Poem 70 By Catullus: The Power Of Women

Women had very different rights in Republican Rome to their male counterparts, and although they could be classified as citizens and could play certain roles in Roman religion, they were unable to participate in many of the activities that clearly defined a Roman, such as military service, voting on legislation and candidates for office, and holding and elective position either locally or at Rome. It was also considered anomalous for women to be in learned professions, so female teachers and poets were ignored, which means that the only evidence that we have for women in this period comes from what men have written about them, either in poetry, histories or where they are concerned in laws. This means that when studying women of this time it must be considered that the sole perspective that has survived is male, and that the thoughts of the women themselves are not represented at all, therefore it could be argued that women, in general, played a very small role in the world of Roman politics and intellectual culture.

Women were unable to own land property. They were only allowed to own small personal possessions. Women were not allowed to voice their opinions about public issues. Men were the only ones who could participate in political events. Women were only permitted to participate in festivals, religious events, weddings, and funerals. Women were given free time in which they were permitted to go visit a female friend only for a short period of time. All females were also not permitted to watch the Olympic Games because the contestants did not wear cloths. Chariot Racing was the only event that women were allowed to compete in. However, this was very rare because they had to own a horse. The only way women were able to attain any sort of power is when they became the wife of a prominent man. Women were socially inferior to men.

Under original Roman law women went from the authority of their fathers to the authority of their husbands, and a woman was required to have a male supervise her finances. However, by about the beginning of the 1st Century BC women began to achieve greater freedom.

My second reason is, they had very restricted rights. They couldn’t vote or do jury duty. Also, they

At this time, they were getting only a portion of their rights and some of

Moreover, the law did not allow women to hold office, but the men who held offices were allowed to seek counsel of their wives and this could only be done in private. Conversely, equality of men and women was more in the Roman society than it had been in the Greek culture.

Women in Ancient Rome enjoyed a slightly better life than those in Ancient Greece. Roman men "placed a very high value on marriage, home and the family and this made quite a difference to society's treatment of women" (Thompson, 2005). Women still were passed from their father's supervision to their husbands, but enjoyed a more important role. While women could not hold

But now he really knows Lesbia and he can no longer view her with affection even though he desires her more strongly. “Catullum” is juxtaposed with “Lesbia” and both of these names are at the end of a line further emphasizing them. Later in the poem his esteem, “dilexi” is contrasted with his friendless intention “bene velle minus.” Poem 72 generally creates a strong contrast between Catullus’s sincere love and his hatred towards Lesbia.

This simile illustrates that Catullus loved and Lesbia as a parent would their child, which is a caring type of affection that is permanent. Because it is rare that a parent stops loving their child, Catullus could possibly be hinting that although he has fallen out of touch with Lesbia, there is still a part of him that wants the best for her and cares about her well-being, and that they share a similar everlasting connection that a child has with their parent. The addition of the word generos to gnatos also may demonstrate that Catullus and Lesbia need not be related by blood to show the loyalty and concern that family members typically show one another. Catullus contrasts this love with the temporary, trivial, and possibly sexual love that a common person has for a girl. He could be referring to poems eleven and fifty-eight, in which he describes Lesbia as a girl who “in crossroads and alleys appeals the descendants of generous Remus” (a prostitute) and “three-hundred together her embrace holds, Loving none of them truly, but over & over

Ancient Roman women were not given the same privileges as Islamic women. Women in ancient Rome were not allowed to hold office, supervise their own finances, or go out of the house

Female sovereignty was uncommon in Renaissance England. The social structure of the family assured the subjugation of woman under man. Daughters remained under the care of their fathers until they were married, at which time they became subject to their husband's authority. Economics ensured the wife's dependence on her husband. Unmarried and widowed women retained far more legal rights than married women, therefore, "for a woman, marriage meant the loss of her legal and economic rights, and therefore a dependence on the (chosen) man" (Motte 29). Even though marriage often meant a loss of legal rights, those daughters who had the good fortune to choose their mates faired better than those whose marriages were arranged.

This was the mindset for males and females alike, for a man to be seen as a success he must have a wife, and a women must have a husband to survive. “When a woman got married she could not own property, even inherited property, and her wealth was automatically passed to her husband. If a woman worked after marriage, her earnings also belonged to her husband” (Lythgoe). For during the 1800s it was abnormal for women to own land, most people if you were in the middle class you married up, for a house. Once the majority of women got married most of their possessions went to the male, this strayed many women away from marriage at this time. There are some exceptions, such as Lady Catherine de Bough, for her father died and there was as no males upon either side of the family so she got the wealth, but those cases are very rare.

The Roman woman had a very limited role and they could not attend, speak in, or vote at political meetings. Women were not allowed to hold any position of political responsibility. They were not allowed to voice their opinion in public but in the Greek society, the woman was considered just like an object.

The property rights of women during most of the nineteenth century were dependent upon their marital status. Once women married, their property rights were governed by English common law, which required that the property women took into a marriage, or acquired subsequently, be legally absorbed by their husbands. Furthermore, married women could not make wills or dispose of any property without their husbands' consent. Marital separation, whether initiated by the husband or wife, usually left the women economically destitute, as the law offered them no rights to marital property. Once married, the only legal avenue through which women could reclaim property was widowhood.

of a man. Women were able to hold political positions, possess land, and overall enjoy a