Early Modern Women's Writing

Abstract

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Pathways to agency: women writers and radical thought in the Low Countries, 1500–1800

“…As a way to resolve these contradictions, Anna Maria van Schurman (1607-1678), for instance, ended up cultivating her reputation for eccentricity, forging a specific type of feminine publicity that combined modest retreat with isolated moments of public display. 13 Such approaches would enable women to participate, to a certain degree, in discourses that were not traditionally part of their female role, and to express radical ideas. Remarkably, many of these cases, including Van Schurman, involve women performing central roles in religious sectarian groups.…”