ABSTRACT
In the legacies, maternal authority is firmly grounded in the body. Writing mothers take advantage of early modern theories of natural maternal instinct, using the logic of biology to lay claim to a vital link with their children. In part, legacy writers reconfigure the humility topos through the perspective of maternal status. Legacy writers further bolster their authority by writing to children, whom they believe to be highly impressionable, susceptible to both external and internal corrupting forces. Because they generally assess all human beings as inherently sinful, they argue that firm discipline is necessary to prevent their beloved children from succumbing to their own natures; children, in turn, are duty-bound to obey. Juan Luis Vives recognizes the power of the early modern mother the power to mold children into 'good or badde' creatures at will. Writers of mothers' legacies also invoke a host of bodily based emotions as a way to justify their writing projects.
