ABSTRACT
The greatest opportunity, from a modern perspective, that death offered to Early Modern women was the possibility that it brought with it for public expression through writing and, more particularly, through publication. In addition to the social structures upon publication that applied to both sexes, women faced particular obstacles with regard both to literacy and to publishing. Despite the fact that women did produce publishable writing, including prayers, religious meditations and translations, pious poetry and household and medical manuals, the publication of work under pseudonyms, or with no more than initials to identify the author, highlights one of the problems of research into this area: that of identifying the true author of a work. Although Early Modern women certainly produced autobiographical material, there is evidence that many women, aware of the possibility of disclosure of their diaries or other autobiographical writings posthumously and reluctant to have this happen, would destroy them in times of danger, such as approaching childbirth.
