There were writers such as Ralph Emerson, Herman Melville and Walt Whitman whose literary works identify the American Renaissance. The literary works depict the ideas of reform, democratization, marginalism and individualism during this period of time. Often forgotten are the scholarly literary pieces showing the effort and achievements of women during this time period. Women of the American and Italian Renaissance have similarities. Louisa May Alcott, an American Renaissance female shares affinities with Moderata Fonte, an Italian Renaissance women both wanted to achieve equality for females in a male dominant society. Louisa May Alcott is an American Renissance woman, she became a writer expressing her own opinon and encouraging other women …show more content…
He called her a “devil” and “unfaithful” in his diary because she didn't live up to his expectations. Being raised in this fashion Louisa became a stronger woman than she would have been due to her father’s high expectations for her success. In the same article Matteson states,” “Life,” she told her journal in 1874,” always was a puzzle to me, and gets more mysterious as I go on. I shall find it out by and by and see it’s all right, if I can only keep brave and patient to end.” Louisa had a life of many obstacles although; these obstacles have allowed her to grow as an individual. Louisa was able to take these experiences …show more content…
Moderata Fonte is an Italian Renassance woman who was a feminist writer. In the book, “A Short History of the Italian Renaissance, Chapter One”, V.Cox states,” At the same time, the inner world of the self became a focus of scrutiny: ‘man became a spiritual individual and recognized himself as such’ (p.96).” Moderata was a woman and wrote originally under a hidden name. After some time Moderata confessed to who she was and identified herself as the writer. She began to recognize who she is as a person in society. In the book,” A Short History of the Italian Renaissance, Chapter 6” V. Cox states,” Her relative and writing mentor, Giovanni Niccolò Doglioni, writes in the interesting biography that prefaces the printed version of The Worth of Women, that Fonte felt constrained to pursue her writing only in hasty, snatched moments, out of deference to ‘the false notion, so widespread in our city today, that women should excel in nothing but the running of the household’ (WW, 9).” Moderata believed that women had more worth than just taking care of the house. Moderata decided to voice her opinion to prove to a society where men were considered sacred and perfect that women can be just as successful. In the book,” A Short History of the Italian Renaissance, Chapter 6” V. Cox states,” The Worth of Women is a remarkable work: a strikingly original contribution to the long---running debate on women’s status and role, and a lively and engaging dialogue that still reads very freshly
Although Christine de Pizan lived from 1364 until 1430, in the City of Ladies about she wrote the power of women and feminine success. Evidently, she was one of the first feminist writers that we know to have existed, but this does not mean she was the first feminist. In Pizan’s City of Ladies, she examines many historical examples of females as rulers of kingdoms, as warriors, and as strong and courageous figures in every aspect of their lives. Pizan uses these women as role models, and strengthens and builds her city on the foundation that they have already set down. Christine demonstrates that throughout antiquity there have been many women who defend both themselves and their gender, and prove that women are able, intelligent and courageous. The value of ancient precedents essentially makes Pizan’s writings viable, and they contribute to the idea of feminism and portrayal of women during the renaissance period.
Did you know that Martha Washington wasn’t married to George first? Her first marriage was to to Daniel Custis, before she became a widow. Martha was born on June 2, 1731 at Chestnut Grove Plantation, in Virginia. Then sadly she died on May 22, 1802. Martha Dandridge was born in the British colony of Virginia at her parents’ home called Chestnut Grove Plantation. Her father, John, was a successful farmer and local politician. When the Revolutionary War began Martha’s second husband George , was chosen to be the commander of the continental army.
Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) was a prominent American author who wrote over 30 books in her lifetime. She is greatly remembered for her book Hospital Sketches, which she wrote to home while serving as an army nurse during the Civil War. Growing up, her home was a stop on the Underground Railroad and this helped her realize the effects of slavery on these slaves. She wanted to help in any way she could. In December 1862, Alcott left for the Union hospital in Georgetown, outside of Washington, DC, to become a nurse. She had no formal training as a nurse and no formal training was required. The only requirements were to be sober minded, mature, and plain-looking.
Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe was born June 14, 1811 in Litchfield, Connecticut. Her parents are Lyman and Roxanna Beecher. She is the sixth of eleven children. All seven of her brothers became ministers. Her oldest sister Catharine pioneered education for women, and her youngest sister, Isabella was the founder of National Women’s Suffrage Association. Harriet became an author, she mostly wrote about slavery.
Born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on November 29, 1832, Louisa was the second daughter of Abby May and Amos Bronson Alcott. Being one of four sisters, who were Anna Bronson, Elizabeth Sewall, and Abba May, the Alcott sisters had a very happy childhood. The Alcotts went through a series of moves, weither they were from one house to another in the same town, while others were from town to town, this was only a beginning of what was to continue throughout Louisa’s life. Her father, Bronson, was a transcendentalist thinker and writer who refused to take work that was not related to education or philosophy, which had the family commuting due to where he would be employed, which he rarely had been. Rather than being a step up for the family, these changes were just a step down, for the family had to depend on the generosity of others. Living in Concord, Massachusetts with friends and neighbors, Louisa’s father committed his time to educating his four daughters being that he was unemployed. Bronson could not be relied upon to support the family, which led her to live a pretty fugal life for his inability to keep a steady job. The plainness of their clothes, food, and home never seemed to bother them, but the issue of money was a constant source of worry for Louisa. She saw it as her mission in life to support her family. In her early teens she began to work with her sister Anna as governesses to increase the small earnings of their father. Then by her early twenties, she was writing and getting paid for it. The death of her younger sister and marriage of her older were very traumatic experiences, and to fill the void left by their absence, and to seek some purpose in life and participate in the Civil War, Alcott became an army nurse in Washington, D.C. After six weeks she got typhoid fever, from which she never fully recovered and left her permanently weakened, a condition that got worse with age. After the war Alcott began Little Women in 1868, along with all the gothic thrillers, which brought in money for the family.
Historians and scholars often overlook the part that women played in the Renaissance. Did women have a Renaissance? The period did not occur in a male only vacuum; women played an important part in the changes taking place across Europe. No matter a woman’s station in the class system, women, were still considered the sinful daughter of Eve, the downfall of man. Into this world stepped Isabella d’Este, one of the great women of the Renaissance.
...e, although the Renaissance was considered a revolutionary time period that sprung immense developments throughout Europe, this era however did not bring change to the identity and power of Renaissance women. As a result of analyzing the prejudiced regulations of female versus male sexuality, the misogynistic ideologies of society as conferred through literature and philosophy and the life of notable female Renaissance figures, it is evident that women failed to attain an era of rebirth, therefore delaying the development of female strive and liberty. The advances in the Renaissance have only served to mold the female gender even deeper into their ladylike roles; the wraths of men. Ultimately, with the fear to battle against injustice, the vision for absolute equality and strive for full feminine potential have failed to be accomplished in the shaping of our today.
Suzanne G. Cusick, who considers herself a speicialist in the life and works of Francesca Caccini, argues that Francesca was a proto-feminist and the music she composed for the Medici court contributed to the career of the Grand Duchess Christine de Lorraine of Tuscany. She therefore claims that through her works, Caccini encourages the sexuality and political aims of women in the early seventeenth century.1
The question of women’s agency, in moving history holds a long history dating back to the ancients, then turning away from that in small degrees during the Renaissance. Most notable in this change comes from the capital of education, the Italianate states. Home to rife differences in attitudes towards women, it also hosts the origins of the discussion around women’s purpose. The current field largely finds inspiration from writers during the American 1970s women’s rights movement, and it shows in the modern origins and their influence. However, the field’s creation date loom farther back than such a recent movement, easily dating back to Plato and Aristotle. Beginning with a negative view of the female sex as inferiority, the study of women and their rights progressed to Giovanni Boccaccio’s creation of female biography in 1374, and further developed with a female voice in 1405 under the pen of Christine de Pizan. Clearly, none of the prestigious scholars could have predicted the alterations and growth of the discussion surrounding a people group often considered subhuman.
