Renaissance And The Role Of Women In The Renaissance

The Renaissance was a time of rebirth of old traditions, and in old traditions women’s role in society was very minimal. During times of the Renaissance women’s roles were often more suppressed than it once had been before. Many times women were looked off primarily her looks and social status. Another contributing factor of women’s role was how well she would be acquired to married life. Women were so suppressed in the Renaissance that many women joined convents to be able to have the ability to learn like the men were able to. Changes and continuities of women’s public roles during the Renaissance included social status, acquirement to marriage, and reduction of rights for women.

Women were also expected to maintain their social positivity and kindness by never speaking or listening to evil about other women. Men hearing these women speak evil would appear to “listen gladly” but ultimately “hold such women in small respect” and “esteem them so lightly as to despise their company” (177.) From the accounts held in The Courtier of women in the Renaissance, it can be said that women were almost considered to be “status symbols” during this time period. Some men aimed to treat women with courtesy and respect but never viewed them as true equals. Women were expected not to make a fuss, not to speak up too loudly, and to act positive and apolitical at every turn, resulting in a stifling lack of agency. As a whole, women were expected to be seen and not heard, ultimately having a scarce role in the era. Even still, misogyny and hatred was ubiquitous in this time period.

The role of women stood the same to everyone till the years of 1400’s when a new thinking process began, for people embarked a new role for women. During the years of 1400’s to 1600’s in Europe, the Renaissance sparked knowledge that spread to everyone and precipitated ideas that included individualism the belief that humans were thought to be just as important as God. Humanism established these beliefs, for it is studying the literature of the past and the faith of the past. The renaissance generated these humanism and individualism convictions, which caused men to begin to have confidence in themselves and build new innovations in the belief of their own power. With these influences, women started to be impacted and many people started to have several views of the role of women. These views commenced the debate over women that were analyzed with the belief of women empowerment, humanist thinkers, and religious leaders.

A woman’s alternative would be becoming a nun, giving up all social freedoms and dedicating your life to serving the poor and God. Women who were subject to this life received a much more thorough education than other women, in order to properly learn religious concepts and theory. Otherwise, a woman’s education was limited to basic reading abilities paired with instruction on how to do homely activities. A woman of this time period had utterly no voice in politics. Law was man’s law. The life of these women were controlled by the men who surround them, their opinions meaning little to nothing. The life of a woman in medieval times was bleak and varied little. Romantic literature was on the rise, full of damsels in distress that only further perpetuated negative stereotypes of women during these times. These romances were full of helpless women in situations only a man could get them out of, or else they would be doomed. Despite this cultural oppression of women in this time period, some strong female characters were erected in medieval romances. A perfect example of an abnormally strong and independent female main character would be Enide from Erec and Enide written by Chrétien de

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.

As a result, women didn’t have a renaissance in terms of the way people regarded them, as attitudes regarding women from the middle ages continued right through the Renaissance.

Throughout the three literary periods: The Ancient World, The Middle Ages, and The Renaissance; women have been portrayed and treated in different ways. The Iliad by Homer is about the Trojan War fought by the Achaeans and Trojans which was over the capturing of the wife of King Menelaus, Helen of Troy, by Paris. In The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer, it is about a group of 29 people who are all on a pilgrimage to Canterbury to worship St. Thomas’s shrine; however, as Chaucer describes all these types of people not many of them are very religious and the stories they tell show the perspective and portrayal of women in this time. In Francis Petrarch’s poetry Rhymes, he describes his love and admiration for a woman who doesn’t love him back, yet Petrarch still confesses his love for her through his poetry. Through these stories and poems, The Iliad, The Canterbury Tales, and Rhymes, from the three time periods, the role of women is a progression of how they were looked at and their role in that time period, by men.

The emergence of the Renaissance throughout Italy gave rise to the philosophy of humanism; rather than submitting to tradition, those situated lower on the social hierarchy began to question their situations. This lead to an increase in educational pursuits coupled with social and political upheaval. Early Renaissance feminists began to voice their concerns regarding the rights and equality of women in a heavily patriarchal society using literature, art, and politics. Laura Cetera’s Defense of Liberal Instruction for Women and Lucrezia Marinella’s The Nobility and Excellence of Women are both feminist pieces of the time. While both authors advocate for the political and social advancement for women, Cereta and Marinella’s differing experiences

Across Europe in the 1500’s and 1600’s also known as The Reformation period, there was a need for change that benefited more people religiously and intellectually, women were among those who were in need of change that raised their status as human beings. There were specific gender roles in place in Europe where women were expected to be a wife and mother, nothing more and they got a very limited education if any at all. However, during the Reformation, European society developed a different attitude towards women regarding their education and involvement in religion, nevertheless women were still seen as inferior to men.

During the Renaissance, people changed the way they thought about art, science, religion, philosophy, and government. New standards for the way people should act were developed. Expectations for both the men and women were not only being changed in this era, but they were also being defined in many publications. Through some of the virtues that Baldassare Castiglione lists in The Courtier, both women and men’s role were starting to be defined. Important factors to be an ideal man was to be loyal to the prince, participate and possess the skills of physical activities, and be knowledgeable in the art of war. For women, they must have some sort of attribute that relates to their beauty, be knowledgeable in the arts, and be the ideal housewife.

The Renaissance, with took place in Italy and Northern Europe, inspired major changes in social life. Humanism, or the idea that men needed to educate themselves to be the best humans, was one of the reasons for these changes. They started going to schools and expressing themselves artistically, these new actions brought about the belief that men were superior. The assumed role of men during the Renaissance was to be dominant. They were to fight in battles and wars, hold a position for office, and do honor to their family name. In comparison, the roles of women were drastically different, they were submissive. It was thought that women should obey her husband and father, bear children, and not be educated, as many men were.

This investigation strives to compare and contrast of the role of women during the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages. The inquiry is significant because in order to understand the culture and ethics of the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages it is crucial to understand the importance of women. The issues that will be addressed include: the role of women in the Roman Empire, the role of women in the Middle Ages, and the similarities as well as the differences of the two major time periods. This investigation will focus on the time period of 27 BC to 1485 BC and the places investigated will include Europe, more specifically Rome. This will be accomplished through a detailed examination of the role of women in the

The Renaissance brought many artistic and social advancements, however, the role of women in society continued to be objects for male consumption. Extremely defined gender roles confined women to the domestic sphere, where they had very little economic, legal, or political rights. The behavior of women was also an important indication of the social status and reputation of their families. Female sexuality, particularly among upper society, was highly regulated to ensure chastity before marriage and the legitimacy of heirs during a marriage. In the upper classes of society, the patriarchal social system evolved as the primary way to regulate woman's behavior and maintain male social control.

One last point that needs to be made about women in the Renaissance comes from the MacNeil article, page

In the 16th century women were not allowed in the professions (such as doctors, lawyers and teachers) and female employment was often menial and low paid. However women were allowed to join some of the guilds organizations of tradespeople and skilled workers. In 1562 a law, the Statute of Artificers, made it illegal to employ a man or a woman in a trade unless they had served a 7 year apprenticeship. However in the case of women the law was often not enforced. Very often the guilds let male members employ their wives or daughters in their workshops. Furthermore if a craftsman died his widow often carried on his trade. Some women worked in food preparation such as brewers, bakers or confectioners.