عنوان

The lives of women in early modern England and the Ottoman Empire

TLets774083

The lives of women in early modern England and the Ottoman Empire

[Thesis]

Jasdanwalla, Faaeza

Rathbone, Richard John Alex Ruben ; Stöber, Karen

Aberystwyth University

2007

Thesis (Ph.D.)

2007

The focus of this doctoral thesis is a study of the lives, roles and status of women in early modern England and the Ottoman Empire in the early modern period. In an attempt at investigating the position that women enjoyed in the early modern period, the study focuses on women's status in the religious, political, social, artistic and literary spheres. The thesis concludes with an analysis of all of the above information, resulting in the parallels that can be drawn between the two cultures as regards women and gender issues. An attempt is made at investigating possible causes for the similarities as well as the differences; the extent to which these can be attributed to biased or inaccurate accounts, as well as the extent to which these similarities and distinctions are based on religious doctrines and/or cultural influences. The study also aims to assess women's participation in the male-dominated public sphere essentially .from within their relegated private sphere. My contribution to the study of women's history in both historical regions therefore is to provide a comparative element. Instead of exploring a certain aspect of English or Ottoman women's history separately, I endeavour to study the existing information cross-culturally with the intention of picking out not only the dissimilarities between English and Ottoman women's lives but also try to determine common ground between the two cultures, in an attempt at presenting a more holistic understanding of women's experiences. Although Anglo-Ottoman relations have hitherto been researched in political, commercial, economic and cultural terms, it has largely been male-focused. This study therefore, attempts to examine Anglo-Ottoman relations and perceptions with women as their focus, looking at both English male perceptions and opinions of Ottoman women, and English women's first-hand accounts and interactions with Ottoman women. These perceptions and interactions will then further be discussed along with the independent studies of Ottoman women based on Ottoman archives so as to try and determine the reliability of some of these perceptions and accounts. This results in the question of whether the actual practise of women's roles coincided with their normative position and status in the Bible and the Qur'an. This issue therefore forms an important part of the investigation and analysis of English and Ottoman women's social roles.

Jasdanwalla, Faaeza

Rathbone, Richard John Alex Ruben ; Stöber, Karen

Aberystwyth University

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y