e male writers in Italy based on the religious teachings of the church. Female writers of this period provided evidence of pro-female thinking that was circulating, which furthered the possibility that Gentileschi was simply just reinforcing these thoughts through a visual medium. This notion of sexual politics can be extracted from the writing of Christine de Pizan, who raised a literary voice on the biological and intellectual equality of women in the fifteenth century. The rape that Gentileschi endured in 1612 and the harsh treatment throughout the trial will dually be considered in the above context. All of these aspects contributed to the reasons this artist produced the works she did, since it was so untypical in terms of the period. Lastly, all of these factors will be addressed with a comparison of Gentileschi's work to that of her male contemporaries on the same themes. Many of
             Gentileschi's paintings were of heroic women of the past, which were also depicted from the male perspective. This type of comparison will reveal a drastically differing perspective of these heroic women, which furthers the possibility that Gentileschi held Kelly's pro-female model of thinking adopted from Christine de Pizan.
             There is a long history in Europe of the subordination of women that placed them in an inferior class to men. The Middle Ages inherited a tradition of anti-feminism from Judaeo-Christian theology, and from classical antiquity. Sexism is evident in the Book of Genesis since medieval theologians took the idea that Eve was responsible for the Original sin upon entering the world. The belief was, that as a result, God had punished her and all other women by making her subject to her husband, since the formation of the first woman was defective because she was created out of the bent rib of Adam. The rib was bent in a contrary direction to a man, and through this defect she is viewed as an imperfect animal. A man in th...