Italian Women Writers
An Antique’s Period Bias Amongst Women
The Medieval Period dating 476 AD until 1000 AD was one of the most degrading times for women in any class. Men had it simpler than they did because they ended up dominating all of society and they looked down upon women, for example they were able to get jobs unlike women. Men and their accomplishments were noticed and women were not recognized for their hard work, whether it be taking care of the children or being a housewife. Their hard work wasn’t sophisticated like men being painters or architects, but instead females were obligated to be in full charge of a household and to care for her family members. There were a lot of opportunities women couldn’t take advantage of because of their gender such as employment, class, education, and work which made them inferior to men.
Women’s employment was one of the major problems they had to face between these times. Due to employment being unattainable, a majority of the time their principal role was to care for their children, husband, do housework, and cook. Women didn’t have the same opportunities as men such as getting paid equally. Sandy Bardsley, in her outstanding work, Women’s Roles in the Middle Ages, stated that hiring women could benefit employers because they could be paid at a lower rate than men. As demonstrated in the History Learning Site, women were getting paid as much as boys and elderly men in the Medieval Period. The drastic change comparing today’s employment for women in the job market and employment during a demeaning era is unimaginable.
Women Writers, bakers, spinners, shopkeepers, and farmers were some common jobs women could have access to. Demonstrated in the Medieval Gender, women were technically not allowed to work, but if they did many would work alongside their husband and have several jobs in order to have the same wage as men did. They were only allowed to hold positions of a peasant, nun, artisan, and a mother. Today’s society isn’t the same like it used to be in Medieval Europe, women are allowed to earn as much as men and sometimes more in different fields of work. Whether it is architecture, law, or in the medical field, just like men they can obtain a college degree and manage a job. Other things they couldn’t have a say in was their rights to vote or even have the option to wed and bear children. It used to be a given that they were obligated to raise a family and attend a husband’s needs at all times.
It was strenuous to gain rights for education for these poor women. It almost seems like they were enslaved by society to strictly follow a certain way of fulfilling their role. Some were taught how to read but rarely knew how to write. There are some authors who learned to write that had created works that became noticed throughout the Medieval Period. For example, Marie de France had become famous because of her written works in different genres. “Her topics included marvelous love stories, sin, and observations of human and animal behaviors” (Dinshaw 172). Another famous woman writer who is well known for her works about her own gender is Christine de Pizan. She used to be a woman’s activist whose works included on how fair it was for women to pursue education. She would be delighted today to find out how much has improved.
As demonstrated in the Finer Times, education was necessary if a girl was to become a nun, but the main goal for them was always to live a married life with children. Keeping busy by raising your family had women pay little or no attention on their appearance. Usually their husbands would tell them what to wear on a regular basis as stated in Medieval Gender. Kings and queens of the era influenced the clothing and fashion at the time. In certain places, dress codes for women were very strict. Most of the time, men were able to determine if women were married or single by their hairstyle and attire.
In the early middle Ages, women were classified in many different ways, such as class, religion, marital status and where they lived (Bardsley 1). Social classes were divided amongst noblewomen, townswomen, and peasants. Different kinds of peasants acquired almost all of the European population. Townswomen held a higher position but had to do similar things and were a bit wealthier than peasant women. Noblewomen were like managers, they took care of estates when their husbands were away and did less housework (Bardsley 81).
It was important that the majority of women stayed in their place by a system of expectations and attitudes. Religion was also another factor that divided women amongst each other. The Catholic Church intended to portray the idea of morality. Most women in this period had their families choose whom to marry. Religion was such a tremendous part of their life that the women believed the good things in life came from the bounty of God and bad things happened only when someone committed sin. They would watch out all the time and that was the proper way of living back in the middle Ages.
The only reason women were treated this way was because of their gender, which is called sexism. It’s plausible to say the treatment was unfair and wrongfully done. Although, It’s relieving to know that discrimination like this does not happen as often as it used to anymore, it still exists, but not to an extreme extent. Women aren’t forced to do anything anymore, but have a choice to be married, if they would like to give birth to children, and if they’d like to go to school. That’s the way it is and hopefully that’s the way it will stay.
Women in the medieval society who tried to step beyond cultural boundaries to seek employment had dual responsibility; home making roles and occupational roles. It was difficult to strike a balance between these two roles because they also lacked a strong support system as seeking formal employment was going against the norms of society. This burden made women not to be very effective in their occupational roles. This made employers view women as being generally inadequate. Even securing those positions was a struggle in itself, obtaining permission from her husband and the extended family. Even other women thought negatively of women who sought formal employment and criticized them for failing in their roles as wives and mothers. Some women were comfortable being linked to the cash economy by their husbands.
