Letter Writing and the Female Self-in-Love in Early Modern Italy: Reshaping Gender in Isabella Andreini’s Lettere

This article offers a critical examination of Isabella Andreini’s Lettere (1607), situating the collection within the Renaissance tradition of letter writing and exploring its innovative reconfiguration of female subjectivity and agency. Through close readings of selected letters analyzed against the backdrop of the long-standing tradition of female letter writing—particularly the elegiac genre—this study highlights how Andreini’s female voices negotiate love as a domain of reciprocal affection and self-determination. By juxtaposing traditional motifs with empowering narratives, the Lettere destabilize dominant gendered power structures embedded in early modern epistolary conventions. This investigation contributes to a broader understanding of the intersections among gender, emotion, and authorship in Renaissance Italy.