Plutarch's Advice to the Bride and Groom was written in a form
of a letter composed of an introduction and forty eight short chapters,
and is full of wisdom about the creation of a philosophical marriage. It is
possible to highlight the perspective of the author for marriage through
the text comprised of several excerpts and references from the Greek and
Latin literature before his age. It can be stated that Plutarch adopted the
Platonic idea that the educated woman could be equal to man, combined
woman with traditional and classic ideal and created a portrait of an
original and ideal married woman. He enriched this portrait with
comparisons and quotations of the famous men and women in Ancient
Greek and Roman world. It is not possible to show the author as a
misogynist since he meticulously defended love between women and men,
and thought of marriage as an institution based on a cooperation between
husband and wife. However, his ideal woman accepts the superiority of
man although she is smart and educated as well as being humble and
obedient. He is a unique writer as he emphasizes the importance of
marriage, love and education, especially the great importance of female
education. In this study, depending on the book named Advice to the Bride
and Groom, of which a translation is given as well, Plutarch's ideas about
how the educated women should express themselves directly and
indirectly in marriage life, especially on their moral and intellectual
skills, are to be examined. Furthermore, we are to detect whether there
is a harmony between the open expressions of the author, who is the
defender of women, and his implicit messages or not.
Primary Language | Turkish |
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Journal Section | Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | December 28, 2018 |
Published in Issue | Year 2018 |