Gender Advancements During The Renaissance Essay

During the Middle Ages, except for those in religious positions, women were only seen as three things, which were daughter, wife, and mother. But in the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries, new opportunities in learning humanism arose for only those in the higher class families. Even though they started to educate themselves, the majority had no rights whatsoever in money matters as well as estate. From the 17th century and up to the scientific revolution, women’s rights had consistently been improving. However, during the revolution, the study of the human body brought to attention that the male brain is quite larger than that of a female. This revelation set back the female race back to a limited role, but this time this setback was

Between the 1300s and 1500s, Europe experienced a period of cultural rebirth known as the Renaissance, marking the transition from medieval times to modern times. The Renaissance brought new importance to individual expression, self-consciousness and worldly experience.

During the eighteenth century, gender roles were rigid. There were things that men were expected to do, and things women were expected to do, and these expectations were very different. There were countless works written and drawn about what each gender should do and how they should act. Two such works were George Washington’s “Rules of Civility”, and the image entitled “Keep Within the Compass”. In both works, we are shown both sides of the gender coin. In “Rules of Civility” we are shown all the things that men are supposed to do, per George Washington, and in “Keep Within the Compass” we are shown what woman are supposed to do.

Throughout the history of Europe, the role of women has drastically been altered. The Middle Ages saw peasant women working side by side with their husbands and taking care of their children at home. As time passed by, women were given an increased amount of rights, and then the cottage industry took over, providing thousands of women the opportunity to work as in the comfort of their home. The eruption of the agricultural revolution and technological advance soon swept England and the continent, further increasing opportunities. Work was now done in factories, which started off as family units for convenience, but soon split off because of increasing urbanization and industrialization. The 19th century saw such alterations, and the role of a woman came under investigation as mothers were unable to perform their necessary house duties and take care of the children, because of the need to work. As the role of women changed within the Renaissance and Enlightenment, it would also adapt to the new urban, industrial landscape. Although monetarily these changes proved to be favorable, the social developments brought by the Industrial revolution separated the family, led to more dangerous work both physically and mentally, and also stood as a challenge to femininity, all to the extent of changing everyday life.

Throughout the Fourteenth and into the Fifteenth Century, there were a number of tragic events that directly caused the need for a revitalization of society. This revitalization was needed to restore hope to the people that were living each day for survival. Some of these events were the destabilization of the Catholic Church with the relocation of the papacy from Rome to Avignon. This would soon be followed by the Black Death and its mammoth death toll that lead to the reduction of work forces and uprisings of peasants. At the same time, England and France were fighting a series of wars that would later be deem The Hundred Years’ War, and this battle would add to a

The Renaissance postulate on the representation of the body as a mirror that could be looking into to gain an understanding of the sitter's inner character leads to certain physical traits being associated with intellectual and spiritual qualities. Strong emphasis was placed on women's beauty, as it was believed that a beautiful body was the reflection of a good spirit. For women, having a good spirit meant being virtuous. Virtue was considered to be the prime quality a woman could possess and a chaste woman was a beautiful woman. The idea of women as virtuous being is intrinsically misogynystic as the worth of women was reduced to their physical purity or physical worth. Women were not allowed the same intellectual depth and individuality as men, and most portrait busts appear as idealisation of women and of

While both authors recognize the political and social changes that occurred during the Renaissance, their views on the outcome of these changes differ. Burckhardt thinks that the changes caused Florence to become, “the first modern State in the world,” unlike Kelly-Gadol (Burckhardt, 1). Joan Kelly-Gadol believes that these changes were not for the better because as a result women, “were increasingly removed from public concerns” (Kelly-Gadol, 197). Burckhardt believes that, “the most varied forms of human development,” were a result of the Renaissance (Burckhardt, 1). Joan Kelly-Gadol’s disagrees with Burckhardt because she believes that, “there was no renaissance for women,” and therefore humanity did not completely develop (Kelly-Gadol, 176).

In the sixteenth century the role of women in society was very limited. Women were generally stereotyped as housewives and mothers. They were to be married, living their life providing for her husband and children. The patriarchal values of the Elizabethan times regarded women as the weaker sex.’ Men were considered the dominant gender and were treated with the utmost respect by females. Women were mainly restricted within the confines of their homes and were not allowed to go school or to university, but they could be educated at home by private tutors. Men were said to be the ones to provide for their families financially. Women were often seen as not intelligent. Property could not be titled in the name of a female within the family. Legally everything the female had belonged to her husband. Poor and middle class wives were kept very busy but rich women were not idle either. In a big house they had to organize and supervise the servants.

