Essay On Renaissance Women
Throughout history, the status of women in society has changed alongside shifting ideas and cultures. Surely then, men and women had different experiences during the Renaissance. Women did not thoroughly experience the Renaissance in 1400s Italy in terms of intellectual and cultural rebirth because of the limitations of expression and lack of academic recognition from society. Such limitations that mainly involved domestic life and education inhibited most women's attempts at making significant contributions to the fields that defined the time. Their attempts to bypass these restrictions, along with their successes, display the degree to which society limited their opinions and actions. While some may define the Renaissance as a period of
…show more content…
political and economic rejuvenation after the chaos of the early and high Middle Ages, it is primarily a revival or academic rediscovery of Greek and Roman thinking with a heavy emphasis on the humanities and philosophy. According to both definitions, but particularly the latter, women were excluded. Exclusion of women from Renaissance society was mainly caused by the suggested structure of domestic relationships which was influenced by Greek and Roman ideals.
In Greek social structure, integration into classes applied mainly to men because women were reliant on them for any degree of social standing. In a Renaissance interpretation of these Greek views per se, the status of women was low and they were almost entirely dependent on men. This reliance backed the idea that a man should never serve anyone lower than him, such as a woman, as Christine De Pisan observes in The City of Ladies (p. 3, para. 1). This relationship is related to the one that existed between citizens and royalty. In essence, woman was to man as man was to a prince; if a prince were to serve a common man, it would be considered damaging to his reputation. As Gadol poses in her article, women were no more than an accessory for men (pp. 132-133). In On Wifely Duties, Francesco Barbaro lays out a comprehensive “manual” for wives that further explains this relationship. Chapter two of the document best represents how a wife was expected to suppress her emotions and behave for her husband's benefit where he writes, “I therefore would like wives to evidence modesty at all times and in all places.” (176; para. 2). This subservient role that was given to women ultimately reduced them to tending to the household—an important responsibility, but practically insignificant compared to their potential outside the
home. Past the home, the key to contributing to the deluge of new thinking during the Renaissance was education. Mary R. Beard reminds readers of the fact that classical schools for both girls and boys were opened in Italian cities everywhere (124, para. 4). While education was technically equally available to both men and women, Joan Gibson observes that men's education aimed to strengthen “courageous and active virtue” while women's education, as Barbaro suggested, emphasized chastity, silence, and obedience (10, para. 2). The accepted reasoning behind this educational divide was that women did not need as comprehensive of an education compared to men because they did not participate in political activities. Actively participating in political activities required a study of logic and rhetoric; however, studying these areas was considered dangerous and useless for the ordinary woman and thus not provided for them. Clearly, the Renaissance offered greater opportunities for women to flourish while simultaneously making it difficult for them to do so—again, relating back to the divide within education, the gateway to fully experiencing the Renaissance. In contrast, despite the many factors that defined women as socially inferior to men, women did not settle for being content with their position in society. Beard lists several women who managed to surpass their gender boundaries and contribute to the Italian educational movement (123). Looking back at De Pisan's work, she takes on a view similar to Beard's and showcases the achievements of women such as Queen Ceres. She challenges the magnitude of the achievements of men compared to women and warns them not to misjudge their potential, remarking, “And was there ever a man who did more for humanity than the noble queen Ceres? ...let noble knights, many of whom speak ill of women, hold their tongues.” (para. 16). However, the majority of the achievements that women did accomplish were so often overlooked that lack of widespread recognition itself was another limitation imposed on women. In turn, the fact that women even had to put in more effort than needed to earn any cognizance from society shows that benefitting Renaissance was not as simple as it was for men. Given these limitations, it is evident why women were not able to fully experience the intellectual and cultural rebirth which was the Italian Renaissance. The revival of Greek and Roman thinking that so defined the time shaped the idea of women's characters to be chaste, modest, and obedient. This character which was advocated by the curriculum of Renaissance education limited the extent to which women could utilize their knowledge in society. Despite this, some women managed to procure some academic achievements according to different writers. However, this task was far more difficult for women than men. In the end, while women were not able to fully experience the Renaissance, they were not completely barred from having an education and paving their own discrete path of achievements.
political and economic rejuvenation after the chaos of the early and high Middle Ages, it is primarily a revival or academic rediscovery of Greek and Roman thinking with a heavy emphasis on the humanities and philosophy. According to both definitions, but particularly the latter, women were excluded. Exclusion of women from Renaissance society was mainly caused by the suggested structure of domestic relationships which was influenced by Greek and Roman ideals.
In Greek social structure, integration into classes applied mainly to men because women were reliant on them for any degree of social standing. In a Renaissance interpretation of these Greek views per se, the status of women was low and they were almost entirely dependent on men. This reliance backed the idea that a man should never serve anyone lower than him, such as a woman, as Christine De Pisan observes in The City of Ladies (p. 3, para. 1). This relationship is related to the one that existed between citizens and royalty. In essence, woman was to man as man was to a prince; if a prince were to serve a common man, it would be considered damaging to his reputation. As Gadol poses in her article, women were no more than an accessory for men (pp. 132-133). In On Wifely Duties, Francesco Barbaro lays out a comprehensive “manual” for wives that further explains this relationship. Chapter two of the document best represents how a wife was expected to suppress her emotions and behave for her husband's benefit where he writes, “I therefore would like wives to evidence modesty at all times and in all places.” (176; para. 2). This subservient role that was given to women ultimately reduced them to tending to the household—an important responsibility, but practically insignificant compared to their potential outside the
home. Past the home, the key to contributing to the deluge of new thinking during the Renaissance was education. Mary R. Beard reminds readers of the fact that classical schools for both girls and boys were opened in Italian cities everywhere (124, para. 4). While education was technically equally available to both men and women, Joan Gibson observes that men's education aimed to strengthen “courageous and active virtue” while women's education, as Barbaro suggested, emphasized chastity, silence, and obedience (10, para. 2). The accepted reasoning behind this educational divide was that women did not need as comprehensive of an education compared to men because they did not participate in political activities. Actively participating in political activities required a study of logic and rhetoric; however, studying these areas was considered dangerous and useless for the ordinary woman and thus not provided for them. Clearly, the Renaissance offered greater opportunities for women to flourish while simultaneously making it difficult for them to do so—again, relating back to the divide within education, the gateway to fully experiencing the Renaissance. In contrast, despite the many factors that defined women as socially inferior to men, women did not settle for being content with their position in society. Beard lists several women who managed to surpass their gender boundaries and contribute to the Italian educational movement (123). Looking back at De Pisan's work, she takes on a view similar to Beard's and showcases the achievements of women such as Queen Ceres. She challenges the magnitude of the achievements of men compared to women and warns them not to misjudge their potential, remarking, “And was there ever a man who did more for humanity than the noble queen Ceres? ...let noble knights, many of whom speak ill of women, hold their tongues.” (para. 16). However, the majority of the achievements that women did accomplish were so often overlooked that lack of widespread recognition itself was another limitation imposed on women. In turn, the fact that women even had to put in more effort than needed to earn any cognizance from society shows that benefitting Renaissance was not as simple as it was for men. Given these limitations, it is evident why women were not able to fully experience the intellectual and cultural rebirth which was the Italian Renaissance. The revival of Greek and Roman thinking that so defined the time shaped the idea of women's characters to be chaste, modest, and obedient. This character which was advocated by the curriculum of Renaissance education limited the extent to which women could utilize their knowledge in society. Despite this, some women managed to procure some academic achievements according to different writers. However, this task was far more difficult for women than men. In the end, while women were not able to fully experience the Renaissance, they were not completely barred from having an education and paving their own discrete path of achievements.