Gender, Rhetoric, and Print Culture in French Renaissance Writing (Cambridge Studies in French, Series Number 63)

In this book Floyd Gray explores how the treatment of controversial subjects in French Renaissance writing was affected both by rhetorical conventions and by the commercial requirements of an expanding publishing industry. Focusing on a wide range of discourses on gender issues - misogynist, feminist, autobiographical, homosexual and medical - Gray reveals the extent to which these marginalized texts reflect literary concerns rather than social reality. He then moves from a close analysis of the rhetorical factor in the Querelle des femmes to consider ways in which writing, as a textual phenomenon, inscribes its own, sometimes ambiguous, meaning. Gray offers richly detailed readings of writing by Rabelais, Jean Flore, Montaigne, Louise Labé, Pernette du Guillet and Marie de Gournay among others, challenging the inherent anachronism of those forms of criticism that fail to take account of the rhetorical and cultural conditions of the period. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Series-title......Page 6 Title......Page 7 Copyright......Page 8 Contents......Page 9 Introduction......Page 10 CHAPTER 1 Discourses of misogyny......Page 15 THE RULE OF RHETORIC......Page 16 THE QUERELLE DES FEMMES: RHETORIC OR REALITY?......Page 20 ANTIFEMINISM AND MARRIAGE IN RABELAIS'S TIERS LIVRE......Page 30 CHAPTER 2 Irony and the sexual other......Page 39 JEANNE FLORE AND EROTIC DESIRE: FEMINISM OR MALE FANTASY?......Page 40 READING AND WRITING IN THE TENTH STORY OF THE HEPTAMERON......Page 56 CHAPTER 3 Anonymity and the poetics of regendering......Page 71 THE "I" AS ANOTHER......Page 72 PERNETTE DU GUILLET'S PLATONISM......Page 86 CHAPTER 4 The women in Montaigne's life......Page 116 MONTAIGNE'S WOMEN......Page 117 MARIE DE GOURNAY'S MONTAIGNE......Page 130 CHAPTER 5 Sexual marginality......Page 142 READING HOMOSEXUALITY......Page 143 CROSS-DRESSING......Page 153 THE ANDROGYNE MYTH......Page 158 BRANTÔME, MEDICAL DISCOURSE, AND THE MAKINGS OF PORNOGRAPHY......Page 165 Conclusion......Page 173 1 DISCOURSES OF MISOGYNY......Page 178 2 IRONY AND THE SEXUAL OTHER......Page 186 3 ANONYMITY AND THE POETICS OF REGENDERING......Page 190 4 THE WOMEN IN MONTAIGNE'S LIFE......Page 196 5 SEXUAL MARGINALITY......Page 203 CONCLUSION......Page 217 PRIMARY WORKS......Page 218 SECONDARY WORKS......Page 222 Index......Page 233 Cover 1 Half-title 3 Series-title 6 Title 7 Copyright 8 Contents 9 Introduction 10 CHAPTER 1 Discourses of misogyny 15 THE RULE OF RHETORIC 16 THE QUERELLE DES FEMMES: RHETORIC OR REALITY? 20 ANTIFEMINISM AND MARRIAGE IN RABELAIS'S TIERS LIVRE 30 CHAPTER 2 Irony and the sexual other 39 JEANNE FLORE AND EROTIC DESIRE: FEMINISM OR MALE FANTASY? 40 READING AND WRITING IN THE TENTH STORY OF THE HEPTAMERON 56 CHAPTER 3 Anonymity and the poetics of regendering 71 THE "I" AS ANOTHER 72 PERNETTE DU GUILLET'S PLATONISM 86 CHAPTER 4 The women in Montaigne's life 116 MONTAIGNE'S WOMEN 117 MARIE DE GOURNAY'S MONTAIGNE 130 CHAPTER 5 Sexual marginality 142 READING HOMOSEXUALITY 143 CROSS-DRESSING 153 THE ANDROGYNE MYTH 158 BRANTÔME, MEDICAL DISCOURSE, AND THE MAKINGS OF PORNOGRAPHY 165 Conclusion 173 Notes 178 INTRODUCTION 178 1 DISCOURSES OF MISOGYNY 178 2 IRONY AND THE SEXUAL OTHER 186 3 ANONYMITY AND THE POETICS OF REGENDERING 190 4 THE WOMEN IN MONTAIGNE'S LIFE 196 5 SEXUAL MARGINALITY 203 CONCLUSION 217 Bibliography 218 PRIMARY WORKS 218 SECONDARY WORKS 222 Index 233 In this book Floyd Gray explores how the treatment of controversial subjects in French Renaissance writing was affected both by rhetorical conventions and by the commercial requirements of an expanding publishing industry. Focusing on a wide range of discourses on gender issues - misogynist, feminist, autobiographical, homosexual and medical - Gray reveals the extent to which these marginalised texts reflect literary concerns rather than social reality. He then moves from a close analysis of the rhetorical factor in the Querelle des femmes to consider ways in which writing, as a textual phenomenon, inscribes its own, sometimes ambiguous, meaning. Gray offers richly-detailed readings of writing by Rabelais, Jean Flore, Montaigne, Louise LabÈ, Pernette du Guillet and Marie de Gournay among others, challenging the inherent anachronism of those forms of criticism that fail to take account of the rhetorical and cultural conditions of the period.

Floyd Gray explores how the treatment of controversial subjects in French Renaissance writing was affected by rhetorical conventions and the commercial requirements of an expanding publishing industry. Focusing on a wide range of discourses on gender issues-misogynist, feminist, autobiographical, homosexual and medical-Gray reveals the extent to which these marginalized texts reflect literary concerns rather than social reality. His new readings of Rabelais, Montaigne, Louise Labé and others, challenge the inherent anachronism of criticism that fails to take account of the cultural context of the period.

Floyd Gray explores how the treatment of controversial subjects in French Renaissance writing was affected by rhetorical conventions and the commercial requirements of an expanding publishing industry. Focusing on a wide range of discourses on gender issues -- misogynist, feminist, autobiographical, homosexual and medical -- Gray reveals the extent to which these marginalized texts reflect literary concerns rather than social reality. His new readings of Rabelais, Montaigne, Louise Labe and others, challenge the inherent anachronism of criticism that fails to take account of the cultural context of the period. In this book Floyd Gray explores how the treatment of controversial subjects in French Renaissance writing was affected by rhetorical conventions and the commercial requirements of an expanding publishing industry. Gray offers new readings of a wide range of discourses on gender issues - misogynist, feminist, autobiographical, homosexual and medical A substantial number of early modern French texts display a troubling preoccupation with questions relating to the proper place of women in literature and society.