Lucrezia Marinella facts for kids

Lucrezia Marinella (1571-1653) was an Italian writer, poet, and a strong supporter of women's rights. She is most famous for her book The Nobility and Excellence of Women and the Defects and Vices of Men (1600). Her writings helped women join important discussions about ideas and science during the late Renaissance period.

Lucrezia Marinella's Early Life and Family

Lucrezia Marinella was the daughter of Giovanni Marinelli. He was a famous doctor and natural philosopher. He wrote books, including some about women's health and beauty. Even though her father was not from Venice, Lucrezia's family was considered "cittadinaza," meaning they were respected citizens.

Lucrezia's brother, Curzo Marinella, was also a doctor. Lucrezia herself married a doctor named Girolamo Vacca. It seems none of her children were born in Venice. Her father likely helped her connect her private studies with the wider world of Venetian writers. This included a group called the Accademia de’ Desiosi.

Marinella's Support and Challenges as a Writer

Marinella was also close with Giovanni Nicoló Doglioni. He helped start a Venetian academy. Her powerful writing and ideas about women's rights made her influential. She was supported by her friends and helped form the 'new' Venetian academy.

Marinella helped other female writers publish their works. This was very rare for women back then due to many rules. Female writers started to challenge claims made by male writers. This showed their intelligence and writing skills. Unlike other academies, women were allowed to speak out against unfair ideas about women. They even had support from some male teachers and friends.

During this time, many women joined convents. This meant they did not have to marry. They could also get an education and focus on their spiritual growth. However, the Roman Catholic Church had strict rules about women's roles.

Lucrezia Marinella did not join a convent and was not forced to marry. She came from a professional family that encouraged her studies. Her father was very supportive. Even with support, she faced many challenges in her writing career. She lived during the Counter-Reformation. This was a difficult time in Italian history. Italy was controlled by Spain, and the Catholic Church put in place many new rules. These changes affected religion, money, society, and writing. They limited her writing, but new ideas from Christian thinkers encouraged her. They believed that for a perfect mind, people should ignore gender differences.

Even though her writing made her famous, Lucrezia lived a quiet life. People believe her secluded life allowed her to write so much. But living a quiet life was common for women of her social class in 16th-century Italy. She did not travel much, except to local shrines. There is no record of her meeting other writers for discussions. She also did not attend meetings outside her home.

Women's Rights in Marinella's Time

Women's rights were a big focus in Marinella's writings. In the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance in Italy, women were mostly wives and mothers. Most women who wanted to learn had to be from rich families or join convents. Women usually did not take part in political talks. They had to be very special to be fully recognized in literature. Marinella wrote about how unfair treatment of women had continued throughout history. She said it was rooted in old Hebrew, Greek, Roman, and Christian ideas.

Marinella was one of the most recognized female writers of her time. Other famous writers included Moderata Fonte, Arcangela Tarabotti, and Veronica Franco. Marinella's works mostly focused on women's rights. She even argued that women were better than men. This was a popular idea in philosophical writings of that time. She did this in her work, La nobiltà et l'eccellenza delle donne co' diffetti et mancamenti de gli uomini. She wrote this in response to anti-women writings by Giuseppe Passi. She stated she was not impressed with men's thinking. Her writings often looked for the reasons behind anti-women ideas.

In her book, La nobiltà et l'eccellenza delle donne co' diffetti et mancamenti de gli uomini, she suggested that anti-women ideas might come from the influence of Aristotle. She refused to accept the idea of an imperfect woman, which some followers of Aristotle believed. Marinella disagreed with their idea that women's natural body temperatures made them inferior to men. However, she did use Aristotle's statements to support some of her other arguments.

Marinella also wrote in a style called pastoral romance, like in Arcadia Felice. This type of writing was usually only for male authors and featured male characters. However, Arcadia Felice explored love as a problem in the story, not as a solution.

The court of Ferrara encouraged writers to try new things with the pastoral style. Marinella liked pastoral writings because it let her describe a society where relationships between men and women were different. Male writers using this style often still supported old ideas about men being in charge. But for female authors, this style allowed them to explore and expand women's freedom and power in society. Female writers saw writing as a way to express themselves. This was often discouraged in their daily lives. Pastoral forms gave Marinella a perfect place to put details of her personal life into her writings, like in Arcadia Felice.

