"In the distressing circumstances": female resolve and resistance of rank: Marguerite Louise d'Orléans and Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg in diplomatic records

It is important to understand resistance through rank and the redefinition of spaces and contexts in which the exercise of female power is permitted. The secretarial papers analysed in the light of the most relevant archival excavations, has allowed us to review the forms by means of which the grand duchesses of Tuscany Marguerite Louise d’Orléans were able to withstand the male demands at the service of the raison d’état. The historical and political structure of the grand duchy of Tuscany between the 17th and 18th century presents itself within the framework of the European powers as greatly weakened in its economic and financial aspects but also its social and religious ones. The long reign of Cosimo III and the sterile dynastic and familiar alliances constitute one of the problematic nodes in which the topic of female resistance is inserted. The image of unhappy spouses that the often-romanticised dissemination has presented, is in my opinion not wholly truthful in regard to the actual dimensions of a practice of resistance through an intensive correspondence in which the lay and the religious diplomats became protagonists. Women withstood the persuasive rhetoric thanks to an indomitable and determined willpower. The possibilities by means of which the grand duchesses chose to practice resistance whilst safeguarding their own honour and role, appear to be intelligently explained and modulated within a courtly education and a diplomatic practice that does not escape the women themselves. Also, the manners of emotiveness provides singular tones that make the cases under examination particularly open to readings that are closer to that of the history of emotions and gender, which has allowed us to focus the analysis on aspects that have not always been considered by traditional historiography.