Renaissance feminism: literary texts and political models (review)

Abstract

162 Reviews Appreciation of John has not only been hindered by complex textual problems. His Greek is of a kind relatively close to the vernacular of the sixth century, the optative being rare and the dual non-existent Scholars accustomed to the classicizing language and modus operandi of an author such as Procopius have often looked askance at John and have assumed that his popular style indicates that the work need not be taken seriously. Whereas Procopius had the good taste to locate his nanative of the plague of 542 against a Thucydidean perspective, for John the proper background was that of the Flood of Genesis. In his work 'the wrath of God' (Oeopnvia, a word which John is one of the first authors to have used) is manifested on an uncomfortable number of occasions. Yet some early medieval works popular in style and apparently naive in content, such as the Dialogues of Gregory the Great, may have been written for the intelligentsia of their day. Later Byzantine scholars did not disdain to learn from John, and recent work on Procopius is teaching us that the classicizing Wars should not be privileged against his other works. W h e n approached without condescension, texts such as that of John have more to offer than has very generally been believed. Doubtless there are a few points of detail with which one could quibble in this book. It seems to m e unlikely that Jordanes had several patrons (p. 82). 'Ascension' is mistakenly used for 'Pentecost' (p. 122). Many points one would like to see developed: the physiognomies of Peter and Paul which develop in the discussion of portraits are remarkably like the faces well known from icons. But one's overriding impression of this volume is one of enormous success. The author of one of its most learned chapters observes that the history of the editing and publishing of this chronicle 'discloses a series of mishaps, broken promises and feats of hasty workmanship' (p. 313). These are not words which could ever be applied to this volume of studies. John Moorhead Department of History University of Queensland Jordan, Constance, Renaissance feminism: literary texts and political models, Ithaca and London, Cornell University Press, 1990; cloth/paper; pp. xiv, 319; R.R.P. US$42.50 (cloth), $12.95 (paper) + 1 0 % overseas. For scholars wishing to find their way amongst the many texts relating to the question of woman's place in the scheme of things, and produced in Italy, France and England from the earlyfifteenthto the fhst years of the seventeenth century, Constance Jordan's book is an excellent guide. DoubUess a feminist herself, Jordan is however definitely not of the feared rabid variety. She has, then, no difficulty in realizing (pp. 16-17) not only that supposedly pro-feminist texts can have a hidden agenda, but also that Reviews 163 'dramatically misogynist literature can have a feminist dimension; by depicting women as forceful rebels, it can convey their capacity to think and act'. Her book is a well-organized, scholarly examination of the principaltexts,which are presented to the reader, after a short introduction outlining method and ideology, in four chapters: "The terms of the debate'; 'Women and natural law'; 'Sex and gender'; 'Equality'. The reader is shown how feministtextsof the Renaissance represent an extension and amplification of the late medieval 'querelle des Femmes', introducing over two centuries the important concepts of 'power and authority', 'equity', 'androgyny and hermaphroditism' and 'sex and gender'. Right from the outset, Jordan is careful tofieldseveral possible criticisms of her work. Thus she indicates in a section 'Note on texts and editorial practices' that there may be earlier or different editions of some of thetextsshe examines (p. xi); she defends herself against the charge of anachronism in her use of certain terms and concepts in treating thetexts(p. 3); she notes the pitfalls in interpreting potentially ironic passages in certain authors (p. 10); she argues for her decision to treat Christine de Pisan's Livre de la Cite des Dames in its English translated version and as an 'English' book (p. 9). Throughout Renaissance feminism, if Jordan is basing an argument on a possibly tendentious...