In the first chapter of Genesis a male and female Adam is created before the creation of Eve; in chapter two, Eve is joined as one flesh to her husband. Plato's Symposium added a third source for the androygne, often understood as a variant of the androgyne of Genesis 1. In each case, it is a figure maximizing human potential, benefiting from the strengths of both male and female. The functional understanding of gender conceived of tasks rather than bodies as gendered, permitting gender to shift as roles changed, allowing individuals access to the biblical androgynes. The androgyne appears in visual images, and in literature it is used to express aspirations ranging from sexual desire to union with the divine. Functional gender explains viragos, women praised for their manliness, in biographies of famous women. It was used by women in positions of political power, to assure its exercise, to attain their ends. This book explores the manifestations of the androgyne as it was understood in early modern France.
