The Roles of Women, The Reflections on Artistic Subjects, and the Related Challenges

Looking back at the gender roles in the middle ages, it is easy for us to notice that women were always surrounded by various challenges. From the middle ages to 19^th century, the roles of women kept changing continuously, and the related challenges that women were facing also kept transforming and exerting somewhat power on them. The so-called “challenges” arose when women tried to break and jump out of their “expected roles”, which were considered the basic premise of a stable society run by men. Challenges never left women, and they were neither easy on women. In this course of time, women tried to free themselves from their expected roles, and consequently, artistry turned out to be an arguably cool and valid medium for women to convey these radical thoughts. From a variety of artworks produced in that period, we can discover the struggle and endeavors of women in their artistic subjects, and how they longed for equality and independence culturally and spiritually.

Take a look at the middle ages first. While male in the middle ages were always expected to be a symbol of masculinity, women in the society were deemed to be a weak and submissive part of men. Tragically, women were not even viewed as independent individuals, on the contrary, they were viewed as “properties” owned by men. It was widely believed that education was not appropriate for women, and being a daughter, a mother and a wife should be their primary roles. They were expected to take good care of their family, and also to showcase a certain sense of sexual attractiveness. A major challenge for women in the middle ages appeared at this point, which was the conflict between the desire of acquiring knowledge and the restrictions of strong social norms. However, I’m glad to notice that some women had figured out a way to overcome this kind of challenge. Speaking more precisely, they found a “solitude” in which their thirst for education and artistry were fulfilled. The solitude was namely the convent, which became a crucial means for women in the middle ages to receive education and to avoid roles of being wives and mothers. As the Guerrilla Girls mentioned in their book “The Guerrilla Girls’ Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art”, “They operated businesses, farmed, made tapestries, copied and illustrated manuscripts, composed and performed music. And they educated one another. Nuns wrote books on medicine, science, and sacred music. Many claimed to have mystical visions in which God spoke directly to them...The mystical experiences were lauded by the male clergy because they represented the emotional, nonrational side of the female sex” (the Guerrilla Girls, 22). Form this description, we can not only find that women in convents had strong interest in education, but also notice that they began to extract their untold thoughts, most of which were emotionally presented. This painting showing that Hildegard von Bingen (a typical nun of the period) writing the manuscripts shed light on the subject of artworks in the middle ages.

Hildegard receives a vision in the presence of her secretary Volmar and her confidante  Richardis, ca 1220-1230

Although the expected roles of women were merely domesticated roles like mothers and housewives, it is good to see that these roles were arguably changing from the renaissance to the 19^th century. Throughout this period of time, the transformation from feudalism to mercantilism and the development of capitalism began to reshape the western societies in all directions (economic, social, political, and familial relationships). During this period, more and more women were being educated and became literate thereafter, and more importantly, their self-consciousness of their gender’s identity and the pursuit of equality awoke due to the cultural influence of the renaissance, which gave rise to a shift in the subject of women artists’ artworks—they were inclined to express the vivid personality of women in their paintings. Elisabetta Siriani’ s Portia Wounding Her Thigh is a typical representative of this inclination. Whitney Chadwick gave a fairly reasonable illustration in her book “Women, Art, and Society”. As Chadwick elaborated, “Stabbing herself deeply in the thigh, Portia has to prove herself virtuous and worthy of political trust by separating herself from the rest of her sex…The composition reinforces Portia’s removal from the world of women. She is physically separated from the women who spin and gossip in another room, betraying their sex by talk” (Chadwick, 101). In this painting, Portia, the main character, symbolized a woman’s masculinity, which was strongly against the society’s stereotypes of women, and by doing so, she meant to fight against the cliché that women were too weak to keep a secret safely, and to fight for a higher social recognition of women—which was still restricted in the renaissance. Unquestionably, the vivid personality of a woman was brilliantly shown in this painting.   

Elisabetta Siriani Portia Wounding Her Thigh 1664

Lilly Martin Spencer We Both Must Fade 1869

The artworks created in the 19^th century showing women’s struggle in a fancy and detailed way are my personal favorite. This kind of paintings pinpointed the challenges that women were facing in that period, and they revealed the tragic nature of women’s roles by depicting their hardships. Take the example of “We Both Must Fade” by Lilly Martin Spencer: a gorgeous lady wearing beautiful vintage dress and jewelries stood before a mirror, thinking that her beauty would fade in the end anyway, just like the rose in her hand. The jewelries in this painting symbolized dowries, and the facial expression of the woman character showed her dismay of the fact that women could not take control of their own lives. Another painting titled “Nameless and Friendless” by Emily Mary Osborn depicted a despairing scene in which a single woman (who’s also an artist) was treated impolitely and objectified by other men in an art gallery. The dark color and strange expressions of the characters depicted in the painting  presented the challenges that women encountered, and the subject of which revealed the truth that women were still restricted in their social status and being treated unequally.

Emily Mary Osborn Nameless and Friendless 1857

Works cited:

Whitney Chadwick, Women, Art and Society. London: Thames & Hudson, 2007.

Guerrilla Girls, The Guerrilla Girls’ Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 1998.