Nature In The Renaissance Era

The Renaissance era was filled with an appreciation for nature in Europe. This was due to the fact that “in traditional Europe, the mass of the population derived its wealth and social status from the land. The extraction of the earth's produce had priority over all other activities” (Mendels 242). Because of this, nature was a fundamental part of society. Europe’s economy was based on human’s interactions with nature. During the Restoration, nature was still important but beginning thoughts of industrialization began to present themselves. This lead to an unstable representation of nature because there was an impending revolution coming. Eventually there was a shift in the importance of nature when machines and factories became introduced
This lead to a more modernized society and a decrease in the importance of nature. The industrialization caused a shift in how Europe’s economy functioned. Instead of having an agriculture based economy, Europe now had a more factory based economy. This shift caused less people to be involved with nature. Nature was no longer a part of the societal norm. There was no longer speculation of industrialization. It was actually happening. This shift in society lead to nature becoming the shameful topic as opposed to industrialization. Haywood’s Fantomina represents how the shift from purity to secrecy further morphs into nature being a place full of shame. This is shown in the scene where Fantomina goes into the woods to secretly have her baby. She tricks Beauplaisir into sleeping with her throughout the story with multiple disguises. When she ultimately becomes pregnant it symbolizes her loss of purity and is considered shameful because she was not married to him. This shame is why she runs and hides in nature to give birth. Nature being a place where she hides to do a shameful act can tie into how nature is no longer considered the norm due to the industrialization of Europe. Nature is considered shameful because everyone else is focused on the new