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Books by Emily Colbert Cairns
Hispanic Issues Online, 2020
Confined Women: The Walls of Female Space in Early Modern Spain unveils the gendered limits of sp... more Confined Women: The Walls of Female Space in Early Modern Spain unveils the gendered limits of spaces and places of Iberian women of the early modern period. Positioned within uniquely Spanish discussions on religiosity, medicine, prayer and imprisonment, this volume examines women’s space with the intent of defining both the limitations and mobility within a gendered social order. Drawing upon literary texts and historical treatises, among other sources, a variety of questions are highlighted: How were women’s bodies, minds and language monitored? How did women interact with ideals of the “virtuous woman” or the “perfect wife”? What did the physical, metaphorical and emotional barriers of their enclosures look like? These topics of female enclosure and social anxiety in the early modern period continue to resonate in the present. As such, this volume invites comparative analyses as we reconceptualize women’s space along the political and social frontiers experienced in the twenty-first century.
Papers by Emily Colbert Cairns
Religions, Apr 30, 2024
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies
abstract: Wet nursing was a central industry in the early modern period. Its widespread use can b... more abstract: Wet nursing was a central industry in the early modern period. Its widespread use can be seen throughout society, from royal and elite babies down to the lowest ranks, including orphans. Infant feeding and nutrition were a significant source of debate; before the advent of formula, breastmilk was the only option for young babies. Throughout the early modern period, humanists wrote about the benefits of mother's milk over that of a wet nurse. Sevillano humanist Luis Brochero echoes the preference for mother's milk and simultaneously demands reform for orphan care in his 1629 Discurso breve ( Brief Treatise ). His focus on this marginalized community is unique within the discourse of didactic texts about breastfeeding. In order to determine if any of the theoretical proposals endorsed by Brochero were implemented in practice, this article analyzes the seventeenth-century archival collection of Pagos a las amas ( Payments for Wet Nurses ) and the foundational Libro de...
La corónica: A Journal of Medieval Hispanic Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, Jun 1, 2021
ehumanista Journal of Iberian Studies, 2015
espanolAnalisis de documentos inquisitoriales pertenecientes al desarrollo de redes criptojudias ... more espanolAnalisis de documentos inquisitoriales pertenecientes al desarrollo de redes criptojudias en la Nueva Espana en el siglo XVII EnglishAnalysis of inquisitorial documents pertaining to the spread and dissemination of crypto-jewish networks in New Spain in the 17th century
As the story of Esther is removed from Iberia, relocated, and retold within the Portuguese Commun... more As the story of Esther is removed from Iberia, relocated, and retold within the Portuguese Community in the diaspora, Poema de la Reyna Ester (1627) by Joao Pinto Delgado betrays a longing for the homeland and an exploration of the trials encountered in the diaspora by Iberian Jewish conversos. In this chapter, I explore the creation of a national identity that existed beyond borders and geographical determinations and instead exists in the language and literature of a diasporic community. Delgado’s poem carefully upholds and celebrates Esther as a heroine and savior of the Jewish people.
In the last chapter, I highlight the role that Queen Esther had for crypto-Jewish women in the di... more In the last chapter, I highlight the role that Queen Esther had for crypto-Jewish women in the diaspora. Isabel de Carvajal and her sister Leonor de Carvajal lived in New Spain and were central figures in upholding and furthering the Jewish faith. I analyze the manuscripts from their second Inquisition trial (1595–1596) to show that crypto-Judaism is a matriarchal religion. In this chapter, we see the practical accommodations of the Esther text for real crypto-Jewish women including material practices of the body and the home.
In this chapter, I compare two types of performance: the series of tapestries “Esther and Ahasuer... more In this chapter, I compare two types of performance: the series of tapestries “Esther and Ahasueros” (1490) displayed in the Palacio de la Seo in Zaragoza, Spain, and the two Iberian autos sacramentales: Auto del Rey Asuero quando desconpuso a Basti and Auto del Rey Asuero quando ahorco a Aman (1501). The central focus of these retellings was to shape the consciousness of a populace. These texts do not celebrate Esther, instead they focus on the wrongdoings of non-gender compliant women and punish those who do not respect the power of the king and his empire.
