HIST 129T: Women, Sex, and Power in Early Modern Europe

Spring 2004

Dr. López

1^st term exam

Choose one (1) of the following questions and write a 5-6 page (1250-1500 words) paper in response.  Your answer must be in the form of well thought-out and organized essay, with a thesis, body, and conclusion.  Use the required sources, and remember to annotate where necessary.

1. The history of women is Early Modern Europe was shaped, in great part, by the intellectual and cultural influence of what Margaret King and Albert Rabil have coined “the old voice”.  Of the three strands that comprised the old voice, we have discussed in length the influence of Christianity and Greek philosophy.  How were these reflected in Early Modern writings about women?  In other words, how did the old voice shape Early Modern views of women?  To answer these questions, you must utilize at least three (3) of the following primary sources we have discussed in class: Calvin’s “Twelfth Sermon”, Vives’s The Education of a Christian Woman, Tarabotti’s Paternal Tyranny, and/or Glueckel of Hameln’s Memoirs.

2. Using at least two (2) of the primary sources authored by men we have talked about AND Mary Astell’s “Reflections upon Marriage,” discuss Early Modern conceptions of women’s primary roles as daughter, wife, and mother.  How were these roles conceptualized?  What prescriptions did contemporaries make about appropriate behaviors and attitudes?  What does the Early Modern conceptualization of women’s primary roles tell us about Europeans’ worldview during this period?

3. Cecilia Ferrazzi’s Autobiography and Archangela Tarabotti’s Paternal Tyranny show two contrasting sides of female religious experiences in the Early Modern Period.  What do these two sources illustrate?  What were the usual or orthodox parameters of European female spirituality during this period?  What role did monachation and mysticism play, and what do these tell us about Early Modern attitudes toward women?