The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 8, Number 2, Winter 2019 | Page 58

The Saber
write about the “woman question.”
However, Isotta chose neither.
Some women who did not want
to enter conventual life or marry, like
Isotta, were called tertiaries or holy
women. Holy women made vows comparable
to a nun, but they were reversible,
simpler, and more personal. They
made no permanent vows, followed
some of the Benedictine Rules, supported
themselves, and interacted with
the world, while remaining celibate.
That allowed her to leave conventual
life and re-enter society, if she wished,
with her chastity intact. In addition,
as a holy woman, she would have been
allowed to study Latin. Moreover, she
would not have been subjected to a
man, thus giving her some control over
her life. Since Isotta had no desire to
marry and be under the authority of a
husband nor did she want to be subjected
to a father superior as a nun, and
since her culture could not accept her
as an unmarried intellectual, especially
as one who was claimed as unchaste, it
can only be supposed that the only path
left for her, in which she could continue
her pursuit as a humanist scholar without
further condemnation, was that of
a holy woman. As a holy woman, Isotta
could choose to live like a nun and continue
her pursuit of humanist studies
while proving that she was not a threat
as a learned lady. She could also prove
that she was chaste without being condemned
by society.
In 1441, Isotta abandoned her
pursuit of secular humanist studies,
took a pledge of virginity, devoted herself
to God, and studied sacred texts, yet
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