Women also were viewed as inferior to men and morally weak. This was perpetuated by religious beliefs. From the Biblical perspective, it was Eve, the first woman who was tempted by the snake and she in turn drew Adam into sin. The result was that both of them were sent out of the Garden of Eden. So women could not be entrusted with leadership positions in medieval society since they could be lured into temptation and swayed easily. Such weaknesses portrayed by the first woman and believed to be a characteristic of all other women would cause social problems in society if they are allowed to be at the forefront. This is further emphasized by other Biblical references that the woman was created from a man’s ribs, the man is the head of the family and Paul’s statement in the New Testament that women should learn in silence and in subordination to their husbands. For a long time, women were not allowed to even lead ministries or preach in churches. They did not have a voice even in their homes and this was justified especially by families that were religious.
The general perception was that women were oppressed in the medieval society but some women also served in political positions. For some it was by virtue of being “born into the right family” i.e. families of royalty where leadership was hereditary. The queens for instance exercised authority in their husband’s absence or during the demise of the king and the sons were too young to take over as king.
The religious justification for oppressing women was however later challenged as more people began looking up to the role of the Virgin Mary in The Bible. She was the mother of Jesus- the messiah and therefore acted as a medium for salvation. She symbolizes the virtue of chastity in women by the fact that she was a virgin and conceived of the Holy Spirit. The role of motherhood is also appreciated through her. People of the catholic faith to date still pray through the Virgin Mary. Other women; Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha also come into focus in the New Testament as having followed and attended to Jesus. It is analysis of such that slowly made a way for women to begin serving in positions of responsibility in the church and further paving way for them to serve in the society. For example, in convents women had authority over monks.
Christine de Pizan is described by some scholars as an early feminist who through her writings showed that women could actually play an important role in society. She is an example of women who in a male dominated world managed to step out, make progress and impact society. She wrote books and biographies containing practical and relevant for women. She had educated herself but at the age of 15, she was married to the secretary of the court where her father was employed as the king’s astrologer. Her intellectual pursuit was discontinued until she was widowed at 25 years, when she was forced by circumstances to seek a means of livelihood and survival for her family. She therefore turned to writing as a source of income. It is for these reasons that some scholars argue that to call her a feminist is a misinterpretation of Christine’s intentions for writing.
Christine wrote poems and ballads that impressed the patrons in the court cycle and they had her compose poems for them. She expanded her borders beyond the court when she took part in a literary debate in 1401 and later established herself as writer with specific interest in gender issues. She began by criticizing Jean de Meun’s allegorical poem “Romance of the Rose”. The poem she argued is an abuse of women’s sexuality because it presented women as seducers. The use of vulgar language by Madam Raison in the poem she believes is nothing but malice against women because noble women would not use such language (Autrand 40). This marked her debut in feminist literature.
In “The Book of the City of Ladies”, she recounts the significant roles played by women in traditional societies. She created an ideal city where women are respected and protected. She uses dialogue to present discussions on matters of significance to women and uses female voices to correct prevalent negative stereotypes about women. And in a follow up work, “The Treasure of the City of Ladies” she advises women of all classes how to develop virtues that are useful for the success of women in their homes and larger society. The book covers women from royalties, middle class, peasants and even prostitutes (Autrand 78). She portrays women as peace makers. She specifically focuses on the speech act and how important it is as a tool for women to build positive working relationships and at the same time be a tool of sowing discord. She therefore advises women to strive for skill in discourse so that they are able to assert themselves when their speech portrays virtue and restraint.
In honor of Joan of Arc, Christine wrote a poem for Joan in which she describes the peasant girl as a simple shepherdess and says that God wanted to bless France through a young virgin, Joan. Joan said that she had received instructions from God to help Charles VII get into power. Christine therefore compares her to the Virgin Mary from the Bible. In the creation of her works, Christine integrates contributions and opinions of other women because she wanted to translate her success to a broader success by nurturing young talents that would champion for the good of women in society.
