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CLASS, AUTHORITY, AND THE QUERELLE DES FEMMES: A WOMEN‟S COMMUNITY OF RESISTANCE IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE A Dissertation by DANA EATMAN LAWRENCE Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 2009 Major Subject: English CLASS, AUTHORITY, AND THE QUERELLE DES FEMMES: A WOMEN‟S COMMUNITY OF RESISTANCE IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE A Dissertation by DANA EATMAN LAWRENCE Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved by: Chair of Committee, Patricia Phillippy Committee Members, Federica Ciccolella Margaret Ezell-Mainzer Nandra Perry Head of Department, M. Jimmie Killingsworth August 2009 Major Subject: English iii ABSTRACT Class, Authority, and the Querelle des Femmes: A Women‟s Community of Resistance in Early Modern Europe. (August 2009) Dana Eatman Lawrence, B.S., University of South Florida; M.A., Western Carolina University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Patricia Phillippy This dissertation examines the poetry of Isabella Whitney, a maidservant in London, Veronica Franco, a Venetian courtesan, Marie de Romieu, a baker‟s daughter in rural France, and Aemilia Lanyer, the daughter and wife of Italian immigrant musicians in London, all of whom attempted to create communities of learned and literary women within their texts. In their works, all four women boldly reject the misogyny prevalent in early modern culture; however, they do so without being able to withdraw from the culture that contributed to such rhetoric, thereby writing from the periphery. In her essay, "Choosing the Margin as a Space of Radical Openness," bell hooks identifies this position on the edge as one of opportunity. She argues that the very presence of the Other "within the culture of domination" is in itself a threat. As such, existing on the margins of that culture is unsafe and requires a “community of resistance” to turn that space into "a site of radical possibility.” I argue that these four writers, marginalized by virtue of their sex as well as by their social positions, were united in a community of resistance through their iv participation in the querelle des femmes, a centuries-long debate about women‟s place in society. Each recognizes class, gender, and geographical hierarchies as social constructions and presents her own imagined resistant community of women within her work—each authorizing her own voice as they collectively rewrite women‟s history. As an international community of resistance, the works of these women may be seen as prefiguring contemporary debates about gender, community, and globalization. By examining the early modern querelle des femmes through the lens of postmodern feminism, this dissertation shows that, despite all of the historical models that position early modern European women as physically, politically, historically, and legally subordinate within their respective cultures, there existed a women‟s community of resisstance that not only refused to accept this inferior status but also recognized education and cooperation as a source of power. v Dedicated to my son, Hayden Reese Lawrence vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to many for their support and guidance as I wrote this dissertation. I would like to thank the faculty and staff of the English Department at Texas A&M University—particularly Paulette Lesher, whose sense of humor, patience, and ability to answer all of my questions were invaluable. Additional thanks go to the department‟s Office of Graduate Studies, the Women‟s Studies program, and the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for providing me with the means to present my work to colleagues throughout my years at A&M. Thanks to my dissertation committee, Margaret Ezell, Federica Ciccolella, and Nandra Perry, for their enthusiasm and support for my project and for pushing me to be a better scholar. I would especially like to thank my committee chair, Patricia Phillippy, without whose mentorship, encouragement, and friendship I may never have gotten this far. Your steadfast belief in me and my project helped me to stay afloat when my own self-confidence wavered. All four of you inspire me to work harder, and I hope to follow your examples as I commence my academic career. I am forever indebted to Douglas Brooks, whose Shakespeare course reminded me that the literature of the early modern period is my intellectual soul mate. Dr. B, your energy and bravado is missed, and I aspire to channel even half of your enthusiasm for and dedication to your teaching. I would have never survived this program without my own community of women, with whom I shared the greatest joys as well as the most painful struggles: vii Miranda Green-Barteet, Sarah Peters, Gina Opdyke Terry, Amy Montz, Nicole McDaniel-Carder, Dawn Thomas, Meghan Gilbert-Hickey, Lan Ly and Courtney Beggs. Thanks also to the fellows who made sure we didn‟t take ourselves too seriously: Cody Barteet, Brad Thomas, Chris Morrow, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Jeremiah Hickey, Anthony Rintala, Steve Terry, Shannon Peters, and David McMurray. I will always treasure these friendships, and I look forward to our future adventures together (even if it‟s across the miles). I thank my entire family for their patience and understanding during this arduous process. I love you all very much, and I hope to see you more frequently now that I‟m no longer a slave to this dissertation! To my parents, Debbie Brogden and Mike Eatman, I thank you for your unfailing love and support throughout this seemingly endless process. You both have always believed in me and encouraged me to pursue my goals, and for that I am eternally grateful. To my brother, David Eatman, I admire the perseverence you‟ve shown in your own career, and I thank you for continuing to be your crazy and hilarious self throughout the years. To my sister-in-law, Monique Eatman, I am so glad that you were brave enough to take on my brother! And to my sweet nephew, Noah Eatman, I wish you all of the joy and love in the world, and I look forward to watching you grow up (though not too fast). To Barbara Etsell, I thank you for all of your positive words and for being my unofficial French tutor. I feel fortunate to have your friendship. To my parents-in-law, Linda and Chuck Hamby and Sheldon Lawrence: you raised a great man, and I thank you for welcoming me into your family. viii Once upon a time, a boy sat next to me in a Fairy Tale class, and he became my best friend and strongest supporter. Nick, I am so proud of you, and I am so glad that we did this together. I love you more than I can say. Finally, I thank my precious baby boy, Hayden, who reminded me to breathe and have fun. You have been a constant source of light, joy, and love, and you inspire me to be a better person. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: REDEFINING AND RE-EDUCATING WOMEN .............................................................................................. 1 II “MY BOOKES AND PEN I WYLL APPLY”: ISABELLA WHITNEY‟S “WYLL” TO WRITE .................................................... 30 A Maidservant in London .......................................................... 34 Constructing Abandonment as Authority .................................. 41 Death and the Maiden ................................................................ 54 III “I UNDERTAKE TO DEFEND ALL WOMEN”: VERONICA FRANCO‟S WAR OF WORDS .......................................................... 74 IV IMITATION AND CREATION: MARIE DE ROMIEU‟S (RE)LOCATING OF POWER AND AUTHORITY WITHIN WOMEN .............................................................................................. 133 L‟Énigme de Marie de Romieu ................................................. 137 Fortifying the Walls of the City of Ladies ................................. 145 V “LOOKE IN THIS MIRROUR OF A WORTHY MIND”: AEMILIA LANYER‟S REFLECTIONS UPON CLASS AND AUTHORITY ... 190 Othering Authority .................................................................... 193 Mother‟s Legacies and the Mirror of Female Authority ........... 197 Women‟s Resistance as a Reflection of Christ ......................... 235 Echoes of a Lost Utopia ............................................................ 251 x CHAPTER Page VI CONCLUSION: IMAGINING A GLOBAL FEMINIST COMMUNITY OF RESISTANCE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY ........................................................................................... 267 WORKS CITED ........................................................................................................ 276 VITA……… ............................................................................................................. 298 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: REDEFINING AND RE-EDUCATING WOMEN Aemilia Lanyer, in her Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum, revises the Passion narrative to emphasize women‟s positive roles in human salvation. Praising the Virgin Mary, the “most beauteous Queene of Woman-kind” (1039), Lanyer asserts that, “as a Virgin

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