Emerging Female Literature in the 15th and 16th Century

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With the “successive reigns by two educated queens” in the sixteenth century there began a close examination of the woman’s role in society (Hull 1). Although nothing drastic, small numbers of women began to gain an education which taught them to read. The exact number is unknown and there is some controversy as to how many women could actually read. However, according to Suzanne Hull the “small but steady stream of books for a female audience” (Hull 1) indicates that there were a growing number of women who could read. These books were directed towards women for various reasons. One main reason was to “instruct women in their roles as marriage partners, making certain that women (and men) understood the subservient role of the female sex” (Hull 6). Many books focused on the daily activities of women–“mid-wifery, cooking, housewifery. . .education of young girls. . .Benedictine rules” (Hull 10) are some of the subjects addressed. These educational texts far outnumbered the fictional texts. However, this was rapidly changing. As the number of women reading increased, so did the publishing of recreational books (Hull 74). More women began to read “the romances (see history of the novel), the poetry, the jingles. . .allegories. . .[and] female biographies” (Hull 71).

This brought up controversy about what girls were putting into their heads (see controversy). “Both the feminist and anti-feminist positions appear in drama and fiction as well as philosophical arguments” (Hull 83). However, try as they might, the anti-feminists were fighting a losing battle. Although this controversy of what women read was not as strong as it was in the eighteenth century–there were other topics which led great debate. One such topic was the nature of women. These arguments included that women were inferior because they were created from Adam’s rib, men are stronger and therefore superior, Eve as a woman, caused the original sin. With each argument is a counter argument which allowed this topic to be discussed for many, many years.

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