Women and Biography. Meanings for History

Abstract

While biographic studies increase the perspectives of historiographic production, this article intends to emphasize its importance in order to unveil women's experiences, which had been for long invisible to a History concentrated in the idea of universal subject Distinguishing those experiences and within them the sign of gender diferences felt by men and women leads to a deeper and broader comprehension of social relations. Beside other ones, feminine interpretation of social-historical experiences displays in a very singular way the interaction between public and private life, opposed to a dichotomic view. Thus, as EP. Thompson points out, "ignoring women participation in a whole lot of realities would tum History into futility. On the other hand some debates on the development of these studies are equally mentioned.