WOMEN AND THE RENAISSANCE

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WOMEN AND THE RENAISSANCE
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WOMEN AND THE RENAISSANCE
Conceptions of the Renaissance

• Traditional interpretations

• birth of the individual

• men women control own destinies

• Recent interpretations

• womens destinies identities linked to men

• women had few choices

• Renaissance values applied to men

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WOMEN AND THE RENAISSANCE
Perceptions of Women

• Christianity the Church

• evil women Eve

• good women Virgin Mary

• Greek Roman ideas

• Aristotles deformed men

• second-class citizens

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WOMEN AND THE RENAISSANCE
Perceptions of Women

• Renaissance melded Christian classical views

• male perfect, female imperfect

• represented opposites

MALE FEMALE
ACTIVE PASSIVE
COMPLETE INCOMPLETE
LIGHT
DARKNESS
RIGHT LEFT
GOOD EVIL
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WOMEN AND THE RENAISSANCE
Womens Lives in the Renaissance

• Domestic education responsibilities

• Life goal marriage procreation

• Sexuality strictly controlled

• Limited legal rights

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WOMEN AND THE RENAISSANCE
The Importance of Class

• Women of the working classes

• important contributors to family economy

• labored inside outside the home

• Women of the upper classes

• usually did not contribute to family economy

• received some education

• valuable in strategic marriages

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WOMEN AND THE RENAISSANCE
The Exceptions

• CHRISTINE DE PISAN (_at_1364-1429)

• Frances first woman of letters

• Book of the City of Ladies handbook for women

• ISABELLA DESTE (1474-1539)

• ruled Italian city-state of Mantua

• created school for girls

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WOMEN AND THE RENAISSANCE
The Exceptions

• CATHERINE DE MEDICI (1519-1589)

• rule France as regent for young son

• great patron the arts

• CATARINA DE ERAUSO (1585-1640)

• disguised as man, became soldier

• fought in Europe and the New World

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WOMEN AND THE RENAISSANCE
The Exceptions

• SOFONISBA ANGUISSOLO (1532-1625)

• great Italian painter

• gained international recognition

• ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI (1593-1652)

• most important female painter of period

• served as court painter for several important
  rulers