Roman Girlhood and the Fashioning of Femininity

Description

Elite women in the Roman world were often educated, socially prominent, and even relatively independent. Yet the social regime that ushered these same women into marriage and childbearing at an early age was remarkably restrictive. In the first book-length study of girlhood in the early Roman Empire, Lauren Caldwell investigates the reasons for this paradox. Through an examination of literary, legal, medical, and epigraphic sources, she identifies the social pressures that tended to overwhelm concerns about girls' individual health and well-being. In demonstrating how early marriage was driven by a variety of concerns, including the value placed on premarital virginity and paternal authority, this book enhances an understanding of the position of girls as they made the transition from childhood to womanhood.

Lauren Caldwell is Assistant Professor of Classical Studies at Wesleyan University, Connecticut.

'Roman Girlhood and the Fashioning of Femininity offers a sustained and subtle account of a group only glimpsed fleetingly in the ancient sources.' Eve D'Ambra, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 'Her scholarship is impressive ... This book will be of interest to those engaged more widely in women's studies as well as to those wishing to explore aspects of ancient Roman society in more depth. It is accessible and informative.' Marion Gibbs, Classics For All (www.classicsforall.org.uk) '... the study harnesses an impressive array of primary literary and epigraphic sources presented in a manner that is accessible, well written, and makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of girlhood and femininity in the Roman context ... Roman Girlhood and the Fashioning of Femininity would easily have a place on the bookshelf of undergraduates embarking on Roman history studies as well as scholars particularly interested in feminist, childhood, and sexual history during the Roman period.' Hayley Stoneham, The Journal of Dress History