Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Based on sources in Genesis and Plato's Symposium, the androygyne during Early Modern France was a means of expressing the full potential of humans made in the image of God. This book documents and comments on the range of references to the androgyne in the writings of poets, philosophers, courtiers, and women in positions of political power.
Synopsis
In the Renaissance, the androygyne - based on sources in Genesis and Plato's Symposium, understood to be connected-was a means of expressing the full potential of humans made in the image of God. Discussing the androygyne within the context of the visual, literary, and political, this book explores the androgyne as it was understood in early modern France. More specifically, Rothstein documents the range of uses of the androgyne in the thought of poets, philosophers, courtiers, and women in positions of political power and its ultimate connection to gender construction during the European Renaissance. As the book moves from examining the sources of the androgyne to increasingly contextualized instances of their use, Rothstein highlights specific manifestations of the androgyne as a powerful yet enigmatic literary metaphor, as well as an instrument of action in the world.