Role of Women- Elizabethan Era

Households were strictly patriarchal in which the man of the house made all the important decisions. Women's jobs at the time were mostly relegated to domestic service and occasional work at harvest time. The jobs were always of low pay, low status, and required little training. In addition to this females were not legally permitted to inherit land or property. This was the bleak life of a woman, with little hope or power, and always the subordinate of men.

The women were given the much authority since the last female child of the ruling priestess-queen will inherit the throne since the last child usually was the last to die therefore insuring that fertility will continue. The ruling of the women in the society, religious rituals and social events reflected the matriarchal way of thinking of the people (Rosenburg, 1984).

“ 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.

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.

The women were expected to carry out the duties of the house without complaint and to remain diligent to her husband, as well as God. During this time, motherhood transformed from just being a child bearing figure to

The book “Kingdom of Matthias” portrays women as subjugates of men whom live to serve household chores and function as a house-wife. The characters Isabella Van Wagenen and Isabella Matthews Laisdell were both portrayed as servants to their owners and property of their husbands. Gender plays a key role in the nineteenth century as women had no free choice of how they can live their lives as society had placed them in the role of house servant. I believe that women today have better opportunities in pursuing careers and jobs as Professor Fahs describes a working women during this time was “unheard of” for it could threaten the masculinity of a husband which would ruin the relationship of a marriage (Fahs 1/5). Also, the motherhood of women was important during this time because many men were busy working and could not raise the children so

A woman was valued if she could have babies, be a good mother and care for her household and her husband. In other words a married woman. A woman’s role was to cater to her husband. It was very rare they worked anywhere but a house.

Women’s social standing was very important to both men and women. A woman’s appearance was the easiest form of determining her social class. If a woman was dressed in a skirt and blouse or a

The women during the Old English era had specific roles to carry out. One of

In the Middle Ages from 476 CE- 14th century almost all of the power of women was determined by biblical references. The average woman in a rural area had the duty of making clothes from wool, cleaning, cooking, and taking care of children. The women in town often were tasked in purchasing and trading goods and the normal housekeeping. In extreme cases women were known as witches. Other women became nuns and got involved in spiritual matters. In the year 1000 traditional marriage that involved getting married for financial reasons became less common. Although the parents still assisted in choosing the spouse it was becoming freer to choose who to marry. The woman was essentially owned by a male guardian almost like a child. However, if a rich widowed woman decided she did not want or have another guardian available, she was able to have her own name. During the Middle Ages many rich women were able to participate in things such as art, music or writing. It was rare for a woman not that well off to be able to purchase the tools or have the education to do art, music, or writing. All the rules developed depended on how

Women were viewed inferiorly compared to men. They were expected to do all household chores, bear children, and obey their husband’s wish

Women were expected to basically be merely an object, even a trophy for their husbands. They were expected to stay home and clean, as well as cook. With all these expected tasks, women hardly had any time to branch out and figure out what they wanted to do with their life. They had no time for leisure activities of any kind because, of course, their activities involved taking care of the house. Women were also seen as the weaker sex, always submissive to their dominant male counterpart. Although the women were submissive, they were held to a higher moral standard. Adultery was twice shamed upon if committed by a woman rather than a man. (Hughes par.3) A woman could be stoned to death, but people would turn their cheek for a man while the woman still was expected to stay beside the man.

What was expected of the female children was vastly different than what was expected of the adults. Unlike most cultures where the boys attend school and the girls learn housework, it is believed that neither attended school. Instead, boy’s learned men’s work and girls did work alongside the females in their life. They learned to cook, garden, and take care of domestic animals and make clothing. By the time the females are ready to marry at the expected ages,

The only thing a woman could do to escape this harsh judgment was to either enter a nunnery or marry and serve a man. By doing this, she was serving two lords: God and her husband. To not serve a husband through consummation and not serve God by entering a nunnery, would be viewed as a complete rejection of God. Thus, women were not only restrained by the political standards enforced men, but also the consciousness of the Church that

Women were completely controlled by the men in their lives. First, they where controlled by their fathers, brothers and male relatives, and then eventually they were controlled by their husbands, too. Essentially, their sole purpose in life was to find a husband, have children, and then spend the rest of