From Amazon.com: Women in the Discourse of Early Modern Spain addresses the important methodological and conceptual issues surrounding the lives, works, and representations of women in the literature of Early Modern Spain. It offers a cross-disciplinary approach to the study of feminine identity and discourse both in the writings of both women and men. The essays move beyond the theme of women and literature in Early Modern Spain to reassess the economic, legal, political, and religious systems that articulate the parameters of women's access to power and self-determination in the past as well as in the present. Written by internationally known contributors, the discussions treat those writers of Early Modern Spain who have a broad appeal to today's readers and critics: the major authors of Spain's literary canon, as well as several authors who have recently inspired recognition and keen interest.