In the book, Giovanni and Lusanna, by Gene Bucker, he discusses the scandalous actions of a Florentine woman taking a wealthy high status man to court over the legality of their marriage. Published in 1988, the book explains the legal action taken for and against Lusanna and Giovanni, the social affects placed on both persons throughout their trial, and the roles of both men and women during the time. From the long and complicated trial, it can be inferred that women’s places within Florentine society were limited compared to their male counterparts and that women’s affairs should remain in the home. In this paper, I will examine the legal and societal place of women in Florentine society during the Renaissance. Here, I will argue that women were the “merchandise” of humanity and their main objective was to produce sons.
Wealth and family status was a determining factor upon marriage. Women were expected to have a dowry from their family that would allow them to be auctioned off to suitors. The marriage market was much like the stock exchange in that it allowed
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Women were auctioned off as “merchandise” to the best suitor they could get in town. Beauty, though important, was not as important as the dowry the woman possessed, because it was the dowry the family provided that could exalt a man’s societal status to all new heights. Once married, women were expected to have son’s for their husbands in order to take over the family business. A barren woman was not an option and could have easily been rushed to the nearest convent to take her vows of a nun, for no honor could be brought otherwise. No woman could run from the societal and legal pressures placed upon them. Rather than run, some chose to accept their place, but, like Lusanna, some chose to fight the status quo for rights they believed they
In the traditional political history of Italy the people outside of the ruling class of the society were rarely studied. Only with the use of social history did the issues of class and gender begin to be debated by scholars. Numerous recent articles have done a great job of analysing particularly men of high status. In this paper I will look at the lower classes of Renaissance Florence. More specifically, I will center my focus on the lives of women during this era, how they were treated and viewed by people of other classes and how women were viewed and treated by men.
Robin, Diana, Anne B. Larsen, and Carole Evans, eds. Encyclopedia of Women in the Renaissance: Italy, France and England. Santa Barbara: Abc Clio, 2007.
The role of a woman in this society is entirely dependent upon the color of cloths that she wears. The women will get this color for a specific reason. If a woman is able to reproduce she will become a Handmaid. The Handmaids exist because the Wives are physically unable to have a child of their own. The Handmaid’s position is to reproduce for the Commander and his wife, so that they can have a family together. A woman will become a Martha if she is unable to reproduce. The Martha’s job is to look after the families. She has to care for the family, protect them, and to comfort them at all times. The Wives job is to essentially have her family. The wife is to make sure the Handmaid has her child and she is to be calm and peaceful. A woman would become one of the Wives if she was already married to her husband before the laws in their society changed.
In Gene Brucker’s novel “Giovanni and Lusanna,” the writer, historian, and Shepard Professor of History Emeritus at the University of California – Berkley, opens a door into the Florentine Renaissance period, in which, he allows the reader to gain knowledge of Florentine society, marriage, and politics. Through Brucker’s research about Giovanni della Casa and Lusanna di Benedetto’s archiepiscopal court case, or marriage battle, the audience can understand the alleged couple’s relationship and unofficial marriage status and why it serves as such an impactful piece of information to not only how the Florentine society and Church during the Renaissance view the contract of marriage and politics, but to the people of today as well. Brucker’s novel
Noble women don?t appear to have a hard life, but when you look between the lines they have it just as rough as any other women of that time. From the beginning, young women were required to learn the basic household skills that they would be expected to execute as wives and mothers. These women did perform textile work, but they did it for luxury, they did not actu...
To begin, the differential treatments between gender identities have stereotypically discriminated Renaissance women, in Europe, from achieving an era of resurgence, hence obstructing females from their struggle for future change and independence. In the family, women held undermined roles and were expected to submit under the control of male authority . The stages of a woman’s life were solely defined as a daughter, virgin, wife, mother or widow; all of which...