Throughout history, we see many variations in what is depicted to as the “ideal” body type for women. Historical evidence in literature and art shows that in early centuries, desirable women had voluptuous and rounded figures. In Ancient Greece 500-300 B.C., women were considered “disfigured” versions of men; as shown in sculptures and classical paintings, they were light skin, plump and full-bodied (Dovas, 2015). In the Italian Renaissance 1400-1700, we see fair-skinned women with ample bosoms, rounded bellies, and full hips. In his poem, Venus and Adonis, Shakespeare describes Venus, the Roman goddess, “My beauty as the spring doth yearly grow; My flesh is soft and plump, my marrow burning”. In Victorian England 1837-1901, women were also full-figured, desirably plump and compressed their torso with corsets to achieve a well-formed shape (Dovas, 2015). From her novel Little Women published in 1868, Louisa May Alcott described a character Margaret, “Margaret, the eldest of the four, was sixteen and very pretty, being plump and fair, with large eyes, plenty of soft brown hair, a sweet mouth, and white hands, of which she was rather vain.” These historical examples show that plump women were considered beautiful and attractive. The thin

The 17th century was a time where there were many drastic differences between men and women. Their treatment, level of education, place in government, and social norms were some of the many that made a line between the genders. Sexism is tolerated and seen, and it is still reflected in our present society. Women are the suppressed gender and males reigned supreme. (Feminism in Literature Essay)

Despite the odds, women can overcome all difficulties. In the past, women have badly struggled because men criticized them. They were thought of as ignorant beings that only knew how to manage housework. Their experiences were measured unimportant because they were considered to be mediocre. For most women, the best they could hope for, and the only thing they were trained to do was to marry. The purpose of most women were to find a man, marry him and bear his children. Women were often placed in arranged arrangements to marry as early as the age of eight years old. A woman in the Renaissance usually got married somewhere between the ages of sixteen and twenty years old. Marriages were arranged for business reasons, in the importance of trade

The literature of the Renaissance society gives us direct insight into the dominant culture and attitudes of the male sector and its attitudes towards women. Nevertheless, it also gives us possibly unintended insight and knowledge about the cultural activities of women from this time. Representations of women in literary texts describe the true virtues and gentilities of the Renaissance, yet we can discover through them, something of social truth and reality. (Mention/show picture on paratext) Here, a woman sits, content and humble; sewing virtuous inscriptions. Yet the male believes these women to be submissive and well behaved when in fact sewn letters were crucial in the development of women's literacy and voice during this period. In 'The

According to Alberti, the women’s role is childbearing, child rearing and subservient to men and serves in a domestic sphere permanently. In his view, women should not play any role in public activity, interest, or society. Humanism of the Renaissance unwelcomed women input or influence; their opinions were dismissed and unworthy.

Transition into the Renaissance and Elizabethan Era’s showed promising changes when it came to theatre, and the lives and many actors. These performances were all male based and showed very little involvement with women in the theatre. This is because women were not allowed to participate in the theatre. Some people might have been afraid, others might presume due to the social status, that it would be possibly foolish of them to do such a deed and frown upon them doing so. Looking at the differences between the theatre and the role of the woman in the renaissance, there is a contradiction that women did participate in theatre. Although women were not permitted to participate in theatre, research shows that women were indeed participating in

The up to date civilizations will recognize from these restrictions the lack of education and the ignorance present in Utopia. Additionally, Utopian women were allowed to take part in trades. As well, they had the opportunity in becoming priests. In the Renaissance societies, woman began to obtain more independence and rights. For example: the capability to work, joining wars and the ability in becoming a priest. These developments and changes affected the people in the renaissance period because they were seen as an unexpected progress towards gender equality in the Renaissance society. On the other hand, woman in modern societies have already achieved their goals in becoming as equal as possible to men. This demonstrates t the different levels of knowledge attained between both the Renaissance society and The Modern society. The more freedom a woman gets in utopia, the more it reinforces the fact that men were superior. Moreover, women were always categorized and judged by what she wears and how she acts. Women and children were always scared and likely to apologize to their husbands if they fail in their