Gómez-Bravo, Ana M.

English

ScholarWorks at WMU

Robert Archer. The Problem of Woman in Late-Medieval Hispanic Literature. (Colecci6n Tamesis, Serie A, Monografias.) Tamesis, 2005. pp. 227. t n his book, Archer sets out to discern the question of what renders woman as problematic in late medieval Hispanic authors' ponderings. Under the umbrella of "Hispanic Literature," Archer includes traditionally canonical texts written in Castilian by authors such as Alfonso Martinez de Toledo, Diego de San Pedro, Juan de Flores, or Alvaro de Luna, among many others. Archer explores many different genres, ranging from didactic literature, conduct books, humor and satire, both blatantly misogynistic texts and open defenses of women in both prose and verse. The book draws on Archer's thorough expertise in Catalan texts, of which he includes such well-known authors as Bernat Metge, Jaume Roig, Joan ROls de Corella, or Francesco Eiximenis. The book also studies many other writers, displaying an impressive breadth in its ability to show relationships among many texts, including those by Vincent Ferrer, that contribute to the 146 understanding of misogynistic discourse, even if they have not always been examined alongside the canonical texts pertaining to that tradition. An insightful methodological approach that stems from the inclusive use of these traditions promotes the further exploration of intertextual overlapping in literatures that were in constant contact, but are often studied separately. Analyses of Vincent Ferrer, Pere Torroella (or Pedro Torrellas), and others effectively exemplify a transcultural textual tradition of misogyny. But the book does not stop there in its wide aim, as it also engages related traditions, such as Provens:al and Galician-Portuguese poetry, and reaches to the early modern period by a thoughtful consideration of the writings ofJuan Luis Vives. As such, the book's intrinsic value lies in its ability to scrutinize sources and to summon an impressive array of texts, both in defending and slandering women. Because many of these works have not been translated into English, readers not readily familiar with the original versions will appreciate the close textual readings that are systematically the object of the book's narrative. The book stands as a masterly piece of scholarship and a solid exposition of the many textual traditions dealing with the nature of women. Archer reads these texts with a sophisticated discourse that reads the primary texts with theoretically sound methodologies. Beyond this integrated study of different literary traditions, the book considers the long-standing question of the nature of the debate on women that experienced a heightened interest in the second half of the fifteenth century. Archer questions the very idea that there was a debate at all, but rather sees clusters of texts that deal with both a flexible and shared conceptualization of the "notion of woman." The pliability of this notion and the extreme depiction of female otherness engender a range of positions in a wide spectrum of attitudes serving specific purposes in the context of each author's environment and 147 period. Here Archer joins recent new approaches to the topic, notably by Barbara Weissberger and Julian Weiss, emphasizing the homosocial nature of the discourse on women and its relation to the gendered power structures of the time. A conclusion that a reader of Archer's book may draw is the realization that it is this very flexibility of the discourse on woman that helps not so much to undermine misogyny, though it may be thus used, but to help it survive, a factor of its being embedded and nurtured by patriarchy itselE The problematic consideration of the question of woman may indeed be seen, if not as a debate, at least as a male forum where: clerics can malign women as a source of temptation; legally minded writers may muse on her rights, or the advisability of curtailing her participation in the different social and political spheres; teachers can chastise female students for such vices as the stereotypical female garrulity; and courtiers can vie to show their civility by championing women or boast a caustic humor at their expense. In fact, these texts, when seen as individual rhetorical acts, may strike the reader as having an operative "male author function" that can be predicated from the authors' positioning in relation to women. In this vein, one question that arises after reading about the carefully studied male authors is that which concerns women's voices. The book's focus on male literary traditions keeps moving the book toward a study of the representation of woman in literary texts with all its inherent and well-delineated complexities. The story cannot be wholly told, though, until the texts can be engaged in a dialogue with female authors on the topic or, even further, with the very idea of female authorship. In this vein, the book would have benefited from a study of the fifteenth-century Spanish writer Teresa de Cartagena and her long defense of women and their right to authorship in her well-known Admira~ion operum Dey, and, in Catalan, from a'look at Isabel de Villena's Vita Christi. A consideration of the work and context of other female authors, such as Leonor Lopez de Cordoba, Isabel Suaris, or Florencia Pinar, as well as the study of 148 writing queens such as Violant de Bar or Isabel of Castile, among others, would enrich and perhaps help refocus the question at hand. Their at times subtle and often open positioning in the intellectual and moral arena vis-a.-vis a male counterpart would help situate male-authored texts in a wider politics of contextualized discourse. Among some of the important questions stemming from Archer's study is that of the relationship of the apparent growth of the number of female authors as a concomitant phenomenon to that of the "defenses" of women and the rise of a female monarch in Castile. Were women on their way to a Renaissance, or was this intensifying discourse a sign of the heightened problematization of woman, both as a notion and as a social and political agent? With solid erudition and keen understanding of multi-layered literary traditions, Archer's book has laid the ground for just such inquiries. Ana M. G6mez-Bravo Purdue University 

Robert Archer, The Problem of Woman in Late-Medieval Hispanic Literature. (Colección Támesis, Serie A, Monografias.) Tamesis, 2005

