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3308.More information
In women's didactic works from the XVth through the XVIIth century (conduct books written for princesses and noble women, instructions from mothers to daughters, devotional guides), representation functions as a mirroring effect. Women writers do not question the image of the ideal woman reflected in the « miroir des femmes » (conduct books written by men) but they stress specific virtues by which woman can regain her « dignity » which until then was reserved for men only. These women may appear to us today as shy, prudent, conservative. But in fact, their demonstration of woman's « excellence » paved the way for those who, more audacious, would claim woman's right to study.