Don’t You Now See the Excellence of Our Sex? Maria Gondola and Defence of Women’s Rights in 16th
Don’t You Now See the Excellence of Our Sex? Maria Gondola and Defence of Women’s Rights in 16th

Summary/Abstract: During the 16th century in Dubrovnik (Ragusa), the female voice was rarely heard in public, andwomen (especially those of higher ranks) were mainly confined to a life within the household.However, a special voice belonged to Marija Gundulić (Maria Gondola), who wrote in Italianabout the “defence of the female sex” and discussed female spirit and mind, female nature, and intellectin a dedicatory text to the book Discorsi di M. Nicolò Vito di Gozze, gentil’huomo ragugeo,Dell’Academia de gli occulti, sopra le Metheore d’Aristotele, Ridotti in dialogo & divisi in quattrogiornate, by Nikola Gučetić (Nicolò Vito di Gozze) (Venice, 1584/1585). In this paper, I focuson two versions of the text of the dedication. Written in defence of the honour of the woman poetCvijeta Zuzorić (Fiore/a Zuzzori) and women in general, Gondola criticizes the false moralityand hypocrisy of Dubrovnik society, and as such, the first version of this book was censored. Thebook was published again one year later in 1585, with a revised dedication – one and a half pagesshorter. The importance of this work is twofold. In the first place, it is the only written (or at leastpreserved) work by Gondola. Moreover, it represents the first female voice in defence of women’srights at the east shore of the Adriatic. Comparing the two versions of the book’s dedication, thispaper will attempt to answer questions regarding the importance of women’s authorship, and theimportant influence of power and censorship in the 16th century Dubrovnik.

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