How did the Renaissance affect ideas about women?
Did it affect them enough?
The question is referring to the English Renaissance of the 16th and 17th
century. The time from the early 16th century to the early 17th century
is generally known as the ‘Elizabethan era’. This is due to the fact that it
is the era associated with the reign of Elizabeth 1 who reigned from the
years of 1558-1603. The Elizabethan era is seen as one of the most
fascinating eras in the history of England. It was an age which seen the
English Renaissance which brought an enormous cultural change to Tudor
society heralding new standards in education and new values in literature.
It was Elizabeth’s political and religious ideas that had an effect on Tudor
society. The Elizabethan era was seen as a ‘golden age’ in English history
for women and also Elizabeth’s presence at the throne was an inspiration
to many poets and authors of her generation. For example, it was the era
of William Shakespeare and he developed the first theatre in England
called the Globe theatre. There were also several other notable
Elizabethans. These include English Privateer Sir Francis Drake and also
English adventurer Humphrey Gilbert. The Elizabethan era proved to be an
age which was famous for its internal peace between the reformations in
England and also a time where the protestant reformation was
established which defended successfully against the catholic powers of
the continent.
Renaissance means ‘rebirth’ and was the cultural development in
England. Some historians argue that the English renaissance had little or
no real link to the artistic developments and aims of the renaissance in
Italy, though it has been stated that the dominant art form of the English
renaissance was different to that of Italy in respect that the English
Renaissances’ dominant art form was literature and it was during this
renaissance that some of the best ever literature written was recorded.
Over the years some historians have asked the question “a renaissance
for whom?”, and have stated that the status of women in society
arguably declined during the Renaissance. Throughout this essay I aim to
discover on whether or not the renaissance affected women and if so,
to what extent and in what ways.
The Elizabethan woman had very few rights in the modern period. It has
become apparent that the roles of the woman appeared to be confined,
arguably for practical reasons. The roles of men and women tended to
differ significantly in Elizabethan times. In simplistic terms during this
renaissance period a woman was supposed to marry, be loyal to her
husband and to give birth to children, whereas the man had to be well
educated and provide for his family. This could be done by either going to
an external form of work or by working on his own land. Both the role of
the husband and the wife seemed as important as each other. A primary
responsibility of women during the Renaissance was to have many
children as shown in the source below.
“Henrietta Maria, the queen of King Charles I of
England, was
pregnant almost without intermission from 1628 to 1639.”1
From the source above it is clear to see that there was a high birth rate.
However, after looking at other sources from historians it is clear to see
that there was also a very high child mortality rate as shown below.
“In Seventeenth-century England, only two of the six children born to
Sir Ralph and Lady Margaret Verney survived to adulthood.”2
It however has become apparent to me that girls were not as valued as
boys from a young age.
“Boys are sent to learn their letters: Girls learn womanly things. When
they later become adults, the boys learn a trade which will support
them; the girls are married with the institution providing a dowry.” 3
From the source above it is clear to see the importance of the roles
each gender plays in society at the time of the renaissance. It supports
the point mentioned above that a woman was supposed to marry, be
loyal to her husband and to give birth to children, whereas the man had
to be well educated and provide for his family.
I think during this period it is important to look at the differences of
both the upper and lower class women in the different aspects of
society. Upper class women were seen as subservient to their
husbands. They relied on these husbands to support them. The
wealthier of families could afford the employment of a wet nurse. A
wet nurse helped to look after the newborn children in a family. This
relieved a lot of pressure off the mother.
“Babies of the very wealthiest were provided a wet nurse who lived in the
household: these were the highest paid of all the domestic servants”. 4
Marriage in the Elizabethan era was arranged. This meant that the wives
were forced into the marriage by their fathers. The source below shows
the importance of a dowry in Elizabethan times.
“The sexual honour of a woman was not only hers, I would say not even
primarily hers: It was tied to a more complex honour which involved both
the family and the men who dominated it...the honour of an entire
family and of the men responsible for
it revolved about the
conservation of a daughter's virginity.”5
During Elizabethan times women believed that they were not as
important as men and so believed that the men knew better. They were
taught this from birth. It is because of this that we can draw a picture to
the facts of why Elizabeth was so reluctant to marry. I believe she knew
that if she married she would lose some of her power. However, as it
stood she did not have to answer to anybody. Elizabeth used the
negotiation of marriage to her advantage. If
she married she knew she
wouldn’t be as superior. But while she was not married she promised
her people the possibility of marriage and an heir. Elizabeth I feel also
presented herself as a mother to her people. She convinced the people of
her country that having children would take her attention away from
them. By not marrying and not being a mother she presented herself as a
sensuous woman who everyone would ol ve. I believe she aimed to take
a strong hold of her people in their minds in order to ensure the long
and good duration of her reign. The lower class Elizabethan women were
also expected to obey the orders of their husbands. All women of the
time were expected to marry and be dependant of the male of the family
for her entire life. The source below shows the expectation of wives
during the Elizabethan period.
“The philosopher John Locke, pioneer of the Enlightenment, opposed the
tyranny of husbands as much as that of kings; but within a marriage,
woman was to cede authority to her husband, because he was by nature,
"abler and stronger."”6
There were however women of the time who were not married. These
women only had one option in order to survive. They had to take part in
domestic service. Women were not allowed to work in the upper
professions so domestic service was the only option in order to get an
income. Domestic service would include jobs like cooking or being a maid
for example. Marriage appealed to all women from the lower class due
to the fact that the husband’s role was to provide for a household.
