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The secondary position of women within the community was more clearly defined during the European Renaissance. Humanist literature, on the other hand, began to appear during this time and offered an alternative viewpoint on women’s experiences in European society. The fundamental idea inherent in most works of art was that behind every great man was a great woman. Even though this idiom carried a positive meaning, it was evident that important women in a man’s life were not always associated with his achievements. It is even less surprising that the secondary status of women in society was more markedly defined during the European Renaissance. Considering the lack of equality and scarce women’s rights, it was unsurprising to see those biases exist. The representation of women in Renaissance texts showed that women were limited in their agency, but their place in society’s mind was slowly beginning to change. If one subscribes to the idea of continuities in human history, one can look to earlier developments in Western thought with regard to women to find the seeds for present-day women’s status. This article analyzes how women were portrayed in the Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio and the Heptameron by Queen Marguerite de Navarre, two Renaissance manuscripts.
In the Decameron, for example, Boccaccio focused on how women’s status affected their exposure to emotional experiences. Females were largely expected “to suffer in silence if their hearts had been crushed by a love interest” (Boccaccio 63). This statement can be perceived as a direct recognition of women and their feelings, especially with all the previous restrictions in mind that left many females unable to prove their point. Boccaccio sympathizes with women and understands that the latter were unjustly “restricted by the wishes, whims, and commands of fathers, mothers, brothers, and husbands” (63). His recognition of the woman’s plight and subsequent female characters in his stories shone a different light on the female experience in European culture. For instance, Madonna Filippa defends the unfair laws that targeted women but not men in the Decameron to prevent herself from being executed. By shedding a completely different light on females, Boccaccio paved the way for women’s respective agency and positive experiences in Europe. Even without the Decameron being a feminist manifesto, it still conveyed that women could be cunning and deserving praise. Considering the points described above, it is safe to say that women in the Decameron still had some power despite their restrictions. They could make their own decisions and occasionally even outsmart humanity. In Renaissance society, where women were frequently expected to be loyal and subservient to the men in their lives, these instances of the female agency were important. The existence of weaker female characters was no longer shown as something regular because everyone should be equal before judgment.
On the other hand, there was a collection of stories titled the Heptameron by Queen Marguerite de Navarre. De Navarre’s text and the Decameron have numerous similarities, especially in light of women’s place in society. Primarily, the Heptameron is similar to the Decameron in that women are described as either wives or lovers indicating that their place in society was defined by their relationship to men. The representation of women was nearly vicious in the past, with most females being displayed as mere objects of male desires. One example is a prior who “turned into a wolf” while preying on nuns to satisfy his sexual desires (255). Marie Heroet was able to thwart the prior’s overtures in the Heptameron and report him to the authorities, which eventually resulted in his arrest. The narration presents female strength through patience, virtue, and reverence. While the focal point of Boccaccio’s stories was female wit, de Navarre decided to facilitate her stories via female characters’ undeniable righteousness. In the Heptameron, women are able to make their own choices and escape the unfairness of men’s games where the powerful become corrupt. Even in the face of female dependence on men, it was evident that the main characters of de Navarre’s literary work persevered and attained justice. This is why the author stated that Marie “received the recognition she deserved for the virtues implanted in her by God” (265). In the Heptameron, the thin line between injustice and impartiality is erased to highlight the importance of treating women and men equally. Regardless of other literary works published in the Renaissance era, it can be claimed that the Decameron and the Heptameron are predictors of equal treatment and an empathetic approach to relationships between genders.
To conclude, Boccaccio and de Navarre thoroughly understood women’s place in European society during the Renaissance. Both the Decameron and the Heptameron paid significant attention to the secondary status of women in society and outlined the need to celebrate each of their steps forward. These Renaissance texts reflect that although women occupied a secondary status in society, their place and qualities were more openly recognized and even celebrated, which can be seen as a step towards greater female equality in Western society. The long history of female oppression could be seen as overpowered by the idea that females may have every right to pursue personal and professional aspirations. Even during eras of great intellectual exploration and accomplishment, men would do well to recognize the important women in their lives appropriately. Hence, it is vital to hypothesize that beside, every great man is a great woman. This way, females would get significantly more recognition, and males would be willing to advocate for women as partners and not rivals. When keeping their partners behind, both men and women can be prone to overlook the fact that collaboration is more effective than rivalry. Boccaccio and de Navarre managed to intertwine masculinity and femininity in their literary works without making one of the genders look weaker. This display of agency made the Decameron and the Heptameron stand out among other Renaissance texts and give recognition to every person who deserved it.
Works Cited
Boccaccio, Giovanni. The Decameron. United Kingdom, A.H. Bullen, 1903.
de Navarre, Marguerite. The Heptameron. United States, Gates, 1877.
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