Women Thieves in Early Modern England: What Can We Learn from Narrative Sources?

The purpose of this paper on women thieves in the early modern period is to show what remains to be learnt from narrative sources. It starts from the conclusions of quantitative research on the topic to point out the limits of this approach and moves on to arguing that narrative sources such as the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEtudes epistémè Vol. 14; no. 14
Main Author Dubois-Nayt, Armel
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Association Études Épistémè 01.10.2008
Institut du Monde Anglophone
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Summary:The purpose of this paper on women thieves in the early modern period is to show what remains to be learnt from narrative sources. It starts from the conclusions of quantitative research on the topic to point out the limits of this approach and moves on to arguing that narrative sources such as the misogynist pamphlets of the time and rogue literature can provide insights into gender relations in the underworld. For instance, they can help us determine whether the world of thieves was innovative in its approach to gender roles. It concludes that this type of criminal behaviour did not empower women and that gender hierarchy was even stiffer in the criminal world than in the rest of society.
ISSN:1634-0450
1634-0450
DOI:10.4000/episteme.738