From the Edge to the Heart: Female Employment in Nineteenth-Century Italy

Women have long been at the edge of economic history. According to HumphriesHumphries, Jane (1991) and SharpeSharpe, Pamela (1995), shifting them from there “to the heart” goes into stages. The first stage involves recognising the extent to which the role of women has been neglected. The second stage aims to integrate women into the mainstream of economic history, with potentially revolutionary results. As stated in the first chapter of the present book, the methodological challenge lies in proving that it is possible to uncover the economic culture not only in women’s writings, as many did not leave behind written records, but also in their actions.