Protestant leaders grounded women’s subordination in the order of nature itself

Evidence

John Calvin, prominent in the Reformation on the Continent, argued in his “Commentary on Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians” that when a woman assumed authority and a higher place in the natural order than had been assigned to her, she would be discovered in her insubordination by the angels. The man should function as the ruling intellectual head, while the woman is the body that assists him. Calvin’s “Commentary on the Book of Genesis” stated: “The order of nature implies that the woman should be the helper of the man,” and “She should study to keep this divinely appointed order.” Eve’s punishment for her sin was to be cast into servitude and subjected to her husband’s authority and will, whereas before the fall hers had been “a liberal and gentle subjection.” — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, 597

Categorization

• XREF: This naturalized hierarchy connects to Merchant’s core thesis and to Bodin/microcosm-macrocosm arguments; also resonates with the polyad’s law/institution strand. — connects to: Reformation upheavals intensified the perception that women’s nature required subjugation. — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology,…, 558; Women rank lower than men because their reproductive roles are tied to nature — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology,…, 591; Christian doctrine institutionalized women’s subordination despite early egalitarian impulses — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 204 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Christian doctrine institutionalized women’s subordination despite early egalitarian impulses #corroborates (0.78) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 204
• Patriarchal mythology projects its own values onto woman and calls imposed immanence her nature #expands (0.72) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 655