Women During The Ancient World

This left women with a clear disadvantage. The system worked well in happy marriages, but if a situation such as a husband's death, desertion from his family, or divorce were to arise, it was usually the woman who suffered as a result. According to the Code, a contract was necessary for marriage. Also, when a man and woman were getting married, the most important item to be negotiated was the bride price. This, again, shows that men were superior to women when it came to the ownership of property. Regardless of the amount of this bride price, it was managed by the husband and it was used to support the wife and her children: "If a woman who lived in a man's house made an agreement with her husband, that no creditor can arrest her, and has given a document therefore; if that man, before he married that woman, had a debt, the creditor can not hold the woman for it" (Pritchard 155). The bride's father had the right to change his mind about the marriage, in which case he would have been required to refund the purchase price in full showing again how women were nothing more than a piece of property: "If a man bring chattels into the house of his father-in-law and pay the price; if then the father of the girl say "I will not give you my daughter," he shall give back all that he brought with him" (Pritchard 156). Another horrific example of how women were regarded as nothing more than mere possessions was that if a wife died before giving birth to

The legal status of married women prevented them from unilaterally participating in the civil legal system. Shanley explains that "From the legal 'unity' of the husband and wife it followed that a married woman could not sue or be sued unless her husband was also a party to the suit, could not sign contracts unless her husband joined her" (8). The law of coverture also governed women's premarital legal contracts. Laurence notes, "English common law did not recognize pre-nuptial contracts; all contracts made by a woman were annulled by her marriage" (233). Furthermore, married women lost the right to execute their own wills since legally all their property belonged to their husbands. With their husbands' consent, women executed wills to dispose of their personal property.

Women were often controlled by a doctrine “ femme covert.” (Foner 242.) Coverture dictated married men and women to be one person and that one person was the husband. Unlike today's society, married women could not sign legal documents, own property, or obtain an education against her husbands wishes. Women were also not allowed to have their own opinions or obtain their own wages.

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.

he must justify it by stating that he had the approval of the courtiers and that the marriage

The bible, along with religion, attempts to destroy the science of birth. Every man born, was born to a woman, and is almost entirely dependent on the mother for most of their adolescent years. The bible tries to teach that woman would be nothing without man as the first woman was supposedly born of the first man, from an extra rib. In a debate with religion, women’s rights are almost always ignored, or even denied from the concept that a woman must serve a man. (Ratcliffe 2012)

To begin, it is made evident that women were created to benifit men. In Paradise Lost, Adam was made by God as a perfect image of Him. When God notices that Adam is falling in love with himself, he realizes he has to create Adam a mate that was also made in a Godly image as stated on line 299 of Book 4, “He for God only, she for God in him”. This was the creation of Eve. Eve set the standard for women, unbeknownst to her, as the subordinate to men. Not only for the company she offered, but also for the pleasure to the eye.

The men controlled everything except cooking. Cooking was the one responsibility that women had. The men could divorce the woman for any reason, but the woman were not allowed to divorce the men. Everything

no joint property is created, although a couple may choose to won property jointly if they wish) was observed on divorce once needs had been met. In the vast majority of families the provision made for needs meant that property entitlements were largely overridden and that careful provision was made for those with the day to day care of children and the employment disadvantage which that entitled them to. But in these families where assets exceeded needs the separation of property, and the absence of a principle of redistribution beyond reasonable requirements, meant that a form of gender discrimination was entrenched in the law of ancillary relief because as a matter of fact it was largely men who held assets and ran business rather than women, who by and large were responsible e for home making and childcare.

The union of marriage during this period of time was highly prioritized within society. While it was prioritized by society, there were different motives behind the holy union. Marriage was seen as an accomplishment and way of life in some eyes. In addition, society which is comprised of different classes viewed marriage differently. The wealthy class mainly saw marriage a "business arrangement" that brought similarly positioned individuals together. The

Looking back to the story of Genesis, Adam and Eve, we find the earliest implication of masculine hegemony. Eve is originally created from Adam’s rib, making her simply a later created part of him and not created simultaneously as his equal. Eve is further portrayed as naïve, unintelligent, and disobedient. She allows herself to be persuaded by the snake to consume the forbidden fruit, and then she passes it along to Adam utilizing ‘wicked persuasion’.7 Their mutual consumption of the apple from the Tree of Life is what damns all mankind by opening Adam and Eve’s eyes to their own nudity.8 God then places the pain of childbirth upon all women and the obligation of lifelong work upon all men. God explains Adam’s punishment beginning with these words “because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree”.9 This is the first mention of Eve’s voice or Adam listening to it; and God himself contributes reality and its irrevocable pain to Eve’s carelessness. This further applies itself to the fault of women everywhere making Genesis a prime example of masculine hegemony.

Gender inequalities between males and females have been existent since time began. In the Bible, these gender inequalities are evident with Eve (woman) causing the fall of man and the distancing from our “Father” and our banishment from Paradise, the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:7). Not only that, the very creation of Eve, being of Adam and Adam being of God, highlights that women are seen as an afterthought in creation. This brief essay will examine gender inequalities within our sex/gender system, but specifically on why women occupy subordinate roles.

Wife had no rights on money, which were gained by her. Marriage served to consolidate the alliance, acquisition status, property or land. It was a contract and its aim was to seal the agreement.

Did you know that married Roman women, in the ancient times, didn't have the choice to have a baby or not? In fact, they were not able to even have their own names! Women of ancient Rome also did not have many rights, since they were not considered full citizens. In this essay, I will discuss how the Roman women lived ages ago. I will talk about the hardships they faced, how the dressed, their limited rights, and basically how they lived their lives.

All throughout time women and men have been at different ends of the spectrum, meaning that men and women are never seen as equals. For some strange reason men have been viewed as more powerful and dominant over the female community. Notably, in today’s society, many women are view as less than or not equal to men. There are times when women do not get the same opportunities or chances as men, because it is believed that women are too weak and cannot handle the extra responsibility or work. Sadly, many women do not stand up for what is right; instead, they sit and just let it happen. This belief, most likely, started when the Creation Myths were analyzed and interpreted by men. However, once women began understanding the Bible themselves, meanings and ideas leaned toward the side of equality. In Genesis, woman and man have an egalitarian relationship since, God was not inferior when He was referred to as a helper, sexuality was not defined until woman was created, and man never received dominance over woman.