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As women’s history month comes to a close, I’d like to introduce you to the four women scholars I focused on in my dissertation. The following is an adaptation of “The Vacant Loom,” Prospectus Talk, November 3rd, 2014, The Ohio State University.
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“Ostensibly, my dissertation focuses on women in philosophy; but it is on a more fundamental level concerned with issues of genre and identity. The life stories of philosophers are often concerned with how one becomes a philosopher: through certain behaviors, modes of dress, through reading certain texts or talking to certain people. In this way philosophy is performative. Gender, too, is performative; therefore when women take up philosophy, the performance of philosophy and gender may come into competition. We can see this in the story of Hipparchia the Cynic, as related by Diogenes Laertius.
Hipparchia the Cynic
Hipparchia is in love with Crates, and wishes to marry him. On the advice of Hipparchia’s family, Crates tries to dissuade her. He stands before her naked, saying
“This is your bridegroom, this is his property. Choose accordingly. For you will be no companion unless you share in these pursuits.”
ὁ μὲν νυμφίος οὗτος, ἡ δὲ κτῆσις αὕτη, πρὸς ταῦτα βουλεύου: οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔσεσθαι κοινωνόν, εἰ μὴ καὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων γενηθείη.
D.L. 6.7.96-97
Hipparchia, undeterred, chooses Crates and takes on his lifestyle. She goes around with her husband, lives in public, and attends dinners with him:Antipater of Sidon reports further that she gave up wearing women’s clothing and slept on the ground. Apuleius reports that she and Crates attempted to consummate their marriage in public, only for the Stoic Zeno to cover them. Such behavior opened Hipparchia to criticism. At a dinner described by Diogenes Laertius, Hipparchia argues with and subsequently embarrasses Theodorus, who comes back at her with the jibe.
αὕτη ‘στὶν ἡ τὰς παρ᾽ ἱστοῖς ἐκλιποῦσα κερκίδας;
“Is this the lady who abandoned her carding combs by the loom?”
To which Hipparchia replies:
ἐγώ εἰμί… ἀλλὰ μὴ κακῶς σοι δοκῶ βεβουλεῦσθαι περὶ αὑτῆς, εἰ, τὸν χρόνον ὃν ἔμελλον ἱστοῖς προσαναλώσειν, τοῦτον εἰς παιδείαν κατεχρησάμην;
“It is I… And do you think I have made a bad choice for myself, if instead of squandering my time at the loom I have used it for my education?”
Lessons from Hipparchia
In my dissertation, I intend to ask how female philosophers like Hipparchia navigate the performance of gender and philosophy. I will structure my research around the following questions. Are women who practice philosophy part of a separate category of female philosophers, or can they simply be Platonists, Cynics, Stoics, etc.? Must a woman abandon some aspect of “femininity” to practice as a philosopher? How do women shape their voices in written texts, when writing to/for other women, or when writing to/for men? The four women scholars I have chosen to focus on for these chapters were all active in Italy from the 15th-17th centuries.
Four Women Scholars
Laura Cereta (1469-1499) of Brescia
Cereta produced a large collection of letters in addition to her Dialogue on the Funeral of a Donkey.* As a correspondent and an interlocutor in her own dialogue, Cereta is highly conscious of the fact that she is writing in a female voice, displaying concern about the reception of her work by men even as she proclaims her right to engage in literary endeavors. Her work is largely concerned with consolation; in her dialogue, she uses philosophy to console the distraught acquaintances of the titular donkey, Asellus, while in her letters she discusses the death of her husband after only a year of marriage. She seems to use Stoic methods of consolation, but she also defends Epicurus in a letter to her sister.
Cassandra Fedele (1465-1558) of Venice
Fedele also wrote a large collection of letters*, plus a volume on natural science and countless orations before her marriage at the age of 34. At that time her academic pursuits largely halted. But, in 1556 she was invited to give a speech welcoming the Queen of Poland to Venice. Her correspondence with prominent humanists such as Angelo Poliziano, as well as other women scholars of the day, addresses her unique identity. As a female orator, she explicitly connects her work with ancient traditions of educated women.
Tarquinia Molza (1542-1617)
Molza, a talented singer and poet, appears as an interlocutor in Francesco Patrizi’s L’amorosa filosofia, “Philosophy of Love.” Based on Plato’s Symposium, this work presents Molza as a “nuova Diotima.” Namely, she is a highly educated woman especially wise in matters of love (see Jaffe and Colombardo 2002: 313). Molza also penned her own discourse on love. However, I have yet to find a copy of this work.
Clemenza Ninci (Mid-17th Century)
Last is Clemenza Ninci, a Benedictine nun in Prato who produced a five-act play. The title of the play is Lo Sposalizio d’Iparchia Filosofa, or “The Marriage of Hipparchia, Lady Philosopher.” Drawing from Diogenes Laertius’ Lives, the play tells the story of Hipparchia’s marriage to Crates the Cynic. This involves a decision to live with him as a philosopher, providing parallels for the lives of educated women who gave up secular lifestyles to enter the convent in a marriage with Christ. My chapter on Ninci will require manuscript consultation, as her play does not appear in full in any modern edition. Cynthia Hillman transcribes and translates just two acts of the play in Weaver’s Scenes from Italian Convent Life (2009). The manuscript of the full Italian text is at the Biblioteca Riccardiana in Florence.”
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