Gender Inequalities in Rural European Communities During the 19th and Early 20th Century : A Historical Perspective

Annotation This book provides an overview of women's opportunities for schooling, their social activities, and the social biases they faced in rural communities in Greece, Italy and parts of the Balkans during the 19th and early 20th century. It examines such topics as female illiteracy, the efforts of women-protestant missionaries to expand knowledge through Protestantism, the prejudice against education for women, the socio-economic context, the roles women fulfilled, and the structure of the patriarchal family. The book approaches these issues from the perspective of pedagogy and social history. The fundamental questions discussed by the book are: How was female education viewed by the country folk? What was the role of women in the private and the public sphere? How did peasant women respond to the challenges of the 'modern' world? Were they free to express their feelings and ambitions? In what way? Were they happy? Dedication 5 Acknowledgments 6 Contents 7 About the Author 8 Introduction 9 References 14 Chapter 1: The Curse of Athena: Female Illiteracy in the Greek Countryside 15 References 37 Chapter 2: ‘Caught in the Spider’s Web’. Women’s Schooling in the Rural Communities in Italy and in Parts of the Balkans 40 References 58 Chapter 3: Hera, the Greek Goddess of Marriage: A Comparison Between Greek and Italian Peasant Women 61 References 81 Chapter 4: Spreading the ‘Word of God’. Women-­Missionaries and Protestant Education in the Balkans, Greece and Italy 84 References 100 Chapter 5: Demeter, the Goddess of the Harvest: Women’s Social Life in the Villages 102 References 129 Chapter 6: Euterpe, the Muse of Music: Women’s Position as Seen through Folklore Songs and Dances (Nineteenth to Early Twentieth Centuries) 133 References 162 Conclusions 165 Illustrations 169 Front Matter ....Pages i-xviii The Curse of Athena: Female Illiteracy in the Greek Countryside (Polly Thanailaki)....Pages 1-25 ‘Caught in the Spider’s Web’. Women’s Schooling in the Rural Communities in Italy and in Parts of the Balkans (Polly Thanailaki)....Pages 27-47 Hera, the Greek Goddess of Marriage: A Comparison Between Greek and Italian Peasant Women (Polly Thanailaki)....Pages 49-71 Spreading the ‘Word of God’. Women-Missionaries and Protestant Education in the Balkans, Greece and Italy (Polly Thanailaki)....Pages 73-90 Demeter, the Goddess of the Harvest: Women’s Social Life in the Villages (Polly Thanailaki)....Pages 91-121 Euterpe, the Muse of Music: Women’s Position as Seen through Folklore Songs and Dances (Nineteenth to Early Twentieth Centuries) (Polly Thanailaki)....Pages 123-154 Back Matter ....Pages 155-164