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Feminine Virtue’s Network of Influence in Early Modern England
- Studies in Philology
- The University of North Carolina Press
- Volume 109, Number 3, Spring 2012
- pp. 258-278
- 10.1353/sip.2012.0022
- Article
- Additional Information
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In contrast to the paradoxes of chastity that appear to limit women’s options, prescriptive literature often portrays obedience as a virtue that is both performative and reformative. Early modern women were not taught to be unquestioningly obedient but rather that they had a responsibility to be virtuous: to perform submission in order to reform others. This model of performance requires women critically to analyze behavioral prescriptions, because the proper performance necessitates interpretation on their part; this shows that self-reflection is possible and even encouraged. Texts discussed include Robert Snawsel’s A Looking-glasse for Married Folkes and Robert Greene’s Penelope’s Web.