Mary Gregory Of Tours And Their Family Connections

“ The belief that women were inherently inferior in intelligence, strength, and character was so persuasive that for men like Knox, a woman ruler was almost a contradiction in terms” (“Documents for Chapters 5&6”). In the 16th century, women were looked upon as a gender that should stay in the house and work, not have power and rule over a country. Discussing the govern of Queens during the 16th century, such as Mary Tudor, Lady Jane Grey, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth I, allowed prejudices to be lessened but never completely be erased. No matter how these four notable ladies came into power, the accomplishments they overcame, achieved and wrote about proved to be great and substantial in making history as it is written today.

As family life stabilized, marriages became lifelong commitments and patriarchal values increased in importance.Women and children with their lack of rights were dependent on the father and husband, or patriarch, of the family. Therefore, the members of the family did everything

One can begin the discussion on the theme of incest in ‘The Duchess of Malfi’ by understanding the social conception of ‘incest’. Talcott Parsons says-“ it is not so much the prohibition of incest in its negative aspect(maintaining sexual relations) …(Instead) Incest is withdrawal from the obligation to contribute to the formation and maintenance of supra-familial bonds on which major economic, political and religious functions of the society are dependent.”

Women during this time had many restrictions in terms of not being able to vote, gain education and receive inheritance money. Regardless of their social position, they were never allowed to vote. The majority of women never attended school unless their family was considerably wealthy. Reading, writing, dance and skills like needlework were taught through husbands or parish priests. Many women however, remained illiterate. Women could neither inherit their father’s titles. All titles were passed from father to son or brother to brother.

Allowing a woman to leave a marriage and not be scolded or cast out, let alone getting her dowry back, was unheard of in this time period. Though a woman’s dowry was to her husband, he had no control over spending it; if she died without having children the dowry went back to her family, or if she had children they would share it equally . This was very important in protecting women from men marrying them only to take their dowry and run with it, as well as protect her children. Even having laws “restricting the use of women’s dowries, the bride prices paid for women, and the manner in which divorce can happen all point to the states recognition that women needed some legal protections from male authority” was a vast improvement in the treatment of women .

In the nineteenth century, the legal rights of women and men were highly affected by gender and race, both positively and negatively. In the book, “Kingdom of Matthias,” by Paul Johnson and Simon Wilentz, they describe the life of two females, Isabella Van Wagenen and Isabella Matthews Laisdell which whom were affected by slavery and high influences of higher power from men. In the nineteenth century it was believed that males were to support the family by working and earning a wage as a husband was to provide for his wife and a father to provide for his children (Fahs 1/5). Also, during the nineteenth century women were seen to be working in homes and supporting their husbands by cleaning the home, raising the children, and cooking meals

“Rich married when they were teenagers. Poor women worked from a really early age. They were treated as adults from age 11 and they married at age 20” (C N). Once again, women didn’t get to choose what they wanted to do someone or something decided for them. In this case it would be their wealth that decided it for them. Women in the early ages had to grow up faster than we do today. Today, 20 is pretty young to get married, and some woman in the early ages got married before then. After they were married it only got worse. “Marriage often plunged a woman into being an estate manager. Marriage among landowners was arranged. Women then not only had to take care of her land, but her husband’s as well” (Dean 61). Before marriage women had to do inside work for her family and sometimes work in the fields, but once she got married, she had to take care of her own house and not only her fields but her husband’s as well. Women didn’t even get to pick who they married most of the time because it was arranged. “Women weren’t allowed to marry without parents consent. They weren’t allowed to own a business, get a divorce, or own property unless they widowed, and they couldn’t inherit land if they didn’t have brothers” (C N). So, a woman’s parent also got to choose what went on in a woman’s life and how she

Wives of rulers or women in the royal family often convinced men in power to see things their way. Although their role was limited, women also had an important influence in the home. Most women raised children and saw to their education. Many women also

Some aspects of the lifestyle ancient civilizations lived almost seem appalling or intolerable when compared to the very developed and carefully shaped the world inhabited today. One of these characteristics of previous societies that prove to be rather challenging to conceive in current times consists of the lack of rights, privileges, and equity women had. Society maintained this assumption of a man’s superiority up until the women’s rights movement of the early twentieth century; yet with the two sexes essentially equal in America today, imagining a restricted life as a female proves unfathomable. Looking back at the history of human kind, men almost always subdued women and treated them as property. When focusing on the first

This demonstrates to which extent women were autonomous and allowed to make their own decisions. In fact the independence that a Spartan woman had allowed her to divorce her husband if he was unable to give her children. In contrast, in the Macedonian culture, women in the ruling class had a similar and even greater power in the society comparing to the women in Sparta. Just as in Sparta, women rule during the absence of men, they appear in public and even participate in public talking. The Macedonian culture women were recognized and respected. For instance, public announcements were made about women’s activities such as public talking. In addition, women in the Macedonian culture of Ptolemaic Egypt could choose under which contract they wanted to marry: The Greek contract required guardians, while the Egyptian did not. This freedom of choice supports the idea that women were independent and to some extent free just as in the Greek culture. In both of those cultures, women ran the society in the absence of men and were free. They could make their own decision and were autonomous. The women’s role in the society proves that those societies are coincidental.

Gregory of Tours writes a descriptive narrative of the lives of nobility in his book History of the Franks. Any women mentioned in this narrative were of noble status. Merovingians, the leaders where Gregory of Tours resided often attributed their powers to the aristocrats. Gregory himself was a Bishop and therefore from a higher class as well. Since he was a Bishop it comes to no surprise that he took interest in the religious matters and practices during King Clovis’ time. It should be noted that although Gregory of Tours resided in the same century as King Clovis, he was alive after the time of King Clovis and most other subjects listed in his History of the Franks.

“[In 16th century European society] Marriage was the triumphal arch through which women, almost without exception, had to pass in order to reach the public eye. And after marriage followed, in theory, the total self-abnegation of the woman.”

Women's lives, roles, and statuses changed over various early world history eras and culture areas in many ways. Ancient Persia, Paleolithic, Athens, Mesopotamian and Roman eras were all different in very unique ways. The Paleolithic era treated women fairly and were treated equally. During the Neolithic era women were not treated fairly. She was the daughter of her father or the wife of her husband. Women rarely acted as individuals outside the context of their families. Those who did so were usually royalty or the wives of men who had power and status.” (oi.uchicago.edu, 2010) Athenian women were not treated fairly

But, through Figaro and Susanna’s defiance of the Count’s upper society, we see the power of the monarchy falling. Just as society was beginning to see the nobility in a lesser light these societal parallels extend to the Countess and Susanna’s departure from the idea of their mere servitude. In fact, their clever plot to trap the count in his own immoral act showed the independence that women could and would eventually gain. Not only did their ingenuity display the power that women could have in society, but through the Count’s heart-felt apology to his wife, they demonstrated the need for women. As mentioned earlier these character’s actions and personalities are representative of a societal norm and change of the time period.

The Regency time period was an era of great wealth. Both men and women worked vigorously to become part of the upper class. Marrying for upper class women was the only way to gain a source of income (Hall). Women would even change their way of life to be able to marry into wealth. A truth universally acknowledged, that a single main possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife, said Mrs. Bennett (Hall). In the Regency time period, wealth played a huge role in both men and women’s lives