A Merry Dialogue Declaringe the Properties of Shrowde Shrews and Honest Wives

Erasmus, Desiderius, 1469-1536Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.0

Word count: 35K words
Chapters: 4

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.A Merry Dialogue Declaringe the Properties of Shrowde Shrews and Honest WivesAuthor: Erasmus, Desiderius, 1469-1536,Language: English, Class: PA: Language and Literatures: Classical Languages and Literature, Release Date: Dec 7, 2004

Editor's review

This is a short dialogue by Erasmus, constructed as a debate between the "shrew" and the "honest wife," continuing Renaissance humanist reflection on marriage, gender, and the order of speech. The text is brief, yet it blends satire, irony, and moral exhortation, so that reading it one feels both the sharpness of debate and the limitations of its era. Its value lies in offering a window onto sixteenth-century views of marriage and rhetorical tradition, not in providing marriage advice to be adopted directly. The dialogue form lets viewpoints emerge through clash; readers may note who speaks, who is mocked, and whether a conclusion is actually reached. It suits close reading by those interested in intellectual history, rhetoric, or gender studies, and also works as classroom discussion material. A suggested approach is to read through once to grasp the argument's structure, then return to key passages to distinguish irony from direct statement.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Renaissance humanism and Erasmus's thought
Students of marriage history, gender ideas, or early European rhetorical tradition
Teachers and students needing a short dialogue text for classroom discussion
Close-reading readers who enjoy satirical debate and are willing to parse layers of irony

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking modern marriage advice or a practical guide to family relationships
Readers who find the gender stereotypes in early texts hard to accept and are unwilling to analyze historical context
Readers who prefer plot-driven narrative and lack patience for dialogic expository prose

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp both sides' positions, then a second time marking irony and turns.
Understanding Erasmus's satirical tradition beforehand helps distinguish straight talk from ironic inversion.
Read alongside other contemporary texts on the ideal wife for comparison.
The text is short; read it in one sitting before taking notes to avoid fragmented understanding.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this dialogue a serious marriage guide?

It should not be treated as a practical guide. It is closer to ironic moral debate, with views emerging through dialogue and including irony and exaggeration. Readers should attend to rhetorical strategy and historical context rather than taking any speaker's words as the author's final verdict.

What does "Shrowde" in the title mean?

It is an early modern spelling corresponding to modern English shrew, meaning a sharp-tongued, quarrelsome person, often used of a so-called scolding wife. The title as a whole announces a light dialogue on the respective properties of shrews and honest wives.

Can I read it without a Renaissance background?

Yes, but depth of understanding will be affected. It is advisable to first learn Erasmus's basic stance and the general background of sixteenth-century marriage debate, then approach the text; this makes it easier to distinguish layers of satire and exhortation.

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About the author

Erasmus, Desiderius, 1469-1536 Author

Erasmus, Desiderius (1469-1536) was a major Renaissance humanist known for his Latin writings. The collection holds 17 of his works, including In Praise of Folly (appearing under various titles such as De Lof der Zotheid), The Colloquies of Erasmus, and Selections from Erasmus: Principally from his Epistles. His writings often employ satire, using the persona of Folly to critique the abuses of the church and society, while his colloquies use dialogue to explore ethics, education, and social manners in a witty and argumentative style. These themes and techniques gave his works lasting influence in the spread of humanism. Public information on his life, nationality, and specific experiences is limited, so no speculation is offered here.