English 333: The Renaissance – III Women in the Renaissance
Study Questions
1. What is a model of femininity established in any of our texts? Do speakers, characters or events in a text in any way challenge that norm?
2. Contrast the literary “voices” (styles as well as treatment of subjects) of a female and male writer (you may use any writer we have read so far for this).
3. In 16th and 17th century England high value was put on humility, chastity, marriage, motherhood. How do our texts, and their characters, negotiate the conflicts among these? Are some values emphasized at the expense of others, or is some type of reconciliation arrived at? (Note that a report will have to do much narrowing here, perhaps "humility and marriage in Lanyer's 'Eve's Apology,'" for instance.)
4. Spenser claims the purpose of the Faerie Queen is to “fashion a gentleman” (Norton p. 777). What can such a man learn about women from Book III, and how will this knowledge contribute to his social and moral formation?
5. Consider Britomart in love: how she falls in love, whom she loves, how she conducts herself. How is her desire idealized, and how does it resemble or contrast with another writer who expresses or discusses desire?
6. Contrast Britomart and Belphoebe (or any of the other women in Book III) as competing idealizations of Renaissance women.
7. What claims do you see for female autonomy in Moulsworth or Lanyer? That is, where do you see them resisting patriarchal values and attitudes or structures of control?
8. Consider Kelley’s “Did Women Have a Renaissance?”: based on what you know about the Renaissance so far, argue that they did, using one or more of our writers as evidence (this may be pursued as arguing that women are represented as having a Renaissance; whether or not they actually did may not be relevant to your argument).
Additional Reading
Sara Mendelson and Patricia Crawford, Women in Early Modern England (Oxford, 1998). An extremely useful overview of the social situation of women in the Renaissance, organized by topics (education, friendship, work, marriage, the law, etc.).
On the Web
Luminarium (scroll down to “Women in the Renaissance,” where there’s a list of useful links; both of the links below are on the list!)
Gender, Family, Household (Norton topics page on the Renaissance household and its women)
Women Writers (a very basic but helpful overview of women writers and their culture by Internet Shakespeare)
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.