Customer Reviews

Declamation on the Nobility and Preeminence of the Female Sex (The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe)

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You really cannot judge a book by its cover, or for that manner, by its editor - I was expecting a typical piece of feminist polemic, but found myself reading a book that belongs in a seminary. I shouldn't have been surprised, given that Agrippa was a Catholic Humanist living in the Renaissance. Whatever controversial views he held about Christian doctrine would be considered negligible from an orthodox standpoint compared to the views certain Christian denominations would uphold today. In any case, the "Declamation" reads like a Biblical exegesis on the role of women - it purports to cover the importance and superiority of the female sex in Greek and Roman history as well, and it does that to a point, but the main arguments are reinforced by passages from the Old and New Testaments. It is eminently readable; even the footnotes that makes up more than 60% of the text are well worth reading, for the style as well as for shedding light on the many obscure (and incorrect) references which must have been common knowledge to Agrippa's contemporary readers. Lovers of classical literature will be delighted to find so many familiar names and titles.

The only complaint I have is the editorial introduction that is quick to lay the blame on the present subjection of women on Greek, Roman, Hebrew and Christian sources. Concerning Islamic, African, Asian, and aboriginal sources, or other non-western countries where women still do not enjoy the same rights in Europe and North America, the editor is silent. Misogyny was not isolated to western civilization any more than slavery was, yet the editor seems oblivious to this fact in his desire to discredit the Judeo-Christian worldview. It's ironic that the scriptures that Albert Rabil (the editor) condemns for propogating misogynistic attitudes throughout the centuries are the very same scriptures that Agrippa uses in his "Declamation" to support his arguments that women are equal and/or superior to men. The debate over the role of women is not between church and state, or Aristotelians and Thomists scholar, or Ancient versus modern views about women; but between different interpretations of Biblical texts.

Its important to keep in mind that Agrippa was no feminist; nor did he intend to challenge the status quo regarding the treatment of women; he wrote the book out of a love of paradox; his first and foremost reason for writing the "Declamation" was a desire to be anti-thetical; not because he felt sympathy for women, but out of the intellectual belief that championing the reciprocal side of any argument - or in this matter the prevailing interpretation of Christian doctrine - can lead a rational thinking person to endorse the contrary view with equal confidence that his position is the right one.

As for the substance of Agrippas's "arguments" on the nobility and superiority of women - there is little that can stand serious examination. His "Declamation" is riddled with inconsistencies, omissions and outright lies that would cause him to be laughed out of a courtroom or tribunal halfway into his speech. That said, the "Declamation" remains a pleasant surprise; its richness of references makes for slow, steady reading, but the translator's elegant writing style makes the experience an enjoyable one.