This thesis is an analysis of medical and popular views toward female sexuality in late seventeenth century England (1660-1696), based on the study of learned vernacular medical texts, personal sources and popular literature. In that period, women's subordinate social status to men was largely determined by their 'inferior' biology; "female illnesses" were considered to be a product of women's innate physiological 'weakness' as defined by humoral medical theory, and their reproductive organs were linked to their less restrained (than men's) sexual desires. / This research examines those medical and social ideas that defined the female sex in late seventeenth century England, in conjunction with women's own records of their experiences; it is argued that while their physiology was used to justify their inferior social status, women's degree of self-autonomy in early modern England--particularly in the area of pregnancy and childbirth--was probably far greater than would be thought from an examination of the contemporary printed sources. This thesis also demonstrates how medical and social attitudes toward women mutually reinforced the secondary position of women in that society.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.22557 |
| Date | January 1995 |
| Creators | Baird, J. Aileen |
| Contributors | Maxwell, Michael P. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Department of History.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001473860, proquestno: MM05354, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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