Women During the Renaissance Period the Renaissance

Women During the Renaissance Period

The Renaissance (14th to 16th centuries) in European history is widely considered to have been a period of "re-birth" and a turning point for the Western Civilization. It is believed to be the transitory period between the Middle Ages and the Modern Age when the social, cultural, and artistic conservatism of the Middle Age was replaced by the dynamic philosophy of humanism, which emphasized individualism and personal achievement. Despite assertions by historians such as Jacob Burckhardt to the contrary, most subsequent studies of the history of renaissance unfortunately reveal that this much-celebrated individualism almost totally bypassed half the population (the women) whose social, cultural, economic and political condition hardly changed during this period. In this paper we shall discuss the condition of women during the renaissance period, and explore the reasons behind it. We will also take a brief look at some women who, despite the handicaps, managed to gain prominence during the Renaissance.

Condition of Women in Florence

The condition of women in the republic of Florence, the great Italian city-state where the renaissance was started and flourished, gives us a fair idea about the state of women during renaissance. There is little doubt that the social and legal constraints on women in Florence were such that female destiny was almost entirely in the hands of men with women having limited rights and even fewer opportunities for acting independently.

The secondary position of women in the society is tellingly revealed in the remarks of Nannina de' Medici, "Don't be born a woman if you want your own way" (quoted by Kent, 26) in a letter to her brother after her marriage. It must be remembered that these are the remarks of one of the most privileged of Florentine upper-class women. The plight of the common women of Florence can be well-imagined. At the same time, it must be realized that the condition of women in Florence was among the worst in the whole of Western Europe. In the princely states and courts, for example, women of noble blood could inherit wealth and even enjoy a certain amount of domestic, dynastic and even political power. (Ibid.)

The merchant republican society of Florence, despite the changing face of their art, architecture and politics was still strongly committed to the communal and classical values as far as the women were concerned. These 'values' prescribed that the honor of men lay in the personal virtue of their wives; hence women were excluded from public life, and confined largely to their homes to 'ensure their purity.' Since all inheritance of property was to be made through the male line only, this was considered necessary to ensure 'the blood line.' The restrictive life of women in Florence is reflected in their portraits of the time, in which the women often appear framed in the windows of their houses. In 1610, a French traveler is quoted to have said after visiting Florence, "women are more enclosed here than in any other part of Italy; they see the world only from the small openings in their windows."

Influence of the Church

Despite overly romantic assertions by some historians that the renaissance was a complete break from the Middle Ages and constituted a clearly distinct period in history, more compelling evidence indicates that most of the social, cultural, and religious influences of the Middle Ages permeated well into the period of renaissance. This is particularly true of the influence of the Church. Women's lives too continued to be strongly affected by the ambivalent attitude of the Christian Church towards women during the Middle Ages and beyond, i.e., during the renaissance.

The dominant portrait of the women in Christian history is that of "Eve" -- a villainess, the reason behind the original sin and of man's fall from grace. In the Christian tradition God created Eve from Adam's rib, and made her subordinate to him. But she allowed herself to be tempted by the serpent, and in turn tempted Adam to sexual sin. This picture of the woman in the Christian tradition portrays her as weak, foolish, sensual, and untrustworthy. Reflecting this attitude towards women, one humanist scholar went so far as to remark: "Women should be used like chamber pots: hidden away once a man has pissed in them." (Marsilio Ficino, quoted by Kent, p. 27). There is another opposite view of women in Christianity too in which the woman is depicted as the ideal, virginal mother of Jesus. Several Renaissance artists and writers have highlighted this aspect of the woman in their writings and paintings in order to present a "model" for women to follow. (Zwanger, para 8). It is, therefore, evident that the influence of the Church was very much manifest in the Renaissance period, at least in the attitude of society towards women.

Training for the Renaissance Women

In almost every treatise or book written for women during the Renaissance, they are urged to be silent, discrete, modest, gentle, and a loving wife. These are widely regarded as ideal qualities for a woman in Renaissance literature in which women are advised to repress their 'aggressive' nature and be passive. Most of all they are counseled to be obedient to their husbands, as 'obedience' was considered as the highest virtue for a Renaissance woman.

The peasant women during the Renaissance period were mostly illiterate and little is known of their lives due to absence of any written work about them. This too is a reflection of their status in the society since they were probably considered to be of no consequence. We do know that the education and training of the upper-class girls was quite different from those for boys. Girls were only supposed to get training and education in subjects that would help them in becoming 'good' wives and to handle household duties.

Some Renaissance Women of Consequence

In spite of all the constraints placed on the women by the society and culture during the Renaissance period, some women did manage to breakout of their traditional roles as 'obedient' wives only. For example, Queen Isabella of Spain ruled the country along with King Ferdinand, and her jewels financed Christopher Columbus's epic journey to the Americas. Isabella encouraged female intellectuals in her court. She was also extremely cruel and successfully enforced the 'Inquisition' that almost totally banished the Moors, Jews and Gypsies from Spain. ("Women of Renaissance," para 3)