The purpose of this paper is to explain why women’s social and economic status declined during the Italian Renaissance. The Italian Renaissance was a period of great cultural change and achievement that marked the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe, however, this time period did not shine a light on any accomplishments or equal rights of women. As the culture of the middle Ages declined and Early Modern period characterized by a revival of humanistic ideals of the Renaissance commenced, the society of Western Europe underwent many changes. Different attitudes emerged concerning cultural values, and the medieval feudal way of life that has often been interpreted as being antiquated and obsolete gave way to more modern political, …show more content…
A woman was controlled by her parents throughout her childhood, and then handed directly into the hands of a husband, whom she most likely had no chosen herself. Women who did not marry for whatever reason were likewise granted no independence of thought and action, living under subjugation in the home of a male relative or in a convent, where a woman could become a nun, the only career accessible to the gender. Women were frequently discouraged from participating in the arts and sciences, and thus the world will never know the full literacy and artistic potential of an age in which the spirit of expressions was perhaps the defining characteristic. Only women of the highest class were given the chance to distinguish themselves, and this is only rarely. For the most part, the wives of powerful men were regulated to the tasks of sewing, cooking, and entertaining. In history, women provide no more than a backdrop to the political and social story of the Renaissance. For example, one can find very little written about the women of the Medici line, though there must have been women if the line were to continue. Thus, one conducts that even access to the most powerful men in the world did not necessarily allow a woman to distinguish and express