Motherhood and the Politics of Family Decisions in Early Modern Italy

Abstract

This article explores the negotiations that occurred in patrician households over the fate of children in early modern Italian society. The decision between marriage and convent life for daughters could greatly impact the financial situation, political standing, and social status of these patrician families. The correspondence of the Venetian Grimani and Florentine Ricasoli and Rucellai families suggests that women used the rhetoric and status of motherhood to shape family decisions. Daughters also used maternal authority to influence their own circumstances. The formation of these female networks enabled women to negotiate authority in early modern Italy.