The Values Of Women In The Elizabethan Era

Women were expected to do so much but at the same time so little. They had no power to do what they desire because men had all the power to control them. Society had an expectation of how women were supposed to act. For instance, Mary’s father cared for his sons education he wanted them to know how to read, write, and to do sums, as for his daughters he only cared that they knew how to read and sew. That is the basic that women were allowed to learn it was not important for them to know more since all they were going to work for is taking care of children. Here is an example, “…Gender roles within those families the reinforcement of gender ideals such as “helpmeet” and “notable housewife” by religious and civil authorities, and the simple

Professor of religious studies Karen Armstrong finds in the early Christian Church examples of hostility toward women and fear of their sexual power, which she contends led to the eventual exclusion of women from full participation in a male-dominated church.

Since the Christian religion was a large and prominent force in the everyday life in the average person in the 17th and 18th century, the Bible was a large influence in how the woman was seen in society as it says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church…” (Ephesians 5:22-23, 33). The Bible is that the woman was ruled by her husband, that she didn’t even have her own head, and cannot think for herself because it was expected by the very faith that she must submit to her husband. The Holy Book also says that the woman was created from the rib of the man, which it is known now as completely preposterous, so it implies that the woman is inferior to man because she was created from man, because heaven forbid that any evidence point towards that it is man that came from a woman.

In the earliest of Christian texts, there is talk about what women did in the Church and the important roles they played (Fiddes, 1990; Fontaine, 1996). Many women were activists during that time, and they spent time focusing on their studies and duties to their households and to their God. In Corinth, for example, it was believed that a Jewish missionary woman who came from Rome helped to found the

In the sixteenth century the role of women in society was very limited. Women were generally stereotyped as housewives and mothers. They were to be married, living their life providing for her husband and children. The patriarchal values of the Elizabethan times regarded women as the weaker sex.’ Men were considered the dominant gender and were treated with the utmost respect by females. Women were mainly restricted within the confines of their homes and were not allowed to go school or to university, but they could be educated at home by private tutors. Men were said to be the ones to provide for their families financially. Women were often seen as not intelligent. Property could not be titled in the name of a female within the family. Legally everything the female had belonged to her husband. Poor and middle class wives were kept very busy but rich women were not idle either. In a big house they had to organize and supervise the servants.

The church has ever opposed the progress of woman on the ground that her freedom would lead to immorality. We ask the church to have more confidence in women. We ask the opponents of this movement to reverse the methods of the church, which aims to keep women moral by keeping them in fear and in ignorance, and to inculcate into them a

Women were not held to such a high standard as men. Men had a more prominent active duty in the church and in order to gain their membership they needed to show their commitment to a congregation of people, while women could just make their consult in private. Although men and women still had to have a testimony from a Brethren before they were fully admitted, it was clear that men and women were separated in the church as they were at home.

181). Religion was integrated into their life. As the Industrial Age progressed, the strong religious values weakened through generations. “Female education should be preeminently religious” (p.182). The woman was the primary teacher of her child and was expected to teach themselves religion and be able to teach their children as well. “One reason religion was valued was that it did not take a woman away from her “proper sphere, her home.” (p. 181) Women only completed grade school and had many opportunities to read the bible so they were also able to preach family values, help the poor and contribute to stopping slavery. Devotion to religion was expected. Welter explains that a woman’s brain is capable of comprehending religion even though it is not visible. As the Industrial Age progressed, the strong religious values weakened through generations. Submission, another principle, kept women from voicing her opinion when having a discussion with their husbands or telling their husbands to terminate an annoying idiosyncrasy. “Wives were advised to do their best to reform men, but if they couldn’t, to give up gracefully. If any habit of his annoyed me, I spoke of it once or twice calmly, then bore it quietly.”(p. 186) She would reinforce her submissiveness by wearing tight corsets which would limit her breathing and physical mobility and remain uncomfortable. They were expected to be subservient to men as well as homemakers. “In Women of

In the United States in the 19th century women were expected to act in a particular manner and were destined to fill a certain sphere of society apart from men. Men being expected to live a public life, whether it was work or socializing with other men, while women were expected to live mostly at home, taking charge of the household and rearing children. Education was not portrayed as a necessity either; very few women were given the same opportunities as men. The Kingdom of Matthias presents this theme of sexism in many instances, and in addition, it served as a base for “The Kingdom”. Matthias was seen by some as a “woman-hating Prophet,” (Johnson, 101), this was seen repeatedly in both his treatment of women and his general thoughts of them. When speaking at his nightly meetings, in the days before ‘The Kingdom’, he stated, “Every thing that has the smell of woman will be destroyed. Woman is the cap sheaf of the abomination of desolation – full of all deviltry.” (Johnson, 93). This is but one of his many declarations against the entirety of

I like to think of women as the quiet voices of encouragement and reason to the men in their lives. There are several differences between how women were viewed during these time periods but there are also some similarities as well. The women of both the Protestant Teaching and the Catholic Teaching were regarded highly of, but the purpose of Protestant women were to be married so that they are able to

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.

Thus, they were better suited to the domestic sphere. A related idea expressed in The Cult of True Womanhood was that women were meant to be moral guardians. Because women were spiritually pure, and therefore, closer to God, it was thought that their innocence would be ruined should they venture anywhere outside of the private sphere. Hence, they were seemingly best suited to the home. Essentially, a woman’s purpose in life was to perform household chores, prepare meals, nurture her children and serve her husband.

The hatred and slander of women continued over this period of time. Women were considered to be unclean, created by defect, only to service men, witches, and whores. They were not allowed in the sanctuaries because they were considered unclean especially during there monthly cycle. Even today women receive less pay for jobs that are not suited for their skills, they are not always the first choice in any areas of political or social positions.

The Bible is controversial on the matter of gender equality. There are numerous contradictions about the status of women in Christian society. Historically, the most prominent interpretation has been rather negative toward women. The Christian Church, with principally male authority, emphasizes the idea that women are inferior to man. They focus on Eve’s sin leading to a punishment that “her husband will have authority over her.” (Drury, 34)

Elizabethan marriages were a very large ordeal involving not only the town but the families of both parties. The large ordeal was not only unnecessary but also very time consuming and stressful. Marriages, birth, and deaths were all the three cycles of life that were dealt with in the church (Evans 6-7). Marriages that were done by law and not church were not registered as there were no witnesses to the betrothal. Church marriages were common and proper as they would be recorded by the pastor (Harrison 1640). Fathers could get rid of their daughters by marrying them off or if he didn’t, when the daughter came of age, the parents would arrange a marriage for the young teenaged girl to a much older man (Evans 6-7). At fourteen, a child had been responsible for all their actions long ago and was now ripe with puberty and at thirty, a man could be financially stable enough to provide for a bride and any children she might bring. All the girl’s possessions would go to the man so wealthy women never remained single for long. If problems in the marriage arose, nothing could be done because the rules of the church stated that marriage lasted until the death of each party. Not only were marriages done without the age of both parties in mind, but marriages were not for love. Families married to carry on the family surname and increase possessions and