Heroines, Harpies, and Housewives : Imaging Women of Consequence in the Dutch Golden Age

Co-Honorable Mention for the 2021 Book Award by the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender (SSEMWG) In Heroines, Harpies, and Housewives, Martha Moffitt Peacock provides a novel interpretive approach to the artistic practice of Imaging Women of Consequence in the Dutch Golden Age. From the beginnings of the new Republic, visual celebrations of famous heroines who crossed gender boundaries by fighting in the Revolt against Spain or by distinguishing themselves in arts and letters became an essential and significant cultural tradition that reverberated throughout the long seventeenth century. This collective memory of consequential heroines who equaled, or outshone, men is frequently reflected in empowering representations of other female archetypes: authoritative harpies and noble housewives. Such enabling imagery helped in the structuring of gender norms that positively advanced a powerful female identity in Dutch society. Acknowledgments Illustrations Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1 Purpose and Scope 1.2 Indicting Patriarchy 1.3 Female Agency and Autonomy 1.4 Did Women Have Power in the Dutch Republic? 1.5 Reinterpreting Images of Heroines, Harpies, and Housewives Chapter 2. Heroines 2.1 The Gendered Culture and History of the Dutch Revolt 2.2 Kenau Simonsdr. Hasselaer (1526–1588) and the Women of Haarlem 2.3 Trijn van Leemput (c. 1530–1607) and the Women of Utrecht 2.4 Trijn Rembrands (c. 1557–1638) and the Women of Alkmaar 2.5 Magdalena Moons (1541–1613) and the Women of Leiden 2.6 More Women Warriors 2.7 The Heroine Legacy 2.8 Structuring the Cultural Heroine 2.9 Anna Maria van Schurman (1607–1678): Her Network and Influence 2.10 Fashioning Other Women Artists Chapter 3. Harpies 3.1 The Humorous Battle of the Sexes 3.2 Violent and Domineering Women 3.3 Heroines Inspire Harpies 3.4 Beating the Drunk 3.5 Husbands Caught with Courtesans 3.6 The Battle for the Trousers 3.7 Female Tyranny 3.8 Female Domination and Feared Despotism 3.9 Harpies in Decline Chapter 4. Housewives 4.1 Female Power and Agency 4.2 Patriarchy and Women’s Work 4.3 Geertruydt Roghman (1625–c. 1651): Her Innovations and Influence 4.4 The Allure of the Domestic 4.5 Women and Civic Institutions 4.6 Women and the Economy 4.7 Consumer Housewives 4.8 Conclusion Bibliography Index "In Heroines, Harpies, and Housewives, Martha Moffitt Peacock provides a novel interpretive approach to the artistic practice of Imaging Women of Consequence in the Dutch Golden Age. From the beginnings of the new Republic, visual celebrations of famous heroines who crossed gender boundaries by fighting in the Revolt against Spain or by distinguishing themselves in arts and letters became an essential and significant cultural tradition that reverberated throughout the long seventeenth century. This collective memory of consequential heroines who equaled, or outshone, men is frequently reflected in empowering representations of other female archetypes: authoritative harpies and noble housewives. Such enabling imagery helped in the structuring of gender norms that positively advanced a powerful female identity in Dutch society"-- Provided by publisher Examining images and artists of the Dutch Golden Age.