Lucrezia Marinella and the "Querelle des Femmes" in Seventeenth-Century Italy

This is a critical study of the works of Lucrezia Marinella, who lived in Venice between 1571 and 1653. An introductory chapter on Renaissance society and the female intellectual is followed by an analysis of the most important of Marinella's long works: Arcadia Felice, a pastoral poem; Marinella's main religious poems on St. Colomba and St. Francis, L'Erico ovvero Bisanzio acquistato, an epic poem; Della Nobilta et eccellenza delle donne, a treatise on women's worth; and Esortazioni alle donne et agli altri, written at the age of 74. The origin of the genre to which the work belongs is followed by its development by various authors and by Marinella. This study takes a close look at the "feminist" aspect of each of these texts as well as Marinella's overt stance in defense of women's intelligence, reputation, and behavior. Paola Malpezzi Price teaches at Colorado State University. Christine Ristaino coordinates the first-year Italian Language program at Emory University.Malpezzi Price, Paola is the author of 'Lucrezia Marinella and the "Querelle des Femmes" in Seventeenth-Century Italy', published 2008 under ISBN 9780838641224 and ISBN 0838641229.