#femininiity

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Men were created before women. But that doesn't prove their superiority – rather, it proves ours, for they were born out of the lifeless earth in order that we could be born out of living flesh. And what's so important about this priority in creation, anyway? When we are building, we lay foundations on the ground first, things of no intrinsic merit or beauty, before subsequently raising up sumptuous buildings and ornate palaces. Lowly seeds are nourished in the earth, and then later the ravishing blooms appear; lovely roses blossom forth and scented narcissi.

- Moderata Fonte, The Worth of Women: Wherein Is Clearly Revealed Their Nobility and Their Superiority to Men (1600)

Moderata Fonte was the pseudonym of Modesta Pozzo (1555–92), a Venetian woman who was something of an anomaly. Neither cloistered in a convent nor as liberated from prevailing codes of decorum as a courtesan might be, Pozzo was a respectable, married mother who produced literature in genres that were commonly considered “masculine”- the chivalric romance and the literary dialogue. Her book, The Worth of Women, which was published in 1600, concerned itself with gender equality and the responsibility of husbands and fathers: issues that loom large today had currency in Renaissance Venice as well.

This work takes the form of the latter, with Fonte creating a conversation among seven Venetian noblewomen. The dialogue explores nearly every aspect of women’s experience in both theoretical and practical terms. These women, who differ in age and experience, take as their broad theme men’s curious hostility toward women and possible cures for it. Through this witty and ambitious work, Fonte seeks to elevate women’s status to that of men, arguing that women have the same innate abilities as men and, when similarly educated, prove their equals. Through this dialogue, Fonte provides a picture of the private and public lives of Renaissance women, ruminating on their roles in the home, in society, and in the arts. The book is a fine example of Renaissance vernacular literature, this book is also a testament to the enduring issues that women face, including the attempt to reconcile femininity with ambition but without the shrill tones of a strident feminism more prevalent today.  

[edibleassassin]

Marian works at a market research company, shares a flat with another woman her age, and dates a young lawyer. Her life is ordinary in every aspect. Then she slowly stops eating and loses herself. Why? Because a role is forced on her. I’d like to reflect upon the role of woman as displayed in The Edible Woman, with reference to The Curse of Eve, a lecture by Margaret Atwood.

The story takes place in Canada, around the mid-20th century. Woman are allowed to go to college and have jobs on their own, living in their own. But they are expected to do otherwise. We lean this, when Marian goes to work and thinks about the ’men above’, the higher ranked employees. It’s out of question that she will ever be ‘up there’, or another woman. Then there are the ‘office virgins’. They are Marian’s unmarried co-workers and dull beyond all measure. We learn nothing about them, besides that each wants a man. They remind me of the women in myths that Atwood mentioned in her lecture The Curse of Eve, like the weird sisters or the maid, mother and crone (although they are all ‘maids’ in this sense, although they feel more like crones). This mystic number of three suggests that they function as some sort of guidance for Marian, as they usually do in myths. And I think this is true, but rather by showing her what she doesn’t want to be than anything else.

Then there is Ainsley, her roommate. She is somewhat of a feminist. In her opinion, husbands ruin a family. And this is why she conceives the plan to get pregnant and raise the child on her own. In this respect, she totally acts against what society deems appropriate. Yet, she holds the opinion that woman should give birth to at least one child, otherwise they reject their femininity.

Marian has another friend, Clara, who has married after college and has been pregnant since then basically non-stop for years. She spends her time sitting around a sipping drinks. She seems quite depressed about how her life has come out. Her husband Joe takes care of the household, which is criticized by Ainsley, Clara should be happy and full of energy, another quite conservative idea. Joe gets to the heart of the issue when he talks to Marian about Clara. The college had ‘put ideas into her head’. Instead of using her education and having a career, Clara became a wife and mother, which is what is expected of women. Atwood herself remarked in her lecture that a professor had asked her whether she really wanted to go to graduate school instead of marrying. It shows, in these times it was either-or.

When Marian agrees to marry Peter, she does so because it’s what’s supposed to happen. Then Peter takes slowly her personality away and she does nothing to stop him. She no longer makes her own decisions and is squeezed into the role of a wife. Although the stereotypes in The Edible Woman are portrayed in an exaggerated way, I think Atwood created a scenario that delivers the basic ideas of that time and the struggle especially young women had.