L'Honnête femme
Subtitle: the Respectable woman in society and the New collection of letters and responses by contemporary women
By: Jacques Du Bosc ; edited and translated by Sharon Diane Nell and Aurora Wolfgang
Contributors: Wolfgang, Aurora, editor, translator; Nell, Sharon Diane, 1955-, editor, translator; Du Bosc, Jacques, -1660; Du Bosc, Jacques, -1660; Victoria University (Toronto, Ont.). Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies; Iter (Toronto, Ont.)
Series: The other voice in early modern Europe: the Toronto series -- 31; Other voice in early modern Europe -- 31.
Publisher: Iter Inc.; Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies
Published: 2014
Place of publication: Toronto
Language: eng
Number of pages: 332
ISBN-13: 9780772721600
Subjects: Women; Early works to 1800; Conduct of life; Social life and customs; Sex role; Ethics; Translations into English
Other titles: Respectable woman in society and the New collection of letters and responses by contemporary women; New collection of letters and responses by contemporary women
Description: This edition offers a translation of two works by the seventeenth-century French Franciscan, Jacques Du Bosc: selected passages from L'Honneste femme (1632-36) and the entirety of Nouveau recueil des lettres de dames de ce temps (1635). Both of these texts articulate the theory and practice of the emerging ideal of honnêteté for women. To Du Bosc's way of thinking, the honnête or "respectable" woman's role in society is not only that of mother and wife; she is primarily a member of a social elite who embodies the art of pleasing through her politeness, urbanity, and conversation. Du Bosc's work aims to justify this new role for women, even as he sets out the rules of moral conduct to guide them. In so doing, he refutes traditional misogynist attitudes while insisting that women follow a Christian moral code of conduct. Like his predecessor François de Sales, Du Bosc treats women as reasoning beings capable of guiding their own conscience. Moreover, Du Bosc promotes equality between the sexes, especially in relation to their moral behavior. In both of these texts from the first half of the seventeenth century Du Bosc made important contributions which helped shift public attitudes toward embracing women's intellectual and moral equality.--
Notes: "This translation is based on the 1658 edition of L'Honnête femme and the 1642 edition of Nouveau recueil de lettres des dames de ce temps."--Introduction.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 311-322) and index.

Issued also in electronic format.