Anna Bijns [SEP] place of birth
Anna Bijns
Anna Bijns (1493 in Antwerp – 1575 in Antwerp) was a writer, schoolteacher and nun who taught until she was 80 years old.
Biography.
The elder daughter of a tailor and rederijker, she opened a school in Antwerp with her brother Martin, following the death of her father and marriage of her sister. Anna Bijns was one of the rare women to be part of the brotherhood of instructors. The Franciscans encouraged her to publish her work, Chambres de Rhétoriques (French, literally "
her poem Anna Bijns gives a very sober look on family life. She firmly opposed those moralists and religious leaders of the 15th and 16th century, who agreed that marriage was the best opportunity for both men and women to find fulfillment and happiness. Unlike them, Anna Bijns saw marriage as nothing more than constant yelling and fighting.
Anna Bijns’ poem stands out among the other texts of that time dealing with unhappy marriages, because the author does not fear to attack even the most delicate matters. Although some may criticize