Queen Esther stands out as an important figure for subjects of the Iberian Empire in the Early Mo... more Queen Esther stands out as an important figure for subjects of the Iberian Empire in the Early Modern period. Esther bridged religious divisions in the context of institutionalized separation furthered by the limpieza de sangre statutes and the Inquisition. She represented different ideas to varying groups; to conversos and crypto-Jews, Esther was the savior of the Jewish people. She was a female heroine and model for the men and women who passed as members of the majority while also living as othered citizens of Inquisitorial Spain. For Catholic Spaniards, Esther could be interpreted as a prefiguration of the Virgin Mary; Esther who saved the Jews from Haman is comparable with the Virgin who saved the human race from the devil. (1) At the same time, Esther resonated with the theorization of women by Early Modern scholars such as, Juan Luis Vives and Fray Luis de Leon, who categorized women as obedient, silent and decorous elements of society. I will explore the multiple characteris...
In this chapter, I explore three different Iberian manifestations of Queen Esther. The model text... more In this chapter, I explore three different Iberian manifestations of Queen Esther. The model text and most well-known is La Hermosa Ester (1610), written by renowned Golden Age playwright Lope Felix de Vega Carpio. This text sets the stage for Iberian representation of the Esther story in this period and I compare it with Felipe Godinez’s two texts, written on either side of his incarceration and Inquisition trial: “La Reyna Ester” (1613) and “Aman y Mardoqueo” (1628) reflect the “corrective behavior” that he received by the Inquisition.
Esther in Early Modern Iberia and the Sephardic Diaspora
Cervantes: Bulletin of the Cervantes Society of America, 2016
Hispanic Issues Online, 2020
Confined Women: The Walls of Female Space in Early Modern Spain unveils the gendered limits of sp... more Confined Women: The Walls of Female Space in Early Modern Spain unveils the gendered limits of spaces and places of Iberian women of the early modern period. Positioned within uniquely Spanish discussions on religiosity, medicine, prayer and imprisonment, this volume examines women’s space with the intent of defining both the limitations and mobility within a gendered social order. Drawing upon literary texts and historical treatises, among other sources, a variety of questions are highlighted: How were women’s bodies, minds and language monitored? How did women interact with ideals of the “virtuous woman” or the “perfect wife”? What did the physical, metaphorical and emotional barriers of their enclosures look like? These topics of female enclosure and social anxiety in the early modern period continue to resonate in the present. As such, this volume invites comparative analyses as we reconceptualize women’s space along the political and social frontiers experienced in the twenty-first century.
Religions, Apr 30, 2024
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies
abstract: Wet nursing was a central industry in the early modern period. Its widespread use can b... more abstract: Wet nursing was a central industry in the early modern period. Its widespread use can be seen throughout society, from royal and elite babies down to the lowest ranks, including orphans. Infant feeding and nutrition were a significant source of debate; before the advent of formula, breastmilk was the only option for young babies. Throughout the early modern period, humanists wrote about the benefits of mother's milk over that of a wet nurse. Sevillano humanist Luis Brochero echoes the preference for mother's milk and simultaneously demands reform for orphan care in his 1629 Discurso breve ( Brief Treatise ). His focus on this marginalized community is unique within the discourse of didactic texts about breastfeeding. In order to determine if any of the theoretical proposals endorsed by Brochero were implemented in practice, this article analyzes the seventeenth-century archival collection of Pagos a las amas ( Payments for Wet Nurses ) and the foundational Libro de...