I support Cusick's argument that Caccini was a proto-feminist who, through her works for the Medici court, supported the rights of women, specifically, through her first and most recognized opera, La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina. In this opera, which is recognized as the first opera composed by a woman, Caccini illustrates a feminist approach to her composition, and makes musical statements about gender that support and reflect the joint reign of Christine and her daughter-in-law, Archduchess Maria Magdalena of Austria. Not only are the characters in the opera portraying strong and capable women, but also the music composed for the characters demonstrates the differences between men and women through musical elements, such as the usage of sharps and flats. Because of works such as these, Caccini plays a major role for the female gender in the early seventeenth century.
Unfortunately, the dominion of the men meant the women were powerless. This contributed to the atmosphere of the clan. The women were considered second best, and were servants to their husbands. Even in the case of Ikemefuna and the village girl, it is ironic that Ikemefuna’s fate was not decided upon immediately. Rather, it took three years. However, the village girl immediately was summoned to replace the wife that had been killed. This shows us the timeliness and eagerness in dealing with women’s issues and the patience when dealing with the fate of
a huge role in deciding who to marry, rich men went for women of the
The Crucible shows that women had no say so in how their life and marriage went. Their husbands spoke for them. The only task women had to worry about was reproducing, praying, and understanding their place in the family. Farming was usually run by the farmer and his wife. The woman usually fed the chickens, collected the eggs, or did the milking. Being a midwife was also very important to the community. It was usually run by two women, who helped with childbirth. Spinning wool and flax into thread was a very important task due to the limitation of fabrics during this time. Children usually helped their mothers tend to the farm, or became servants in homes at a very young age. Working as a servant was done by young girls, until she and her prospective husband had saved enough money to start a business, and or get married.
...show us that the choices for women in marriage were both limited and limiting in their scope and consequences. As can be seen, it came down to a choice between honoring the private will of the self, versus, honoring the traditions and requirements of society as a whole. Women were subject to the conditions set down by the man of the house and because of the social inequality of women as a gender class; few fought the rope that tied them down to house, hearth, and husband, despite these dysfunctions. They simply resigned themselves to not having a choice.
Within the domus, or home, women exerted their control over the rest of the individuals in the house. Women were seen as “the centers of power and authority in the household” because they knew how to handle certain situations that was not suitable for the males (Orsi 132). For example, mother “were the disciplinarians of the family, either meting out punishment themselves or instructing their husbands or older sons to administer it” (Orsi 133). The fact that the women told the men how to punish their children is quite interesting because the women were administering their control over the whole family. In today’s society, men will be the head figures who discipline their children because they are the head of the household. Another interesting role that the women played in the family was that they were the ones who “greeted their children’s dates and determined whether or not they were acceptable to the domus” (Orsi 133). Again, the women held the authority for deciding if another person was able to join the family or not. This description proves just how influential and how dominant the women were in the household. Compared to earlier, women now held all the power within the house. The issue was that these rights and privileges did not exist when it was applied to community events that were held in Italian
this story the reader gets insight to what it was like for women during this time period. women only had two choices in this time of history women could only marry men that the family would choice for them or they could be nun most of the time the men that were picked out for them were not ideal choice in the eyes of the girl. the men that were often picked were of welth or high status also when these girls were getting married they would be extremly young.this can be compared to some parts of the world current day in most parts of the world we are able to marry who he fall in love with not who are parnets want us to be in love with because of there status. the second option is women were allowed to become nuns and live there life serving for
All throughout history, women were often held to a different set of expectations from that of their male counterparts. This is something that is seen all over the world, during various time periods and in different societies. Renaissance Florence, is no different in this social aspect, because women were expected to do and act a certain way, so that they could hold their distinct place in society. There are three areas that are really important to a woman’s sphere during the Renaissance time period: The first being, her family’s status in society, to her her ability to bare children, and finally her chastity leading up to and during her future marriage. These are all aspects of a woman’s scope that are portrayed in the court case of Giovanni
During the Romantic Era, very few occupations were open to women, as most were expected to run their husbands house. For the women who remained unmarried (whether by choice or by circumstance), their opportunities to earn money were very limited. One of the most common choices available for a young maid unmarried is to be a governess. Though this was never a first choice, it was one of the most readily available jobs for women and included a lack of re...