Bøger i Essays serien

If you desire attention, adrenaline, or the adoration of the world; if you are embarrassed by your coat, or if you are tempted to leave it hanging in the back of your wardrobe closet behind your more contemporary outfits, then attune your ear to our Father, Who quietly encourages you: "Be still, and know that I am God" (D&C 101:16). These essays are intended to make it easier for you to charge your coat with enthusiasm, for the fire of God will be manifest to you by holy angels whose own garments have become pure and clean as the result of their comprehensive understanding of the power of the Atonement. This transformative process promises to likewise endow you with countenances that have become as lightning, and with glory beyond description.

The three essays in this book place more emphasis on the role of early modern women in the Ottoman imperial harem and their counterparts in Italy, influential wives and nuns. The discussion also engages in the correspondence between Safiye Sultan and Elizabeth I establishing connections between the Ottoman and English royal households further reinforcing the legitimising of female sovereignty during the Renaissance. The predominant focus on the patronage of Renaissance women in asserting their sovereignty and challenging the patriarchal norms of early modern societies underpin the significance of the role of influential women in Ottoman Istanbul, Italy and England. I argue this through the feminist paradigm and the idea of mimicry put forward by the French philosopher Luce Irigaray. The importance of this demonstrates women were not silent, but active participants in early modern societies in Europe and the Ottoman Empire.