Juan Manuel Forte
Universidad Complutense Madrid (jmfortem@ucm.es; ORCID: 0000-0003-1344- 552X).
Resisting and Fighting Aristotle: Christine de Pizan and Lucrezia Marinella.
Abstract: From the 13th century onwards, Aristotle’s authority dominated the scholastic and university spheres for several centuries. Furthermore, the Stagirite became a key reference point in discussions about biological, characterological, and moral differences between men and women. However, these differences were often perceived as biased, with several female writers criticising sexist elements in Aristotle’s works. For example, during the early Renaissance, Christine de Pizan offered a defensive argument against Aristotle, drawing mainly on her own life experience. Two centuries later, in the context of the crisis of the Aristotelian paradigm and the ‘Venetian exception’, Lucrezia Marinella was able to directly challenge Aristotelian authority, sometimes employing irony and sarcasm.
Keywords: Christine de Pizan; Lucrezia Marinella; Aristotle; Misogyny; Venetian Exception.