Marriage And Women in Plutarch’s Coniugalia Praecepta

Plutarch's Advice to the Bride and Groom was written in a form of a letter composed of an introduction and forty eight short chapters, and is full of wisdom about the creation of a philosophical marriage. It is possible to highlight the perspective of the author for marriage through the text comprised of several excerpts and references from the Greek and Latin literature before his age. It can be stated that Plutarch adopted the Platonic idea that the educated woman could be equal to man, combined woman with traditional and classic ideal and created a portrait of an original and ideal married woman. He enriched this portrait with comparisons and quotations of the famous men and women in Ancient Greek and Roman world. It is not possible to show the author as a misogynist since he meticulously defended love between women and men, and thought of marriage as an institution based on a cooperation between husband and wife. However, his ideal woman accepts the superiority of man although she is smart and educated as well as being humble and obedient. He is a unique writer as he emphasizes the importance of marriage, love and education, especially the great importance of female education. In this study, depending on the book named Advice to the Bride and Groom, of which a translation is given as well, Plutarch's ideas about how the educated women should express themselves directly and indirectly in marriage life, especially on their moral and intellectual skills, are to be examined. Furthermore, we are to detect whether there is a harmony between the open expressions of the author, who is the defender of women, and his implicit messages or not