Introduction

Abstract

The introduction has the twofold purpose of situating the book theoretically and providing necessary historical background. It begins by discussing the theoretical issues involved in public–private relationships, using in particular the work of Michael McKeon and Jürgen Habermas to explore the links between the political, social, and economic developments of the seventeenth century and the increased separation of public and private, along with the development of a new ideology of domesticity. The chapter goes on to explore ideas of domesticity and the opportunities available for women in both countries for education and literacy. Specifically, the chapter describes the ways in which the vast social, cultural, and political shifts in conceptions of public and private enabled women to contribute to public discourse in new ways, but also confined them more forcefully to the newly conceived household. The book works towards an understanding of the combined effect of such opening up and shutting down of the nascent public sphere to women on early modern women writers.