However, the household was not the most protected area for
a wife as
shown in the source below.
“The seventeenth-century Countess of Warwick in England directed the
dairy and hen house and checked the annual accounts while the Countess
of Flanders, who in 1372 "had two great forges built for her," and
supervised the operation of the mines.”7
Education was a major issue in the Elizabethan era. The renaissances
brought with it new thinking to England. Women from wealthy
backgrounds were allowed the privilege of education. The type of
education supplied was home education taught by a tutor. However,
Elizabethan women were not allowed to go to university. The reason for
this being that Queen Elizabeth believed that the women would distract
the men from their studies. In comparison with this, lower class
Elizabethan women would not have received any form of education.
They would be taught the duties of how to run a household. This would
prepare them for later life and marriage. Marriage was very important to
the women of this era. The woman would have several roles while her
husband was at work. The woman was required to run the household and
provide the children. As indicated earlier there was a very high birth
rate at this time.
Queen Elizabeth also stated that the appearance of a woman was
important during this period. As you can expect a woman ages
considerably quick due to the pressure put onto her by pregnancy and
the looking after of the household. There were laws made based upon
what types of clothes a woman could wear known as the sumptuary
laws.
In summary the woman during the time of the renaissance was expected
to marry well, be loyal and obedient to her husband, give birth to his
children and look after the household. Men
at the time of the
renaissance were expected to be educated and provide the source of
income for his family.
Renaissance became involved in Britain after many of its European
counterparts had experienced it. I will now look at some of the most
important women in the history of the Renaissance. The women I will
look at were not typical of the recognised ‘Renaissance woman’.
The first woman I will look at is Isabella D’Este. She was born in 1474 into a
ruling family in Ferra. Isabella achieved many accomplishments which
were not typical to a ‘Renaissance woman’. Isabella was well educated and
spoke both Greek and Latin. When her husband passed away she took
control of a whole city on her own. She founded a school for young
women. She also wrote over 200 letters. These letters were important as
these letters were
the closest any woman had ever come to writing
history. The impact Isabella made to society was important. She set an
example to all other women to step away from what had become known
as the ‘traditional Renaissance woman’ and become and achieve
whatever they wanted from life.
The second woman I will look at is Catherine De Medici. Catherine was
born in Italy in 1519. After the death of her parents through illness
Catherine was raised by nuns. Through the discipline and leaning they
gave her, Catherine turned out to be extremely well educated. Catherine
married in 1533. The first ten years of Catherine’s marriage proved very
hard as she was unable to conceive children, but she later succeeded.
Catherine achieved many accomplishments during her time in power. She
managed to create a policy of peace between Protestants and Catholics
and due to her being a great patron to the arts she allowed for the
Renaissance to flourish significantly. I believe it was important to look at
both Isabella D’Este and Catherine De Medici because they possessed the
qualities that many women of the time looked up to and believed were a
necessity.
The question “How did the Renaissance affect ideas about women? Did
it affect them enough?” is hard to answer. An important article was
written in the book Women, History and Feeling by Joan Kelly. The book
gives a realignment of perspectives on women in society
from the
middle Ages to the present. Joan Kelly asked the famous question “Did
women have a Renaissance?” Joan Kelly’s article examines whether
early modern day women were on equal par with men. However, it is
clear to see that the roles of women in everyday life were extremely
constrained compare to the roles of men during this time. Joan Kelly
does not believe the Renaissance was an important stage in female
liberation however, it has to be claimed that women did have some
form of Renaissance due to the fact that women were granted with a
greater access to education. A downfall which closed the door on
potential careers for women was the closure of convents in protestant
countries. This also meant that many women’s religious lives were
transformed.
In my opinion I believe women did have a Renaissance though it is a
delicate question to answer. From my research I have found out that the
main priority of woman in the
renaissance was to take care of her
children as well as maintaining the household. Women had a lot of
domestic duties on the social front which proved to be time consuming
and I believe kept women away from considering a career outside the
home. In the home the women would be important for providing the
necessities to her family e.g. clothes and food. In my opinion it is quite
clear to see that there were too many demands required to provide for
their family and therefore women would not be able to do the additional
things the Renaissance brought with it. These could include a career in
painting or sculpting. Through research I have also discovered that there
were many other problems associated with the
new careers that
developed during the Renaissance period. For example women faced
many problems in becoming an artist. Due to art turning into a profession
rather than just a hobby or a craft, it made it more difficult for women to
become professional artists and get their work recognised. This was
because artists were required to have a certain degree of education in
different subjects e.g. knowledge on ancient art. This proved punishing for
women due to the fact that vast majority was illiterate and would never
have had the teaching to be educated in such a way which allowed her to
be a professional artist. Women also faced many prejudice problems from
men. There were not really accepted into the world of art during the
Renaissance though steps were made towards this with several women’s
paintings being published. Men thought they were more superior to
women. The was due to the fact that society had been brought up to
believe this fact, but the renaissance encouraged women into doing
whatever they wanted to do. However, because of women artists not
being taken seriously it made it extremely difficult for historians to
document the contribution of female Renaissance artists due to the face
that much of their work was left unsigned because the women would
therefore not take her work s e r i o u s l y .