The arguments advanced by this author one can say are influenced by her own experiences as a woman. She never had an opportunity to get proper schooling despite her father’s noble position, she was like other women, married at a very young age and after being widowed she could not access her husband’s finances because of a complicated lawsuit. Her determination is an inspiration that women can actually rise above the limits and stereotypes of society. She sought to pursue intellectual enlightenment by educating herself with the materials that were at her disposal. After the experience with the lawsuit she sought to make a difference by empowering women through her books and incorporating them in her works. She has served as a pioneer feminist in the 14th century by defending the roles of women and demanding respect of the same in her literary works.
Married de France was also a medieval writer. She lived in unknown courts in England. Her renowned work the “Lais of Marie de France” and “Breton lai” is a collection of 12 short poems based on Breton legends. The lays were considered a new form of art because it combined classic rhetoric with detail. They also contained elements of reality combined with the supernatural. Her area of focus was social justice with respect to social hierarchy. She also links love with suffering and approves of adulterous relationships in some circumstances. Guigemar when hunting is wounded by an arrow that he shot at a white hind. The wind tells him that he will be cured by the love of a woman, a love for which they would both suffer. He engages in an affair with a married woman with whom they are separated when the woman’s husband discovers what is going on. Their love is re-awakened when they meet again two years later in Britanny (De France 102). She focuses on the individuals rather than their integration to society. This goes on to explain that social interactions and social networks strengthen social norms and individuals who are not part of social networks tend to defy social norms. The characters are isolated and when society disapproves their behavior they alienate themselves.
Marie de France’s works contradicted the values and norms taught by the church and embraced by society. She wrote of women who sought to end marriages that they considered as not being satisfactory, noble and noble women enticing men as in the case of Lanval whom Queen Guinevere tried to seduce unsuccessfully. In Chevrefoil, Marie De France also writes of an adulterous relationship that is thriving and passionate and uses the allegory of honeysuckle plant and hazel nut to approve of the forbidden love. This was an expression of sexual freedom as opposed to traditional norms where women had no choice of who to marry, how many children to have and other issues relating to their sexuality. In her poems, women were kept behind closed doors by their husbands, especially if they were elderly, some were closely watched by their husbands or had spies assigned to them in the absence of their husbands like the woman in Laustic (De France 158). Still in Chevrefoil, a man is banished from the kingdom for loving the king’s wife. This was another form of imprisonment for women as they were restrained from their desires. It was from this imprisonment that Marie de France sought freedom and motivated other women to do so.
Some literary writers such as Burgess Glyn and Busby Keith have suggested that Marie De France’s works might have been influenced by some experiences in her own life. Her works seemingly focus on the sexuality of women and the freedom they have over the same. Most women in her poems are oppressed sexually and are seeking freedom from their oppression by exploring love in extra-marital affairs. In some poems however, it is not clear whether the women are being oppressed because of their actions or their actions are as a result of the being oppressed.
Both women are medieval writers focusing writing on the place of women in in the medieval period. The approaches taken by each is interestingly different. Marie De France is centered on women’s sexuality while Christine de Pizan is more holistic in her approach. She talks of various roles of women in the society and demands respect for those roles. She calls on society to appreciate women and their efforts. She goes a step further to also advice women on how to be competent and efficient in their tasks. Again Marie De France does not seek to uphold moral values or religious values in her works. To her women should seek to satisfy their desire without regard for societal values and norms. This is evidenced by her approval of extra-marital affairs by women seeking to satisfy their sexual needs. Christine on the other hand places emphasis on societal norms and writes of three important virtues women should uphold. She taught women to please their husbands, run family businesses, raise children and handle court cases. To her, a woman’s honor was her greatest possession and would earn her respect in society. She wrote of an ideal city occupied by virtuous women. She also displays belief in religion when she compares Joan of Arc to Virgin Mary. She also noted that although a few women acted against God to gain freedom, being virtuous was the best way to gain independence. Generally Christine approves of traditional society values in seeking independence while Marie focuses on a more secular and contemporary approach.
Works Cited.
“Dinshaw, Carolyn. Et al. The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Women’s writing. Cambridge University Press, 2003. Print.
“Femininity during Medieval Times.” Medieval Gender. N.P., n.d. Web. 30 March 2016.
Bardsley, Sarah. Women’s Roles in the Middle Ages. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2007. Print.
Medieval Woman.” The History Learning Site. Moocow, n.d. Web. 30 March 2016.
Newman, Simon. “Education in the Middle Ages.” The Finer Times. (2008). Web. 30 March 2016.
Autrand, Françoise. Christine de Pizan. Fayard, 2009.
De France, Marie. The Lays of Marie de France. Vol. 14. Athabasca University Press, 2013.
