“La vida de la preñada, es vida previlegiada.” Views on pregnancy and the female gender in Iberian literature (16th-17th centuries)

Abstract

This article analyses the ways in which issues relating to pregnancy and child-birth were dealt with in Libro intitulado del parto humano (1580) by Francisco Nuñez and Diez Privilegios para mugeres preñadas (1606) by Juan Alonso de los Ruyces de Fontecha, drawing attention to the construction of a discourse that tends to praise the female gender. We will also try to highlight the dedications of these books, especially emphasizing the defense of marriage and reproduction in the context of post-Tridentine times, and the importance of safeguarding the continuity of the family line.