Early Modern Notions of Women: Contradictory Views on Women as Healers

Abstract

This chapter will survey the varying societal views of women and their roles with respect to how these affected the prospects of women healers. Men contributed to the debate concerning women from many different perspectives — biological, theological, legal and philosophical. It is the more scientific views that are the focus here. Questions raised concerned to what extent women were capable of practising medicine, and if they were, was it anyway an appropriate role for them. To what extent did women’s biological and, by extension, societal constructions preclude them from the healing arts? In order to respond to these questions, we must turn our attention back to the Classical era when the debate on the nature of women and their appropriate roles originated.¹