The American Renaissance populated the world with many unique and imaginary literary works to entertain the common man, and finding the deeper meaning of life. The rise of American literature in the mid-nineteenth century was due to the intellectual and social growth that was most common in New England. These types of works explore an abundance of emotions and imaginations to entice a reader's mind. Two prominent authors of the time period would be Henry David Thoreau, as well as Edgar Allen Poe. Thoreau was a leading Transcendentalist who tended to write about his observations of nature and his personal experiences. Thoreau explored the realities of escaping reality and relocate to the peaceful wilderness. Poe is generally regarded as the
Louisa May Alcott shows a great deal of herself throughout the novel, Little Women. She shows many parallelisms between the fictional character Jo and Louisa May Alcott. The novel is an example of their similar personalities, appearances, and life experiences. Louisa was very dramatic and comical throughout her life time. Jo March is the perfect character for Louisa to portray. She exemplifies how life was during the 19th century in America. Through the characters of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott illustrates her struggle as a woman writer in a male dominated society.
Louisa May Alcott was born on November 29, 1832, in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She was born to Abigail Alcott and Bronson Alcott. Louisa is the second of four sisters. She was raised in Boston and Concord, Massachusetts (Eds. of Merriam- Webster 12). Bronson Alcott worked at a school for the first five years of Louisa’s life (Herzberg 13). Once a mob encircled the school, Bronson quit the job (Kunitz and Haycraft 18). Her father was penniless and could not contribute and support Abigail, Louisa, and the three other children Bronson fathered. Since he could not support them, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Theodore Parker, and Henry David Thoreau helped to raise Louisa (Eds. of Merriam- Webster). Thoreau helped Alcott with her education. He helped her out because her father did not support her (Kunitz and Haycraft 18). Emerson, Parker, Thoreau, and her father influenced her education and lifestyle during her childhood. Bronson Alcott, who found Fruitlands, which later failed, drove his family into poverty (Eds. of Merriam- Webster 12). Alcott (Louisa) did not understand this (Douglas 31). She soon realized that she had to work in order to support herself and her family. She worked as a teacher for a short time and then began to write. She sta...
Louisa May Alcott is an American poet born on November 29, 1832 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Her education came from her father until she turned sixteen. In addition to her father’s academic guidance, she was taught by family friends Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. From 1850 to 1862, she helped support her family through working various job positions such as teacher and domestic servant. During this time, she had been publishing literature of all sorts under the name Flora Fairfield, and later A.M. Barnard. The Civil War account Hospital Sketches, written in 1863, affirmed her desire to pursue writing seriously. After this, she wrote under her real name for several magazines and even become editor of one. She authored many books, but none as well-known as Little Women. The success of this ...
...woman And, while she may not have earned women the right to vote or gained women admission into institutes of higher education, she stood up for herself in a normal everyday situation, and that’s a start. She is a woman who was one of the exceptions in her era; she was not just a woman on a roof, but rather a hero of her generation.
Throughout literature’s history, female authors have been widely recognized for their groundbreaking and eye-opening accounts of what it means to be a woman in society. In most cases of early literature, women are portrayed as weak and unintelligent characters who rely solely on their male counterparts. Also during this time period, it would be shocking to have women characters in some stories, especially since their purpose is only secondary to that of the male protagonist. But, in the late 17th to early 18th century, a crop of courageous women began publishing their works, beginning the literary feminist movement. Together, Aphra Behn, Charlotte Smith, Fanny Burney, and Mary Wollstonecraft challenge the status quo of what it means to be a woman during the time of the Restoration Era and give authors and essayists of the modern day, such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a platform to become powerful, influential writers of the future.