History 377: History of Venice
Second Paper Assignment

In class we have read and discussed selections from Arcangela Tarabotti’s book Paternal Tyranny and have read and discussed some of the writings of the famous courtesan Veronica Franco. At first glance, it might seem that a nun and a courtesan would have had had little in common. And yet they were both extremely intelligent women who came up against the difficult social situation created by the marriage strategies and patterns of elite Venetian families. In their writings, they present their ideas and attitudes about women and the female sex, about the ‘family strategies’ of Venetian families, about men, and about Venice itself, among other topics. Write a paper comparing (and in some instances contrasting) the ideas of Tarabotti and Franco. Their ideas should be set into the context of late sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Venice.

The paper should be five pages in length, should make significant use of their writings, and should have a clear, strong argument exemplified by a thesis statement. You can cite their works simply with their last name and a page number (for example, Tarabotti, p. 59). The documents in Pullan and Chambers on nunneries and prostitution may also be useful. You do not need a title page or a bibliography; and you do not need to do extra research. Please secure your paper with a single staple in the upper left-hand corner. As usual, I strongly suggest that you write a draft, set it aside for a few days, and then revise it. I am happy to talk with you about your ideas or to read a draft. Finally, please be cautious in citing evidence from the film Dangerous Beauty; since although in some ways, it is informative, it is also extremely inaccurate in other ways.