‘The Man Sterne, Strong, Bould . . . The Woman Weake, Fearfull, Faire’: Sir Thomas Smith’s Account of the Patriarchal Family

This article examines Sir Thomas Smith’s account of the nature of women and the patriarchal household in early modern England. It focuses on two texts, Dialogue on the Queen’s Marriage and De Republica Anglorum . They have markedly different theoretical emphases attributable to their divergent aims. The Dialogue is a direct intervention in the contentious political matter of Queen Elizabeth I’s marriage while De Republica attempts to precisely depict England’s institutional structure. Both works, viewed through the prism of the question of women’s social roles and the character of the household, ultimately underscore the overall economic, secular and rational orientation of Smith’s political theory. However, they also highlight his unexamined assumptions concerning women’s nature and capacities, as well as his misrepresentation of the economic functions of the household, and women’s central role therein.