Lucrezia Marinella's Published Works

The title page of a 1601 edition of Marinella's La nobilita, et l’eccellenza delle donne.

Marinella's work sometimes caused debate. She often wrote in response to arguments against women. La nobilita, et l’eccellenza delle donne was a defense of educated women. It argued for their right to have an opinion.

Marinella was a skilled writer in many styles. Her work included philosophical comments on poetry and religious writings. She used many different sources, including scientific and mythological works. During her lifetime, Marinella published 10 books. Sometimes there were long gaps, up to 10 years, between her works. This happened after her marriage to Girolamo Vacca, between 1606 and 1617.

Her first major argument, The Nobility and Excellence of Women and the Defects and Vices of Men, came out in 1600. She wrote it quickly to answer Giuseppe Passi's harsh words about women's flaws. Passi's writing, “Dei donneschi difetti,” listed what he saw as women's faults, like vanity and greed. Marinella's clear response to Passi's unfair claims encouraged others to show their dislike for his writing. Passi eventually said he was misunderstood and stopped spreading his extreme views about women.

Marinella took the first part of her book's title from an Italian translation of a French text. This book, "Della nobilita et eccellenza delle donne," was printed in Venice in 1549. Marinella's book was a long argument attacking men for the same faults Passi had accused women of. Her text followed Passi's structure, putting quotes and examples against each other. Many people believe this was her most challenging writing. It was likely sparked by Passi's insults about women's learning and opinions. Marinella was the first woman in Italy to argue with a man in print. This was the only time she wrote directly about Passi's unfair views on women. Her strong responses to unfairness are why she is still known as a great example of female intelligence. It is thought that La nobilita, et l’eccellenza delle donne was published so quickly because of Marinella's connections with the Venetian Academy.

In her work Enrico, Marinella chose a topic that was both religious and political. It also built on her earlier works. She pointed out that women were not included in political discussions at that time. In the work, she showed pride in Venice. She highlighted a Venetian version of the Fourth Crusade's events. No Venetian documents from that time seemed to exist about it. This part of Venice's history reminded readers of Venice's importance. In Enrico, Marinella chose to write in a very high literary style. This style was not popular in Venice for cultural reasons. Marinella’s warrior women in Enrico wore men's armor with grace. They were written as respectable in actions and thoughts, and as pure maidens. Arcadia Felice also showed the idea that love can limit women and harm their freedom and creativity.

Marinella's work, Vita di Maria Vergine, written in 1602, tells the story of the Virgin Mary. It is written in both poetry and prose. The sources she used for this work make it special. Marinella combined accounts from the Gospels with other gospels. These included Pseudo-Matthew and the Protoevangelium of James, which are considered apocryphal (not officially part of the Bible). However, Lucrezia Marinella has been accused of copying parts of this text. Scholar Eleonora Carinci noted that her work was similar to Pietro Aretino's.

Many Catholic women in the 16th and 17th centuries wrote about the Virgin Mary. Marinella wrote one of the longest and most detailed works about Mary. She described the miracles Mary experienced. She also wrote about the power that can come from women's good behavior and interests. The importance Marinella and other women placed on Mary as a good role model helped give women a new sense of purpose and belief in their abilities.

In another of Lucrezia's notable works, Amoro Innamorato et Impazzato, Marinella seemed to change her mind. In the "Exhortations" section, she praised women staying at home. She strongly suggested they avoid studying. She argued that women should stay in the private home, leaving politics and philosophy to men. Like many writers of her time, she used ideas from classic authors to support her arguments. She argued for women staying at home. She valued the skills women used in managing a home and raising children. She believed all female goodness came from domestic arts. She also expressed sadness about women's place in literature. She urged women to avoid a writing career in her final work, Essortationi alle donne. About staying at home, Lucrezia wrote: "I also stated this in my book entitled The Nobility and Excellence of Women, but now considering the issue in a more mature fashion, I am of the view that it is not the result of conscious manipulation nor the action of an angry soul, but the will and providence of nature and God." Despite her efforts, her later writings seemed more affected by society's pressures. She seemed less sure that women would ever be fully accepted as equals to men. In Essortationi alle donne, she warned women about having professional careers outside their homes. This was because the system kept holding women back from success.

