The Androgyne in Early Modern France : Contextualizing the Power of Gender

Based on sources in Genesis and Plato's Symposium , the androygyne during Early Modern France was a means of expressing the full potential of humans made in the image of God. This book documents and comments on the range of references to the androgyne in the writings of poets, philosophers, courtiers, and women in positions of political power. In the Renaissance, the androygyne - based on sources in the book of Genesis and Plato's Symposium - was a means of expressing the full potential of humans made in the image of God. Discussing the androygyne within the context of the visual, literary, and political, this book explores the androgyne as it was understood in early modern France. More specifically, Rothstein documents the wide-ranging uses of the androgyne in the thought of poets, philosophers, courtiers, and women in positions of political power and its ultimate connection to gender construction during the European Renaissance. As the book moves from examining the sources of the androgyne to increasingly contextualized instances of their use, Rothstein highlights specific manifestations of the androgyne as a powerful yet enigmatic literary metaphor and an instrument of action in the world In the Renaissance, the androygyne--based on sources in the book of Genesis and Plato's Symposium--was a means of expressing the full potential of humans made in the image of God. Discussing the androygyne within the context of the visual, literary, and political, specifically, Rothstein documents the wide-ranging uses of the androgyne in the thought of poets, philosophers, courtiers, and women in positions of political power and its ultimate connection to gender construction during the European Renaissance. As the book moves from examining the sources of the androgyne to increasingly contextualized instances of their use, Rothstein highlights specific manifestations of the androgyne as a powerful yet enigmatic literary metaphor and an instrument of action in the world. -- Back cover Front Matter....Pages i-viii Introduction....Pages 1-4 The Sources of the Androgyne....Pages 5-26 On Functional Gender....Pages 27-41 Picturing the Androgyne....Pages 43-51 Literary Manifestations of the Androgyne....Pages 53-94 On Famous Women and the Androgyne....Pages 95-107 The Political Androgyne....Pages 109-160 By Way of Conclusion....Pages 161-165 Back Matter....Pages 167-256