The Burgermeister's Daughter by Steven Ozment - Book Report/Review Example

The Burgermeister's Daughter by  Steven Ozment  Introduction: You have, perhaps, never heard a discussion or sermon on the topic, “Men-their role in the society. The discussion is always about women. Men have, perhaps, no role! The arguments on giving equal rights to women have been going on unabated since time immemorial. How can one give equal rights to women? God has created her, given her the status of more-equal. Nobody can take that right away. It is the woman (mother) who gives protection for the initial nine months to the divine creative force of the future-male or female! Steven Ozment’s book illustrates life for women during the 16th and 17th century in Germany. The writer articulates a thesis based on gender-differences; the extreme sexism obtaining in 16th century Germany. Historically, women were mostly treated in only one way—badly! Her trials and tribulations, the restrictions imposed and the duties expected of her were awesome! Most of the rules and regulations weighed heavily against her. Stripped of all rights, society had no standards for her, only double standards to deal with her, and hypocrisy reigned supreme. But this opinion will change if one reads the story of Anna Buschler, who rebelled against the constricting mores of her time. The important issue is the rules of the book and the law of the land allowed her full freedom to carry on with her legal fight. This legal battle lasting for three decades throws profound light on the social, political and intellectual portrait of Germany as prevailed at the end of the Middle Age. As per the social conventions prevailing, “Both men and women were then expected to adhere to clearly defined standards of behavior specific to gender, social class, and contemporary values.”(Ozment, 1997, 2) This epic legal battle between Anna Buschler(1496/98-1552) and her family has done much to unravel the social conditions of that era, more than what any other researched work of a historian would have done. The lawsuit concerned a family, that too between the father and his daughter. The processes involved indicate from the point of women rights that “the centuries between 1300 and 1500 had been something of a golden age for women-their educational and vocational opportunities increased, and with them their civic freedom….” (Ozment, 1997, 5) But the situation changed soon. “….the sixteenth century turned back the clock. Women were again squeezed out of the guilds and public places and increasingly confined to the home—a reversal of fortunes for which some scholars have held the patriarchal ideals of Protestant reformers especially responsible.”(Ozment, 1997, 5) Anna went through a horrid time. She was shackled to a table for six months by her father and the town council jailed her briefly. With no qualms about her being promiscuous, and yet Ozment strongly and convincingly puts forth the view that Burgermeister’s disposition towards her was very severe, Anna emerges great with her fighting qualities. Her resourcefulness must have been admired even by her ardent opponents. Does the story relate to the courage and grit of a woman who challenged the inequalities of that age? It is difficult to totally sympathize with Anna or condemn her outright. Ozment goes all out to the defense of Anna with a zeal that would surpass her most ardent legal counsel (there were none for Anna!) He paints an innocent picture of Anna as for her crimes. The beauty of the court battle, apart from the scope of the dispute is, Anna fought it within the legal framework. Yes, she did violate the codes of conduct of the social order of the era-she is not apologetic about it. She had two affairs and she conducted them simultaneously to earn the wrath of her father. He deprived her of her inheritance. Her drawback was that she had no male to represent her in the court. How quickly the popular opinion changes? Anna lost her case initially because of her affairs. Once she took the case to the city of Hall, it received great publicity, the bad treatment by her father came to light and soon the pubic opinion changed and Herman Bushchler lost his position as burgermeister. The court case went on and on for thirty years, and mind you, a solitary woman fought it, and this certainly is not the testimony to the disempowerment of the women of that era! Not the judgment, but the process of the case itself is victory for the cause of women. For his story, Ozment relies on the evidence of personal letters of Anna and her lovers and scrutinizes the court documents. The story part is good but the resources of Ozment are limited. When clueless, he takes to speculation and then perhaps to desperation. In Chapter 3, Anna brings forth an accusation against her father. Ozment shows a quote out of the court documents from Anna saying that her father "abused her maidenly modesty" (Ozment, 1997, 121). Moral aspect of a new dimension dominates the case. Is the quote taken up to gain sympathy? In any case, less of historical analysis and more of a suspense thriller book takes shape now. Anna’s case would have been more formidable without such an unfounded allegation. But Ozment wishes to chisel a perfect heroine out of Anna, and show her in the best perspective. Now, Anna seems to fight against the indignities of her father than her right for inheritance to property. But Ozment soon realizes that he should not pursue the incest issue. This book is the micro-history of the legal system of the era. That a woman in the rural area owned the courage to continue the legal battle with her more resourceful father is the sterling tribute to her overwhelming courage to be her own against all odds. Ozment traces and emphasizes this merit in Anna with consuming passion and admires her, how ardently she navigated through the legal system for such a long period. She owed no apology to anyone for her sexual relationships, and she charged her father that he failed in his parental duties. He did not look out for a suitable suitor for her well in time. Herr Buschler had risked his life to stop the local aristocracy from bothering and humiliating the ordinary citizens of the Hall. To attribute incestuous desires to such a philanthropist, in relation to his own daughter was highly untenable. With this backgrounder information in mind Ozment rightly ignored the incest. Ozment makes a passing reference to it, and I think, he is absolutely right in exercising restraint on this point. The conclusions/arguments related to the main case-the inheritance issue- would not have changed much, because these are two separate issues. The inheritance case was strictly within the legal frame work and as such arguments on legal points would be put before the judge for consideration. The case made the life difficult for her father and to all concerned. The social standing of Herr Buschler, before he was entangled in to the courts case with his daughter was great. I think Ozment has taken cognizance of this and he made the correct decision. If the father was a man of loose character, he would not have taken such a strong exception to the immoral acts of her daughter, and the shrewd author Ozment knew this arithmetic of human relationships. By raising the incest issue, which had no legal evidence whatsoever, Ozment would have brought the case to an abysmal depth. By avoiding the issue he has provided to the case a modern feel, a permanent place in the history for the cause of rights for women, and made it all the more fascinating. The inheritance case had a dignity about it. It had the latent glory about the womanhood and Anna must have carried the goodwill of the majority of the society. Ozment has dealt with the issue correctly in not taking up the incest issue in detail. He could not marshal the required evidence for such an argument. I feel even the mention of this issue smack of vindictiveness on the part of Anna and it does not serve any tangible purpose for favorable judgment on the inheritance case. They say desperate situations need desperate remedies. Anna must have brought forth this charge, in one of her moods of desperation of conducting such an arduous legal battle. Her strong passion to take the case to a must-win situation is seen in this attempt to provide a new twist to the case. The letters between her lovers and herself and the court records are the evidence secured by Ozment for the book. What is the contribution of her lovers Erasmus Schenk of Limpurg, and Daniel Treutwien for making the life of Anna Buschler utterly miserable is the difficult question to answer, but they have unwittingly contributed a great deal to the history of life in the 16th century Germany. Ozment has taken the maximum advantage out of those letters for his book and he has done it successfully. Conclusion: A difficult, emotionally charging, historically important topic has been well-handled by Ozment. When we compare the gravity of the moral standards violated by Anna, and the intensity of the punishment meted out to her by her father, the scale tilts in favor of Anna and Ozment will be too pleased about this outcome. ============ References: Ozment Steven, The Burgermeister's Daughter: Scandal in a Sixteenth-Century German Town (Harper Perennial; 1st Perennial ed edition 1997) 256 Read More