Iowa Research Online

Robert Archer. The Problem of Woman in Late-
Medieval Hispanic Literature. (Colecci6n Tamesis, Serie 
A, Monografias.) Tamesis, 2005. pp. 227. 
t n his book, Archer sets out to discern the question of what renders woman 
as problematic in late medieval 
Hispanic authors' ponderings. 
Under the umbrella of "Hispanic 
Literature," Archer includes 
traditionally canonical texts 
written in Castilian by authors 
such as Alfonso Martinez de 
Toledo, Diego de San Pedro, 
Juan de Flores, or Alvaro de 
Luna, among many others. 
Archer explores many different 
genres, ranging from didactic 
literature, conduct books, 
humor and satire, both blatantly 
misogynistic texts and open 
defenses of women in both 
prose and verse. The book draws 
on Archer's thorough expertise 
in Catalan texts, of which he 
includes such well-known 
authors as Bernat Metge, Jaume 
Roig, Joan ROls de Corella, 
or Francesco Eiximenis. The 
book also studies many other 
writers, displaying an impressive 
breadth in its ability to show 
relationships among many texts, 
including those by Vincent 
Ferrer, that contribute to the 
146 
understanding of misogynistic 
discourse, even if they have 
not always been examined 
alongside the canonical texts 
pertaining to that tradition. 
An insightful methodological 
approach that stems from the 
inclusive use of these traditions 
promotes the further exploration 
of intertextual overlapping in 
literatures that were in constant 
contact, but are often studied 
separately. Analyses of Vincent 
Ferrer, Pere Torroella (or Pedro 
Torrellas), and others effectively 
exemplify a transcultural 
textual tradition of misogyny. 
But the book does not stop 
there in its wide aim, as it also 
engages related traditions, such 
as Provens:al and Galician-
Portuguese poetry, and reaches 
to the early modern period by a 
thoughtful consideration of the 
writings ofJuan Luis Vives. As 
such, the book's intrinsic value 
lies in its ability to scrutinize 
sources and to summon an 
impressive array of texts, both 
in defending and slandering 
women. Because many of 
these works have not been 
translated into English, readers 
not readily familiar with the 
original versions will appreciate 
the close textual readings that 
are systematically the object 
of the book's narrative. The 
book stands as a masterly 
piece of scholarship and a solid 
exposition of the many textual 
traditions dealing with the 
nature of women. Archer reads 
these texts with a sophisticated 
discourse that reads the primary 
texts with theoretically sound 
methodologies. 
Beyond this integrated study 
of different literary traditions, 
the book considers the long-
standing question of the nature 
of the debate on women that 
experienced a heightened 
interest in the second half of 
the fifteenth century. Archer 
questions the very idea that 
there was a debate at all, but 
rather sees clusters of texts 
that deal with both a flexible 
and shared conceptualization 
of the "notion of woman." The 
pliability of this notion and the 
extreme depiction of female 
otherness engender a range of 
positions in a wide spectrum 
of attitudes serving specific 
purposes in the context of 
each author's environment and 
147 
period. Here Archer joins recent 
new approaches to the topic, 
notably by Barbara Weissberger 
and Julian Weiss, emphasizing 
the homosocial nature of 
the discourse on women and 
its relation to the gendered 
power structures of the time. 
A conclusion that a reader of 
Archer's book may draw is the 
realization that it is this very 
flexibility of the discourse on 
woman that helps not so much 
to undermine misogyny, though 
it may be thus used, but to 
help it survive, a factor of its 
being embedded and nurtured 
by patriarchy itselE The 
problematic consideration of the 
question of woman may indeed 
be seen, if not as a debate, at 
least as a male forum where: 
clerics can malign women as a 
source of temptation; legally 
minded writers may muse on 
her rights, or the advisability 
of curtailing her participation 
in the different social and 
political spheres; teachers can 
chastise female students for 
such vices as the stereotypical 
female garrulity; and courtiers 
can vie to show their civility by 
championing women or boast a 
caustic humor at their expense. 
In fact, these texts, when seen 
as individual rhetorical acts, may 
strike the reader as having an 
operative "male author function" 
that can be predicated from the 
authors' positioning in relation 
to women. In this vein, one 
question that arises after reading 
about the carefully studied male 
authors is that which concerns 
women's voices. The book's 
focus on male literary traditions 
keeps moving the book toward 
a study of the representation of 
woman in literary texts with all 
its inherent and well-delineated 
complexities. The story cannot 
be wholly told, though, until 
the texts can be engaged in a 
dialogue with female authors 
on the topic or, even further, 
with the very idea of female 
authorship. 
In this vein, the book would 
have benefited from a study of 
the fifteenth-century Spanish 
writer Teresa de Cartagena and 
her long defense of women and 
their right to authorship in her 
well-known Admira~ion operum 
Dey, and, in Catalan, from 
a'look at Isabel de Villena's 
Vita Christi. A consideration 
of the work and context of 
other female authors, such as 
Leonor Lopez de Cordoba, 
Isabel Suaris, or Florencia 
Pinar, as well as the study of 
148 
writing queens such as Violant 
de Bar or Isabel of Castile, 
among others, would enrich 
and perhaps help refocus the 
question at hand. Their at 
times subtle and often open 
positioning in the intellectual 
and moral arena vis-a.-vis a 
male counterpart would help 
situate male-authored texts in a 
wider politics of contextualized 
discourse. Among some of 
the important questions 
stemming from Archer's study 
is that of the relationship of 
the apparent growth of the 
number of female authors as 
a concomitant phenomenon 
to that of the "defenses" 
of women and the rise of a 
female monarch in Castile. 
Were women on their way 
to a Renaissance, or was this 
intensifying discourse a sign of 
the heightened problematization 
of woman, both as a notion and 
as a social and political agent? 
With solid erudition and keen 
understanding of multi-layered 
literary traditions, Archer's 
book has laid the ground for 
just such inquiries. 
Ana M. G6mez-Bravo 
Purdue University 


Ana M. Gómez-Bravo

Crossref

Medieval Feminist Newsletter

https://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1074&amp;context=mff

Robert Archer, The Problem of Woman in Late-Medieval Hispanic Literature. (Colección Támesis, Serie A, Monografias.) Tamesis, 2005

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