The Bible Interpreted by Women in Early Modern Italy: Promoting Dignity and Agency

This volume studies initial attempts by Italian women of the early modern period to assert their dignity and gender equality through skillful interpretation of the Bible. It shows how the holy text represented a means to self-awareness and self-valorization, both through the role models of female figures in the New and Old Testaments, and because of the authoritativeness of the divine dictate that sanctioned equality of the genders.

Organized into three parts (the origins, biblical models, and the worth of women), this book is devoted to the reception, discussion, and use of biblical texts aimed at gender equality. It proves how these Italian women fought for their contested value through careful exegesis that revised readings by Patristic and Scholastic theologians to promote the dignity of their gender. There is an evident desire to communicate this new consciousness in order to encourage their female readers to exercise their right to equality and self-determination, allowing them to be agents in their own lives.

The Bible Interpreted by Women in Early Modern Italy speaks to a large potential readership: it is indispensable for scholars of early modern Europe, and more broadly for scholars and readers looking to better understand the evolution of women’s thinking on gender. It is meant to be accessible to non-specialists too – readers curious about the history of women, the Italian Renaissance, religious history, and biblical interpretation. The book offers a novel and much-needed fresh approach to women and gender studies in early modern Europe, focusing on the intersection of gender awareness with devotional and religious writing.