Marinella's famous Nobility and Excellence of Women introduced many early feminist ideas. These ideas are still studied today. She made it clear in this work that studying science was key to the debate about women. She explained the need for equal education opportunities for women in both literature and sciences. In response to claims that there were no educated women in arts and sciences, Marinella listed many intellectual achievements of women over centuries. She used examples from books like Famous Women by Giovanni Boccaccio. The Nobility and Excellence of Women used these past examples to create a new idea of what it meant to be a woman. This work can be seen not only as an argument for women's rights but also as a look into women's potential in science and thinking. The Nobility and Excellence of Women is often compared to Moderata Fonte's The Worth of Women in academic discussions.

List of Marinella's Works

• Marinella, L., 1595, La Colomba sacra, Poema eroico. Venice.
• –––, 1597, Vita del serafico et glorioso San Francesco. Descritto in ottava rima. Ove si spiegano le attioni, le astinenze e i miracoli di esso, Venice.
• –––, 1598, Amore innamorato ed impazzato, Venice.
• –––, 1601a, La nobiltà et l'eccellenza delle donne co' diffetti et mancamenti de gli uomini. Discorso di Lucrezia Marinella in due parti diviso, G , Venice.
• –––, 1601b, The Nobility and Excellence of Women, and the Defects and Vices of Men, Dunhill, A. (ed. and trans.), Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1999.
• –––, 1602, La vita di Maria vergine imperatrice dell'universo. Descritta in prosa e in ottava rima, Venice.
• –––, 1603, Rime sacre, Venice.
• –––, 1605, L'Arcadia felice, Venice.
• –––, 1605a, L'Arcadia felice, F. Lavocat (ed.), Florence: Accademia toscana di scienze e lettere, ‘La Colombaria’ 162, 1998.
• –––, 1605b, Vita del serafico, et glorioso San Francesco. Descritto in ottava rima, Venice.
• –––, 1606, Vita di Santa Giustina in ottava rima, Florence.
• –––, 1617, La imperatrice dell'universo. Poema heroico, Venice.
• –––, 1617a, La vita di Maria Vergine imperatrice dell'universo, Venice.
• –––, 1617b, Vite de' dodeci heroi di Christo, et de' Quatro Evangelisti, Venice.
• –––, 1624, De' gesti heroici e della vita meravigliosa della serafica Santa Caterina da Siena, Venice.
• –––, 1635, L'Enrico ovvero Bisanzio acquistato. Poema heroico, Venice.
• –––, 1645a, Essortationi alle donne et a gli altri se a loro saranno a grado di Lucretia Marinella. Parte Prima, Venice.
• –––, 1645b, Exhortations to Women and to Others if They Please, L. Benedetti (ed. and trans.), Toronto: Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, 2012.

Marinella's Personal Life and Impact

Francesco Agostino della Chiesa called Lucrezia "a woman of wondrous eloquence and learning." He said it would be "impossible to surpass her." Cristofero Bronzino said she was amazing at writing prose and poetry. He also said she was an expert in moral and natural philosophy. Arcangela Tarabotti was said to be one of her biggest fans. However, towards the end of her life, Lucrezia was said to have "attacked" her.

Her father's work as a doctor sparked her interest in science. Marinella dedicated The Nobility and Excellence of Women to another doctor and friend of her father, Lucio Scarano. He was very interested in her writing. At one point, he called her "The adornment of our century." He compared her to the Greek poet Corinna. Marinella dedicated her poem Amoro Innamorato et Impazzato to a female reader. This was the Duchess of Mantua, Catherine de' Medici, Governor of Siena.

Lucrezia Marinella's Death

Marinella died from quartan fever, a type of malaria. This happened in the Campiello dei Squillini in Venice on October 9, 1653. She was buried in the nearby church of S. Pantaleone.

See also

In Spanish: Lucrezia Marinella para niños