Androgyny in Moderata Fonte’s Tredici canti del Floridoro

Abstract

Moderata Fonte, who is one of the earliest female authors to write chivalric romance in Italy, participates in the debateon women [querelle des femmes] with Il merito delle donne (1600). Tredici canti del Floridoro (1581), in which shedefends the worth of women and equality between sexes, also documents Fonte’s concern for female issues. Withinthis framework, this paper aims to analyse Fonte’s protofeminism based upon the concept of androgyny. Drawing uponher thought about women in Il merito delle donne (1600) within the framework of the Italian patriarchal social context,it first discusses the social and theoretical implications of androgyny. It interprets the warrior heroine Risamante andthe titular hero Floridoro as representatives of the androgyne examining how they deconstruct their assigned genderroles. It argues that Fonte utilizes androgyny to evince that there is no essential difference between sexes but thecultural assumptions and practices produce a hierarchical relationship between women and men. It concludes thatFonte, by means of androgyny, shatters rigid gender boundaries, and she advocates that both women and men shouldbenefit from education and they should be treated equally. Tredici canti del Floridoro, thereby, manifests ModerataFonte’s protofeminist opinion.

Keywords

• Creative Arts and Writing

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References

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Cite this publication

@article{aydogducelik2018androgyny,
  author = {Aydo{\u{g}}du {\c{C}}elik, Merve},
  title = {{Androgyny in Moderata Fonte's Tredici canti del Floridoro}},
  journal = {Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Letters},
  volume = {36},
  number = {2},
  pages = {369--382},
  publisher = {Hacettepe {\"U}niversitesi},
  year = {2018},
  issn = {1301-5737},
  doi = {10.32600/huefd.532911},
  url = {https://hacettepe.hbtech.com.tr/en/publication/androgyny-in-moderata-fontes-tredici-canti-del-floridoro},
  language = {en},
  keywords = {Creative Arts and Writing},
  abstract = {Moderata Fonte, who is one of the earliest female authors to write chivalric romance in Italy, participates in the debateon women [querelle des femmes] with Il merito delle donne (1600). Tredici canti del Floridoro (1581), in which shedefends the worth of women and equality between sexes, also documents Fonte's concern for female issues. Withinthis framework, this paper aims to analyse Fonte's protofeminism based upon the concept of androgyny. Drawing uponher thought about women in Il merito delle donne (1600) within the framework of the Italian patriarchal social context,it first discusses the social and theoretical implications of androgyny. It interprets the warrior heroine Risamante andthe titular hero Floridoro as representatives of the androgyne examining how they deconstruct their assigned genderroles. It argues that Fonte utilizes androgyny to evince that there is no essential difference between sexes but thecultural assumptions and practices produce a hierarchical relationship between women and men. It concludes thatFonte, by means of androgyny, shatters rigid gender boundaries, and she advocates that both women and men shouldbenefit from education and they should be treated equally. Tredici canti del Floridoro, thereby, manifests ModerataFonte's protofeminist opinion.}
}

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Aydoğdu Çelik, Merve
TI  - Androgyny in Moderata Fonte’s Tredici canti del Floridoro
T2  - Hacettepe University Journal of the Faculty of Letters
VL  - 36
IS  - 2
PY  - 2018
SP  - 369
EP  - 382
PB  - Hacettepe Üniversitesi
SN  - 1301-5737
DO  - 10.32600/huefd.532911
UR  - https://hacettepe.hbtech.com.tr/en/publication/androgyny-in-moderata-fontes-tredici-canti-del-floridoro
AB  - Moderata Fonte, who is one of the earliest female authors to write chivalric romance in Italy, participates in the debateon women [querelle des femmes] with Il merito delle donne (1600). Tredici canti del Floridoro (1581), in which shedefends the worth of women and equality between sexes, also documents Fonte’s concern for female issues. Withinthis framework, this paper aims to analyse Fonte’s protofeminism based upon the concept of androgyny. Drawing uponher thought about women in Il merito delle donne (1600) within the framework of the Italian patriarchal social context,it first discusses the social and theoretical implications of androgyny. It interprets the warrior heroine Risamante andthe titular hero Floridoro as representatives of the androgyne examining how they deconstruct their assigned genderroles. It argues that Fonte utilizes androgyny to evince that there is no essential difference between sexes but thecultural assumptions and practices produce a hierarchical relationship between women and men. It concludes thatFonte, by means of androgyny, shatters rigid gender boundaries, and she advocates that both women and men shouldbenefit from education and they should be treated equally. Tredici canti del Floridoro, thereby, manifests ModerataFonte’s protofeminist opinion.
KW  - Creative Arts and Writing
LA  - en
ER  -