Discourse to Lady Lavinia His Daughter: Concerning the Manner in Which She Should Conduct Herself When Going to Court as a Lady-in-Waiting to the Most Serene Infanta, Lady Caterina, Duchess of Savoy, and: The Complete Writings of an Italian Heretic (review)

At first glance, Olympia Morata (1526–55), humanist scholar and expert classicist, appears to have little in common with the prepubescent Lavinia (b. 1574), the dedicatee of Annibal Guasco's discourse. Upon a second look, however, resemblances emerge. From earliest childhood, both girls were taught by learned, doting, and ambitious fathers to evolve intellectually; both were molded to be ladies-in-waiting and sent to live in prestigious courts under royal mistresses; still children, both were considered exemplary models of feminine learning; both were expected to exhibit uncommon virtue and perseverance in the face of tribulations and antagonisms; both displayed profound religious devotion and loyalty to their beliefs. Yet, these similarities in upbringing, intellectual preparation, environment, and piety produced highly divergent life paths. Olympia Morata's developing thought and steadfast faith led to marginalization and religious persecution, while Lavinia Guasco's promise and exceptionality remained enclosed within acceptable social definitions of Catholic femininity.

In many ways, Lavinia's story is appealing and informative because it is the tale of a prodigal but conventional child on the threshold of life, about to put to good use the knowledge and abilities that a determined father had drummed into her. Annibal Guasco's Discourse is, in part, a tract on education, describing the author's program for a favored daughter who possessed the intelligence and will to fulfill her father's pedagogical aims. A rigorous taskmaster, Guasco details Lavinia's work-filled days from earliest childhood. Similarly, under her own father's tutelage, Olympia Morata's classical training had shaped her into a learned humanist. Guasco's curriculum, however, had a more practical goal in mind: he was preparing Lavinia for an honorable and potentially profitable career. Therefore, he emphasized her acquisition of skills suitable for a "donna di palazzo" in keeping with Castiglione's model. In addition to her broad humanist preparation, Lavinia became a superior musician, a talent needed to entertain her mistress and the court, and she learned to write in the difficult chancery cursive, a skill that would distinguish her and allow her to eventually achieve the privileged position of secretary. It is clear that Guasco's beloved daughter was being groomed to rise above her estate and thus help herself and her family by succeeding at court. These sections of the Discourse shed light not only on the rigors of a specialized education but also on the economic and social requirements for a career as a lady-in-waiting. Guasco's ambitions were fulfilled when Lavinia was invited to join the court at Turin after the marriage of Duke Carlo Emanuele of Savoy to the Spanish infanta Catalina.

The latter section of Guasco's Discourse is essentially a conduct book for eleven-year-old Lavinia, about to embark upon her career. The virtues and behavior extolled are culturally endorsed qualities approved for her sex and found in numerous Tre-, Quattro-, and Cinquecento works from Boccaccio to Alberti to Equicola, namely: goodness, chastity, submissiveness, and religiosity. In addition, Guasco comments upon the qualities appropriate to life at court. Lavinia is advised on virtù but also on the importance...