The Burgermeister's Daughter: Scandal in a Sixteenth-Century German Town

Much of what Anna endured throughout the course of her life—from being legally kidnapped and locked in her father’s home for six months to her virtual disinheritance after her father’s death—would be all but unthinkable in a modern context. Anna, however, lived in 16th-century Germany, which restricted women’s rights in ways that exacerbated her struggles with her family. Nevertheless, throughout the course of the narrative, Steven Ozment downplays the severity of 16th-century sexism in anticipation of the reader’s likely preconceptions about the past.

Anna lived during a time when a simple outburst from a woman could signify more than just anger. She took a huge risk when she dared to be impolite in the presence of a delegation sent to dissuade her from litigation because “such arrogance, vulgarity, and anger in a public forum were associated at this time with witches, not with honorable women and loyal citizens” (155). Her “immodest” dress and flirtatious behavior also reflected poorly on her family—specifically, on her father—which became a point of resentment that triggered lifelong infighting.

While acknowledging that the 16th century was a more sexist time in Germany (and many other places) than the 20th, Ozment defends it against the stereotypes that he believes readers might hold about the past.