivalent to "so that" rather than a defining relative clause. For example from Keats' Ode to a Nightingale ...That I might drink, and leave the world unseen, And with thee fade away into the forest dim... It's unusual in contemporary English so gives a poetic, slightly archaic tone.
Solution 2:
I think that the author was trying, not very successfully, to express something like the following:
She was noted not only for her spiritual writings, but also for founding a religious community which, so that it might continue her vision of caring for those in need, refused to accept becoming an enclosed religious order.