Essay On Hortensia And Roman Women

Many great women writers during the early thirteenth century were oppressed from expressing their thoughts through writings and by word. Now, only small portions of their works remain to this day. Greek and Roman women writers both met and challenged social expectations. One such author is the Roman women writer, Hortensia.
The Greek and Roman writers met many of the social expectations of the time. Hrotsvit wrote about the battle between the good of Christ and the evil of Satan. Many of the women during this oppressed time, did not write personal writings. They wrote honor poems of others of higher powers such as God or Zeus. For example, the Dutch writer, Hadewijch, wrote Stanzaic Poems expressing love’s relationships with God. Women writers during this time where very private in their writings, expressing few opinions or feelings. Many of their kept writings are very technical and straightforward. Although many women kept their works private, some brave writers stepped into the …show more content…
The women of Rome were outraged having being taxed on a war they had no choice or control over. They chose Hortensia to deliver their concerns to the triumvirs. Hortensia not only publically proclaimed the women's concerns but also questioned the government on the double standards of taxing women but excluding them of public office positions. Hortensia opened her speech with an apology, for her inappropriate behavior speaking to the public. Along with public speaking, political action by women was looked down upon and thought of as a place for only for men. Ironically, after her apologetic opening statement, Hortensia continued to speak. Her political statements and actions pushed the societal norms at that time to positively impacted women greatly. Hortensia both met and challenged the expectations of a women during a time when women were not seen as