Hofstra University hosted Nuria Silleras-Fernandez, associate professor of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Colorado at Boulder, for a lecture on gendered emotions in 15th, 16th and 17th century Iberia on Wednesday, Mar. 4.
The event, which sought to examine the intersections between gender, power, emotions and derogatory labels, was hosted in partnership with the department of Romance Languages and Literatures and the Hofstra University Cultural Center.
Fernández began her talk by explaining that this niche topic, in combination with limited and biased sources, makes for a very long researching process. All supporting information is based on published chronicles written by men during medieval times.
After posing some leading rhetorical questions, Fernandez illustrated how specific female historical figures used different methods to escape from unwanted subjugation to men.
Isabel of Portugal, queen of Castille during the 15th century, is historically depicted as mentally unstable. Fernandez suspects this is due to a combination of prolonged grief from her husband's death and postpartum depression after the birth of her first daughter. Fernandez also believes that the young widow used her illness to escape the expectations of her social circle and instead do as she pleased.
Fernandez invited the attendees to rethink cultural conceptions surrounding insanity, grief and power. She drew attention to how ritualistic our current understanding of loss-induced sorrow actually is, emphasizing that mourning practices vary across different societies, social classes and time periods. With regards to “gender performativity,” Fernández underlined the obstacles women, particularly those in power, face.
“The problem with women is excess,” Fernandez said. “Women are always seen as excessive, that’s why they thought that they couldn't rule.”
Evelyn Mejia, a freshman marketing major, agreed. “In history, and even now, women are viewed as overly emotional. How can you say women can’t rule if you haven’t seen one rule yet?” she questioned. “A lot of people look down on women and think we can’t be leaders.”
History professor Simon Doubleday had similar thoughts. He pointed to the fact that the “emotional behavior of women, particularly those in power, remains a public issue.” He specifically mentioned recent politics, referencing Senator Elizabeth Warren’s campaign in the presidential race. “Equivalently powerful women in the 15th and 16th centuries were praised or condemned for similar reasons,” he said. “Power is invoked to condemn or praise emotional behavior.”
“It put a lot into perspective,” said senior psychology major Michelle Beau. She also connected the lecture to her sorcery and witchcraft class. “Gender had a really big role in determining who was accused of being [a] witch.”
Fernandez also commented on Beatriz de Silva, the lady-in-waiting for Isabel of Portugal’s daughter. It is stated in many different literary chronicles that Saint Beatriz was considered extremely beautiful, leading Isabel of Aragon to feel jealous over the King’s interest in her. While Fernandez does not personally find this myth to be true, it has also been written that the Queen locked Beatriz in a trunk for over three days, where she was visited by the Virgin Mary. From then on, Beatriz devoted her life to religious contemplation before being canonized as a saint. Fernandez suggested that, similarly to Isabel of Portugal, Beatriz de Silva “wanted to be independent. She was not subject to the church’s authority.” Both women “escaped the royal court and lived in seclusion. They took control over their lives,” she concluded.
Sophie Ramirez, a junior criminology major, emphasized the lecture’s relevance in light of Women's History Month. She said she was not surprised by the content of the lecture, and remarked on the fact that the United States still has not had a female president: “We still have gender roles that people don't want to admit. We assume we are past that and we are not. If we don’t change now, it's just going to keep going.”
