Workshops: Stories

Workshop 4: Gendered Readings: Early Modern
Presentations of Holy Women's History

Conveners:

• Jo Eldridge Carney, English, College of New Jersey
• Carole Levin, History, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
• Michele Osherow, English, University of Maryland

The humanist tradition and the Reformation greatly influenced how early modern people received and perceived stories of powerful religious women. In this workshop we examined early modern presentations of the stories of heroic women from the Old Testament, Christian history, and Christian myths, specifically Deborah the Prophetess, St. Uncumber, Pope Joan, and Joan of Arc.

Interpretations of these women's histories by men and women of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries recognize the ways in which these feminine figures challenge traditional expectations of gendered behavior. While some of these religious women are depicted as heroes and others as fiends, they all expand gender definitions either by displaying a masculine spirit or a masculine dress. Whether they are used as models for behavior or warnings against female pride, the presentations of these women's stories frequently reflect the gender paradigms constructed to preserve patriarchal culture. These stories tell us a great deal about cultural attitudes and values and the permeability of gender roles, especially when influenced by religion. These women's stories acted both as models of new forms of behavior and as warnings of punishment that new behavior might bring.