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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2018 Women Writing through Reform in France and Italy: Marguerite De Navarre and the Female Spiritual Community Merry Elizabeth Low Follow this and additional works at the DigiNole: FSU's Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES WOMEN WRITING THROUGH REFORM IN FRANCE AND ITALY: MARGUERITE DE NAVARRE AND THE FEMALE SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY By MERRY ELIZABETH LOW A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2018 Merry E. Low defended this dissertation on April 9, 2018. The members of the supervisory committee were: Reinier Leushuis Professor Directing Dissertation François Dupuigrenet-Desroussilles University Representative Lori J. Walters Committee Member Irene Zanini-Cordi Committee Member Martin Munro Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii For Melanie, my sister, whose memory serves as a constant reminder of the goodness of God, who, in his grace, chose to richly bless those in her path with the gift of her life. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to the scholarly community at the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics of Florida State University for the overwhelming support and guidance that I have received throughout the course of this dissertation project. I would like to first thank Professor Reinier Leushuis, my major professor and director of this dissertation, for allowing me the space to develop as a writer, thinker, and academic over the course of these past few years. Not only did you demonstrate the rigorous and meticulous nature of quality research and textual analysis, more importantly, your patience, humility, and generosity towards your colleagues and students have made an indelible impression on me as I envision the caliber of professor I hope to be one day. To the rest of my committee, I am sincerely grateful for the investment that you have made in my formation as a researcher. Thank you, Professor Irene Zanini-Cordi, for introducing me to Vittoria Colonna and for instigating my love affair with all things Italian. You have set a beautiful example for me of fully embracing life, both in and beyond the academy. Your belief in me, and my work, throughout the past few years has meant the world to me and sustained me at a very difficult time in my life. To Professor Lori Walters, thank you for your work in the field that has served to further illuminate the female community of scholars, both past and present. Thank you for your encouragement to me throughout my time in the French program. To Professor François Dupuigrenet-Desroussilles, thank you for your willingness to participate as a committee member in this project as an expert in this fascinating era in Europe. To Professor Martin Munro, thank you for being a part of my committee, and for your support in both my project as well as for your directing the Winthrop-King Institute, which enabled me to perform the necessary archival research that has richly informed my dissertation. As a graduate student in both the French masters and doctoral programs at Florida State, I am deeply grateful for the Winthrop-King Institute, which has allowed me to teach, study, research, and present papers, both here and abroad, without worrying about the financial strains that inhibit the majority of young scholars. Thank you especially to Racha Sattati, for the hard work that you do for the institute, for graduate students, and for your lovely friendship through the years. Thank you also to the French faculty here at Florida State University. Thank you, Professor Aimée Boutin for the leadership and dedication that you have put forth to continually enhance our French program. I can only hope to follow in your footsteps as both a professor and scholar in the field. To Professor Emeritus Bill Cloonan, thank you for filling the classrooms, offices, and hallways of Diffenbaugh with levity, brilliance, and kindness, in my early years of the program. To Professor Virginia Osborn, thank you for calmly guiding all of the French Teaching Assistants through the murky waters of language instruction at the university-level. Your peaceful attitude and desire for us all to enjoy teaching together, as a community, have been integral aspects of my academic career at Florida State. iv Thank you, Professor Mark Pietralunga, for the service that you have given to our department as chair over the past few years. On so many levels, you have shown nothing but enthusiastic support to graduate students in all language programs: thank you, personally, for the essential role that you have played in my professional development. To the administrative support staff in our department, Wendy Pigott, Jeannine Spears, Jennifer Morton, and Emily Cole, thank you for the patience and joy that you have shown towards me through the past years with all of my questions and concerns. To my fellow graduate students in the French, Italian, and Spanish programs, thank you for making the past seven years easier through several hilarious study sessions, “proof-reading” meetings for Terra Incognita, and the shared understanding of what it means to balance graduate studies and teaching responsibilities with taking care of ourselves and one another. To the Italian program, thank you for letting me invade the classrooms, as both student and instructor. Thank you, Professor Katy Prantil, for your help as I improved my teaching abilities in the Italian context, as well as for your cheerful attitude, which helped me finish the dissertation with confidence. To Professor Silvia Valisa, thank you for sharing my love for soccer, for laughing with me, and for all that you have done in support of my graduate career. To Professor Beth Coggeshall, thank you for the hours that you spent with me in preparing and revising my job market materials. Thank you also for helping to calm my nerves before my defense, and for your friendship, which serves as a beautiful bookend to my career as a graduate student. Thank you to Irene, Silvia, and Beth, for coming alongside me, in different stages of my grieving journey over the death of my sister. I consider myself incredibly blessed to have come to know such phenomenal women who have invested in me both professionally and personally, and who have no doubt aided in my healing process. Lastly, I could not have accomplished this research without my friends and family, whose steady presence in my life served as a constant reminder of what really matters. Thank you to my two church communities, City Church and South Point, for providing me with genuine community based on a desire to follow Christ in our daily lives, and to live sacrificially for those around us. Thank you to Tallahassee Soccer Association and Warner Soccer, for allowing me to run around, release some stress, and make longlasting friendships on the soccer field. To my parents, Larry and Beth, thank you for your unconditional love and wisdom throughout my time at Florida State. Thank you to my sister, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and in-laws, for always receiving me with warmth and laughter. To my husband, Jim, thank you for your faithfulness and grace to me over the course of my time as a graduate student. I could not have done any of this without you or our two felines. Thank you for working hard to make our home a secure foundation from which I have been able to pursue this degree, even when it meant that I was far away in Italy. I do not want to imagine what these past few years would have been without your humor, sensitivity, and love. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. vii 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1 2. SACRED DISSONANCE AND DIVINE REST IN MARGUERITE DE NAVARRE’S LE MIROIR DE L’ÂME PÉCHERESSE ........................................................................................... 35 3.REFORMING THE GIFT IN VITTORIA COLONNA’S CARTEGGIO AND RIME SPIRITUALI .................................................................................................................................. 89 4. HEARING THE ECHO “D’UNE VOIX PRESCHERESSE” IN MARIE DENTIÈRE’S EPISTRE TRES UTILE .............................................................................................................. 152 5. THE PRACTICE OF REFORMED FEMALE SPIRITUAL FRIENDSHIP IN THE DIALOGUES OF OLYMPIA MORATA .................................................................................. 212 6. CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 264 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 270 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ...................................................................................................... 283 vi ABSTRACT This dissertation examines literary manifestations of spirituality and theology in women’s writings that appeared throughout the various Reformation movements