Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Letters of the Des Roches. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 9 page research paper that discusses the published correspondence of the Dames des Roches, Madeleine and Catherine, mother and daughter French intellectuals and writers in the 16th century. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
9 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khroches.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
women could flourish intellectually was within the salon, which were semi-private venues held within the home for the "creation, recitation and writing of prose and poetry by artists of both
sexes" (Jones, 1995, p. 105). The Des Roches, Madeleine and daughter Catherine, conducted a long-running salon, from 1570 to 1587, which visiting humanists described as the "glory of Poitiers" (their
home city)(Jones, 1991, p. 239). Among the published works of the mother-and-daughter tandem are Les Missives (1586), which is a collection of their correspondence. The following examination of the letters
of Madeleine and Catherine des Roches looks at why the women published their correspondence, the Renaissance perspective on the practice of letter-writing, and what their letters convey to the modern
reader about the status of intellectual women within a male-dominated society. Ferguson (2002) describes the Des Roches as "pioneers as women humanists, poets and salon hostesses" (p. 115). According
to Jones (1995), Les Missives include letters of thanks to the townspeople of Poitiers who commissioned work from the Des Roches. Ferguson (2002) points out that the work constitutes the
first published correspondence by women in France. A small number of the letters resemble those addressed to their publisher Abel Langeier (Ferguson, 2002). These include a response to his declining
to take on a work, apologies for the lateness of a manuscript, etc.; however, the majority of the letters demonstrate the erudite and graciousness nature of the Des Roches. Ferguson
(2002) describe their most salient characteristics as "concision and an elegance that relies on wit and a well-turned phrase" (p. 115). In general, we do not know to whom
the letters were addressed or even which Des Roches authored which letter, as opening address and conclusions are excised. Collectively the letters stand as "examples of the kind of civil
...