Women Of The Renaissance Analysis

The Renaissance was a time of innovation. It was period where the old ideas of the Middle Ages were discarded and replaced with new ideas that were spread across Europe. Traditional periodization has always considered the Renaissance as a turning point that resulted in a great leap forward, until it was challenged by Joan Kelly-Gadol and her work on women in the Renaissance. This incited debate among historians on whether or not women benefitted from the Renaissance. Some say that the Renaissance was an event that caused women to see a new consciousness of themselves. Others say that the Renaissance caused a relative loss of position and power in women. I agree with the arguments of historian Joan Kelly-Gadol, author of “Did Women Have …show more content…
King, historian and author of “Women of the Renaissance,” supports the idea that women in the Renaissance found a new consciousness of themselves as women, to which I disagree. While King makes strong points with examples of women who were able to reach positions of power and influence, her arguments are full of contradictions. She also mainly accounts for women of high social status or importance. For example, King mentions Joan of Arc as an influential women, who wore armor and rallied a king. At first, this seems like a benefit to women, being an indication that women were able to hold an influential role in society at the time. However, she contradicts this belief by stating how Joan was insulted and hated, being called names such as heretic, liar, and sorceress. King also mentions women who held roles in power, yet contradicts her statement again by stating that these women were already in proximity to power and only gained power through “absent husbands, dead fathers, and immature sons.” This further reiterates the low status of women, with only being able to reach positions of power through proximity and with the lack of male replacement. King further contradicts her statement by saying even with this, only a small amount of women were even able to reach a position of power. This disregards the rest of women society on whether or not they truly benefitted from the Renaissance. The women who were able to hold high statuses were criticized of …show more content…
I learned about the effects of controversy that came from women leaders. I was also surprised at the amount of women who actually held positions of power in a patriarchal society. These women included Joan of Arc, Caterina Sforza, Catherine d’Medici, Queen Elizabeth, and the list goes on. It was inspiring to learn of these women's accomplishments, such as Sforza defending her family’s interests and cities following the assassination of her husband Riario. Queen Elizabeth was the only woman to hold sovereign power during the renaissance and went under different aliases such as Astrea, Deborah, and Diana. As ruler, she took on roles that she considered indeterminate in sex, such as men-women, king-queen, and mother-son. She strived to act manlike and maintained her virginity in order to not fall under influence of a male consort. So in the end, while the Renaissance did not benefit women during the time, women with authority positions were able to help shape