Collected Letters of a Renaissance Feminist

Renaissance writer Laura Cereta (1469-1499) presents feminist issues in a predominantly male venue--the humanist autobiography in the form of personal letters. Ceretas works circulated widely in Italy during the early modern era, but her complete letters have never before been published in English. In her public lectures and essays, Cereta explores the history of womens contributions to the intellectual and political life of Europe. She argues against the slavery of women in marriage and for the rights of women to higher education, the same issues that have occupied feminist thinkers of later centuries. Yet these letters also furnish a detailed portrait of an early modern womans private experience, for Cereta addressed many letters to a close circle of family and friends, discussing highly personal concerns such as her difficult relationships with her mother and her husband. Taken together, these letters are a testament both to an individual woman and to enduring feminist concerns.

Summary

A collection of the letters of Laura Cereta (1469-1499), which present feminist issues in a predominantly male environment. Cereta's works circulated widely in Italy, and in them she explores the history of women's contributions to the intellectual and political life of Europe.

Product details

• Authors: Laura Cereta, Diana M. Robi
• Assisted by: Diana Robin (Editor), Diana Robin (Translation)
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 08.06.1997
• EAN: 9780226100135
• ISBN: 978-0-226-10013-5
• No. of pages: 244
• Dimensions: 230 mm x 153 mm x 19 mm
• Weight: 376 g
• Series: Other Voice in Early Modern Eu; Other Voice in Early Modern Eu; The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe; Other Voice in Early Modern Europe (CHUP); The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; Humanities, art, music > History > Modern era up to 1918; Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business > Biographies, autobiographies