2006 - Longo
This volume of essays is the first of its kind devoted to the life and work of the Venetian writer Arcangela Tarabotti (1604-1652), a Benedictine nun and early feminist, who published polemical treatises in defense of women and a letter collection. Recent scholarly interest in her has produced modern editions and translations of her works and more are soon to appear. Tarabotti is best known for her protest against forced religious vocations, a widespread practice in early modern Italy, of which she was a victim and whose social and political underpinnings she exposed. She argued for greater freedom of choice for women and for their education, and she carried on a spirited correspondence with powerful members of the cultural establishment who sought unsuccessfully to restrain her polemical vein. The twelve essays in this volume, edited by Elissa Weaver, present fresh investigations of Tarabotti.s work and of the cultural, religious, and political contexts in which she lived. [Publisher's text]
236 p. : ill.
