The Martyrdom of Anne Askew Pt. 5

Later in her First Examincyon, Anne relies on the traditional virtue of feminine silence in her defense. Anne is clearly not a silent woman. She speaks, reads, and writes; however, she doesn't provide the answers desired or expected of her. When Anne has repeatedly subverted and avoided providing a clear answer to her interrogators' questions, they ask her why she has so "fewe wordes". She uses the traditional feminine virtue of silence in her defense, quoting Solomon, that a "woman of fewe wordes is a gyfte of God." Anne clearly believed that she was, as a defender of her faith, a gift of God. These passages not only reveal Anne as a skilled writer, but also a woman of humor and wit, even in the face of possible death.

Anne also relies on the "weakness" of her gender in her defense, identifying herself as "just" a woman, incapable of providing the answers they seek. When asked whether an animal would receive communion with God if he ate the consecrated host, Anne suggests that her interrogator answer the question himself. He refuses; saying that to do so would go against the traditional order of the schools. She responds by saying that as a woman, she has no knowledge of schools. Anne's testimony reveals her own irritation with the occasionally ridiculous questions her interrogators posed.

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