Women Renaissance FRQ
Jeremy Harper
Women In Renaissance FRQ
Cheeeman-Meyer
9/16/14
The Renaissance is known as a time of great learning, achievement, and the flourishing of the arts. However this common view of the renaissance conveniently overlooks about half of the population, women. While many men of the era did indeed make great strides, the women were left behind still languishing in a relative Dark Age. While there were a few notable exceptions women’s involvement in the renaissance was almost non existent and limited to slightly more control over the family affairs due to a lethal combination of social norms and a lack of opportunity. Furthermore only white aristocratic women were ever presented with the slightest opportunity for education and self-improvement. Perhaps the most obvious and significant obstacle to women’s participation in the renaissance was the social norms of the times regarding women’s roles which we know were limited mostly to being a mother and producing offspring, particularly if the women was a member of the upper class as we know from Leon Alberti’s “On the Family”. Women married extremely young and were expected to begin producing issue almost immediately after their marriage. They might be in charge of teaching their daughter ‘womanly’ skills but even that might be relegated to a nurse. Often times women were involved in finding a suitable husband for their daughters but almost certainly never had the final say. Another key factor in the limitations of a women’s renaissance was the ideas perpetuated by the Church. The Church doctrine suggested that it would be improper for women to have strong personal ideas. Thus the influence of the Church contributed to the lack of women in the renaissance. Another factor that confined women’s role in the renaissance to a minimum was the lack of opportunity due to social class and economic status. For both men and women in order to be a renaissance man it was a necessity that you be an aristocrat or a wealthy
Women In Renaissance FRQ
Cheeeman-Meyer
9/16/14
The Renaissance is known as a time of great learning, achievement, and the flourishing of the arts. However this common view of the renaissance conveniently overlooks about half of the population, women. While many men of the era did indeed make great strides, the women were left behind still languishing in a relative Dark Age. While there were a few notable exceptions women’s involvement in the renaissance was almost non existent and limited to slightly more control over the family affairs due to a lethal combination of social norms and a lack of opportunity. Furthermore only white aristocratic women were ever presented with the slightest opportunity for education and self-improvement. Perhaps the most obvious and significant obstacle to women’s participation in the renaissance was the social norms of the times regarding women’s roles which we know were limited mostly to being a mother and producing offspring, particularly if the women was a member of the upper class as we know from Leon Alberti’s “On the Family”. Women married extremely young and were expected to begin producing issue almost immediately after their marriage. They might be in charge of teaching their daughter ‘womanly’ skills but even that might be relegated to a nurse. Often times women were involved in finding a suitable husband for their daughters but almost certainly never had the final say. Another key factor in the limitations of a women’s renaissance was the ideas perpetuated by the Church. The Church doctrine suggested that it would be improper for women to have strong personal ideas. Thus the influence of the Church contributed to the lack of women in the renaissance. Another factor that confined women’s role in the renaissance to a minimum was the lack of opportunity due to social class and economic status. For both men and women in order to be a renaissance man it was a necessity that you be an aristocrat or a wealthy