21st Century Feminism In 17th Century Italy

In 17th century Italy every individuals had his or her own place in society, which was determined by family lineage, occupation, and gender, among other factors. Each individual’s place in this societal hierarchy dictated how he or she was to act in any situation that they faced. As a result of this societal structure, many individuals were not able to escape the expectations that were set for them, nor did they publically question them. In 1664, the Venetian Inquisition brought up Cecilia Ferrazzi on heresy charges. These charges were a direct result of the home that Ferrazzi ran to keep girls and young women away from the dangers of men and prostitution, thus keeping their purity and virginity intact until they could marry or become nuns.
Feminism in the 21st century has two major points. First, all humans are equal in all aspects of life, including politics. Second, a woman does not have any limitations to what she can or cannot do purely because she is a woman. This definition of feminism cannot be applied to 17th century Italy, as even most women during that time would agree that it would be ridiculous to expect that women would be granted the same rights as men. Therefore, feminism during this time was the idea that a woman had some degree of agency that she could execute to gain control over the outcome of a situation. This agency could be gained through the political and/or social power of a husband, or another family member, religion, or societal status. Ferrazzi gained her agency through prayer and her strong religious values. A woman’s use of agency was not typically seen during this time period due to the fact that many women had already accepted their place in society. However, Ferrazzi used her agency in order to propel what she saw as her place in society, a protector of the purity of young
She was concerned with her purity as it was not only a way to set a good example for her charges, but it was also of religious importance to her as Catholics believe that women are to stay virginal until marriage. Since Ferrazzi knew that she was never going to marry, she spent her entire life ensuring that her purity was never compromised, even if it could potentially interfere with her health. Since she suffered from bladder stones, Ferrazzi frequently suffered from the different physical side effects they caused (23). In order to help her cope with some of the symptoms that she had been experiencing for years, one of her friends, Dr. Michelangelo, consulted with another doctor about “injecting various oils into [her] with a syringe” (56). This thought did not please Ferrazzi, as in order to do this, the male doctor who would be doing this would have to see her lower half exposed, thus compromising her purity (56). Even though she refused to allow this to be done, her confessor was informed that she needed this treatment, and he promptly told her that she needed to allow it to occur (56). In order to protect her purity, Ferrazzi asked her confessor to allow her to pray before she had the procedure, and he agreed (56). After praying to the Virgin Mary, Mary told Ferrazzi that she needed to inform her confessor that this procedure shouldn’t happen, as “one can even die in