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> Virginia Woolf wrote a famous essay, 'Shakespeare's sister', about how a figure like her could never hope to be a writer or have her writing preserved, so she

by mttpgn 3y ago

> Virginia Woolf wrote a famous essay, 'Shakespeare's sister', about how a figure like her could never hope to be a writer or have her writing preserved, so she has become something of a symbol for all the lost voices of early modern women. This is a central point also that Woolf makes in _A Room of One's Own_.

atmosx 3y ago
...which according to my wife is an awesome book (she is reading it right now).
- mttpgn 3y ago
  There's a funny moment where she goes (paraphrasing), if you're a man stop reading right now, this part is not for you, ladies only.
dagoodnews 3y ago
The reigning monarch during much of shakespeare and his sister's life was queen elizabeth - a woman.
- krapp 3y ago
  Yes, and of course all of the rights and social privileges which applied to the monarchy applied likewise to everyone else, and thus all women during the Elizabethan era were precisely as free as Elizabeth herself.
  - dagoodnews 3y ago
    [flagged]
    - krapp 3y ago
      My apologies. I keep keep forgetting people here are incapable of detecting sarcasm. Your perspective is skewed. Virginia Woolf lived in the 20th century, and the Elizabethan period ended a few centuries before she was born. You can't use Virginia Woolf to prove anything about gender norms in the Elizabethan period, much less compare the norms between royal, noble and common women during Shakespeare's time. Just putting things into perspective, here.
      - dagoodnews 3y ago
        [flagged]
- mootothemax 3y ago
  And the most famous line from her most famous speech is… ?
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - sandspar 3y ago
    The most famous line from Henry the VIII's speech is? They didn't give speeches back then because they didn't give a fuck about the public.
  - donalm 3y ago
    “I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too” https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/queen-elizabeth-speech-troops-tilbury https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/queen-elizabeth-speech-...
- pyuser583 3y ago
  Between Elizabeth I, Catherine Di Medici, Roxalana of Turkey, and Mary Queen of Scots, female rulers were unusually common. Female writers were unusually rare.
verisimi 3y ago
The quote you give, is a nice example to see how history, historical research, etc has everything to do with setting the scene for the present, and not much to do with the past. History is a present day activity. It is akin to the background scenery in a play - it provides the context for the present, it sets up our current stories. It's all to do with interpretation, and that is only ever present.

by mttpgn 3y ago

atmosx 3y ago

...which according to my wife is an awesome book (she is reading it right now).

mttpgn 3y ago
There's a funny moment where she goes (paraphrasing), if you're a man stop reading right now, this part is not for you, ladies only.

dagoodnews 3y ago

The reigning monarch during much of shakespeare and his sister's life was queen elizabeth - a woman.

krapp 3y ago
Yes, and of course all of the rights and social privileges which applied to the monarchy applied likewise to everyone else, and thus all women during the Elizabethan era were precisely as free as Elizabeth herself.
- dagoodnews 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - krapp 3y ago
    My apologies. I keep keep forgetting people here are incapable of detecting sarcasm. Your perspective is skewed. Virginia Woolf lived in the 20th century, and the Elizabethan period ended a few centuries before she was born. You can't use Virginia Woolf to prove anything about gender norms in the Elizabethan period, much less compare the norms between royal, noble and common women during Shakespeare's time. Just putting things into perspective, here.
    - dagoodnews 3y ago
      [flagged]
mootothemax 3y ago
And the most famous line from her most famous speech is… ?
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- sandspar 3y ago
  The most famous line from Henry the VIII's speech is? They didn't give speeches back then because they didn't give a fuck about the public.
- donalm 3y ago
  “I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too” https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/queen-elizabeth-speech-troops-tilbury https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/queen-elizabeth-speech-...
pyuser583 3y ago
Between Elizabeth I, Catherine Di Medici, Roxalana of Turkey, and Mary Queen of Scots, female rulers were unusually common. Female writers were unusually rare.

verisimi 3y ago

The quote you give, is a nice example to see how history, historical research, etc has everything to do with setting the scene for the present, and not much to do with the past. History is a present day activity. It is akin to the background scenery in a play - it provides the context for the present, it sets up our current stories. It's all to do with interpretation, and that is only ever present.