Vanesa Mucino

01/24/16
Period 2
Ms. Montes

Women of the Renaissance: Women and Power

When we talk about women some people may think of them as the weaker sex, this is

because it is believed women are less than men. Theres been many cases in which this belief

was displayed, for example: Women couldn't get an Ivy League education, they didn't have the

right to vote, marital rape wasn't criminalized and they couldn't sue for sexual harassment.

However, during the Renaissance (14th to 17th century) all womens lives were different.

Across the course of the fourteenth to the sixteenth century, a body of theory emerged

framed to counter traditional visions of women as weak vessels: less rational than men, and

more prone to sin. The new theory instead argued that women were mens equals by nature, no

less rational than men and no less capable of virtue. Rather than seeing mens social dominance

as justified by biological differences between the sexes, the new thinking attributed this

dominance to social and cultural factors. Women were kept in an artificial position of inferiority

by their inferior education, by cultural conditioning, and by a lack of professional opportunities.

If girls were given the same opportunities as their brothers, they would prove themselves to

equals of their male peers (Fonte, Worth of Women, pp. 261---63). After all, the bible says that

Eve was created from Adams rib And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and

he slept; He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord

God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man (Genesis

2:21,22).
 During the Renaissance The role of women was a very scarce role. Women were

supposed to be seen and not heard. Rarely seen at that. Women were to be prim and proper, the

ideal women. Females were able to speak their minds but their thoughts and ideas were shaped

by men. Mostly everything women did had input given by men. Women were controlled by her

parents from the day she is born until the day she is married, then she would be handed directly

to her husband so he could take over that role. In the time of the renaissance women were

considered to legally belong to their husbands. Women were supposed to be typical

housewives.' (Amanda Cloud). Female roles were more sharply defined in upper-class society

than in peasant society. The main reason was economic. Upper-class daughters, wives, and

widows had a share in the family estate, so they were regarded mainly as a way to hold onto or

expand. Therefore their lives were strictly regulated and controlled. In contrast, peasant women

generally had more freedom. Wives, daughters, and even widows were actively involved in

helping to support the family by maintaining the household and working along with men on the

farm or in the shop. Therefore it was not practical to regulate and control their lives.

In the renaissance times a Renaissance Woman was supposed to marry well, be loyal to

her husband and give birth to boys. Many women did not fit the mold of what they called a

Renaissance Woman. However, one of the most influential personalities of the Catholic

Huguenot wars was Caterina de Medici also known as Catherine deMedici(1519-1589).She

was well educated, trained, and disciplined by nuns in Florence and Rome. She was also queen

consort of Henry II of France (reigned 154759) (N.M. Sutherland). Accomplishments made by

Catherine: Catherine was a major force in French politics, especially during the thirty years of

the Roman Catholic-Huguenot wars. She ruled as a regent to her son and when he reached

majority in 1563, She was also a Roman Catholic but when trying to create a balance with
religions she sometimes agreed with the Huguenots. By doing this she created a policy of peace

between the Catholics and the Protestants. Under her influence, three of Catherine's sons became

kings and she also arranged for her daughter to be married to the King of Spain in 1560.

Catherine had a great interest in architecture and she demonstrated this with her authority over

the building of the new wing of the Louvre Museum, the construction of the Tuilleries Gardens,

and the building of the Chateau Monceau.

Another exception to this rule was Isabella dEste (1474-1539). At the age of sixteen

Isabella married Francesco Gonzaga. She then became the Marchioness of Mantua because

Francesco was the Prince. After the death of her husband, Isabellas father believed in the

equality of men and women and so Isabella and her siblings were very well educated. Isabellas

accomplishments: At the age of sixteen, Isabella d'Este was able to speak Greek and Latin as

well as play the lute, sing, dance and debate with people much older than her. She was very well-

educated and her political talent benefited Mantua while she was ruling. When her husband left,

Isabella governed the city on her own, and after he died she took over his whole job. She showed

great leadership skills in 1509 when she became Chief of State in Mantua. At this time she also

founded a school for young women where they had to observe a strict code of morals. She was a

patron of the Arts and she also set artistic fashions and standards. Isabella collected many

paintings and statues. She also wrote over two thousand letters and in these she commented on

everything from politics to war. That was the closest that any woman at that time ever got to

writing history. Her impact? Isabella patronized and promoted the arts. She allowed writers,

artists and poets to exchange their ideas in her home. While she was ruling, she set an example

for women to break away from the traditional role of what women were supposed to be like. By

doing this and many other things she was known as the "First Lady of the Renaissance."
 Although nowadays some people still see women inferior to men, many more think of

women as equal to men. I, myself am a feminist. I believe everyone should be treated equally

because there is not a weaker sex. Women are not less than any men just as men are not less

than any women. Catherine de Medici and Isabella dEste are great examples of what a woman

can do without having to be a man.

Works Cited

Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam Research. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.

"Catherine De Medicis | Queen of France." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia

Britannica. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.

"Gender Roles of Women in the Renaissance." Gender Roles of Women in the Renaissance. Web.

14 Dec. 2015.

Catherine de Medici." Encarta 1996 Encyclopedia CD-ROM. Microsoft Corporation, 1995.

[http://www.est.gov.bc.ca/equity/ac5.html]. "Catherine de Medici." 1997.

Swanson, Charles. "Catherine de Medici." Encyclopedia Britannica, 1768, vol. 2, pp. 954-955.

Trager, James. The Women's Chronology. New York, Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 1994, pp.

115.

Yoder, Carolyn. Introduction To The Renaissance. Peterborough, Cobblestone Pub. Inc., 1994,

pp. 16-17.