La grammaire est une femme

Grammar is a Woman. In the Margin of the Treatise Il Merito Delle Donne (1600) by Moderata Fonte Summary: Moderata Fonte’s treatise, published in 1600, is one of the last, but also one of the most interesting publications of the Italian ‘querelle des femmes’ current of the 16th century. In this declining period, a difficult one for the free expression of female creativity, it presents an interesting proposal for a vision of the place of women in Venetian upper middle-class society of the time. The polylogue of six women, taking place in the convention of a private conversation in an enclosed garden, allows for the free presentation of diverse views. The oratorical and grammatical issues, appearing towards the end of the work, are a perverse attempt to show the inappropriate behavior of men towards women and the moral superiority of the latter through the application of skills and knowledge belonging to men. Keywords: treatise, polylogue, conversation, women’s quarrel, grammar