La corónica: A Journal of Medieval Hispanic Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, Jun 1, 2021
ehumanista Journal of Iberian Studies, 2015
espanolAnalisis de documentos inquisitoriales pertenecientes al desarrollo de redes criptojudias ... more espanolAnalisis de documentos inquisitoriales pertenecientes al desarrollo de redes criptojudias en la Nueva Espana en el siglo XVII EnglishAnalysis of inquisitorial documents pertaining to the spread and dissemination of crypto-jewish networks in New Spain in the 17th century
As the story of Esther is removed from Iberia, relocated, and retold within the Portuguese Commun... more As the story of Esther is removed from Iberia, relocated, and retold within the Portuguese Community in the diaspora, Poema de la Reyna Ester (1627) by Joao Pinto Delgado betrays a longing for the homeland and an exploration of the trials encountered in the diaspora by Iberian Jewish conversos. In this chapter, I explore the creation of a national identity that existed beyond borders and geographical determinations and instead exists in the language and literature of a diasporic community. Delgado’s poem carefully upholds and celebrates Esther as a heroine and savior of the Jewish people.
In the last chapter, I highlight the role that Queen Esther had for crypto-Jewish women in the di... more In the last chapter, I highlight the role that Queen Esther had for crypto-Jewish women in the diaspora. Isabel de Carvajal and her sister Leonor de Carvajal lived in New Spain and were central figures in upholding and furthering the Jewish faith. I analyze the manuscripts from their second Inquisition trial (1595–1596) to show that crypto-Judaism is a matriarchal religion. In this chapter, we see the practical accommodations of the Esther text for real crypto-Jewish women including material practices of the body and the home.
In this chapter, I compare two types of performance: the series of tapestries “Esther and Ahasuer... more In this chapter, I compare two types of performance: the series of tapestries “Esther and Ahasueros” (1490) displayed in the Palacio de la Seo in Zaragoza, Spain, and the two Iberian autos sacramentales: Auto del Rey Asuero quando desconpuso a Basti and Auto del Rey Asuero quando ahorco a Aman (1501). The central focus of these retellings was to shape the consciousness of a populace. These texts do not celebrate Esther, instead they focus on the wrongdoings of non-gender compliant women and punish those who do not respect the power of the king and his empire.
Queen Esther stands out as an important figure for subjects of the Iberian Empire in the Early Mo... more Queen Esther stands out as an important figure for subjects of the Iberian Empire in the Early Modern period. Esther bridged religious divisions in the context of institutionalized separation furthered by the limpieza de sangre statutes and the Inquisition. She represented different ideas to varying groups; to conversos and crypto-Jews, Esther was the savior of the Jewish people. She was a female heroine and model for the men and women who passed as members of the majority while also living as othered citizens of Inquisitorial Spain. For Catholic Spaniards, Esther could be interpreted as a prefiguration of the Virgin Mary; Esther who saved the Jews from Haman is comparable with the Virgin who saved the human race from the devil. (1) At the same time, Esther resonated with the theorization of women by Early Modern scholars such as, Juan Luis Vives and Fray Luis de Leon, who categorized women as obedient, silent and decorous elements of society. I will explore the multiple characteris...
In this chapter, I explore three different Iberian manifestations of Queen Esther. The model text... more In this chapter, I explore three different Iberian manifestations of Queen Esther. The model text and most well-known is La Hermosa Ester (1610), written by renowned Golden Age playwright Lope Felix de Vega Carpio. This text sets the stage for Iberian representation of the Esther story in this period and I compare it with Felipe Godinez’s two texts, written on either side of his incarceration and Inquisition trial: “La Reyna Ester” (1613) and “Aman y Mardoqueo” (1628) reflect the “corrective behavior” that he received by the Inquisition.
Esther in Early Modern Iberia and the Sephardic Diaspora
Cervantes: Bulletin of the Cervantes Society of America, 2016
Chasqui Revista De Literatura Latinoamericana, Nov 1, 2013
Renaissance Society of America, Puerto Rico., 2023
Round Table on the forthcoming edited volume: "Early Modern Maternities" Chapter includes discu... more Round Table on the forthcoming edited volume: "Early Modern Maternities"
Chapter includes discussion of the lives and careers of Ana Heylan, Maria Eugenia de Beer, Luisa Roldán and Luisa Valdés, all mothers and practising artists.