Women's Roles In The 17th Century

Women in the mid-1600s to mid-1700s underwent pivotal changes. While these changes would alter their roles in the colonies, certain aspects of their responsibilities remained the same.

This is a great source for women's roles. It is a great source because it lists off the many jobs women had when the colonist settled and and after they had been in Maryland for quite sometime. Although the jobs varied house hold to house hold because of social status this is a great representation of what type of jobs women would of had during the 1700s time

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.

As time progressed, the roles of men and women were more defined by what usefulness they had and what society found appropriate. Women were not allowed to obtain education, travel, or go out in public

“ 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.

In 17th century Euro-America Puritan society believed that men played a patriarchal role upon women, and that this role was instituted by God and nature. The seniority of men over women lay within both the household and the public sphere. The household, immediate family living in the same dwelling was subject to the male as head figure of the house. The public sphere also known as the social life within the Puritan community consisted of two echelons. These echelons consisted of formal and informal public. The formal public consisted of woman and indentured servants. Women were to stay within the informal public and stay in the shadows of the men. The government held large ties with the church in the 17th century. Though women were

During the 18th century, women were treated like slaves. They had little authority regarding anything. Women didn’t have the right to vote or the right to own property. Only a spinster or widow woman could own and manage property until they married. Women were owned by the husband just as he owned material possessions. Many women were trapped in loveless marriages and those without families were seen as outcasts. The husband was legally entitled to beat his wife for disobedience. Divorces were rarely granted and women usually ran away from bad marriages. As you read, I will talk about

The Renaissance, with took place in Italy and Northern Europe, inspired major changes in social life. Humanism, or the idea that men needed to educate themselves to be the best humans, was one of the reasons for these changes. They started going to schools and expressing themselves artistically, these new actions brought about the belief that men were superior. The assumed role of men during the Renaissance was to be dominant. They were to fight in battles and wars, hold a position for office, and do honor to their family name. In comparison, the roles of women were drastically different, they were submissive. It was thought that women should obey her husband and father, bear children, and not be educated, as many men were.

Starting in the 1700s before the industrial revolution we can really see the biggest changes in what the work force looked like. This was a time before there were intricate machines and tools to help workers perform the tasks that were needed for almost every job. Because this was a time before machines and the tools needed to make jobs easier there was a limited amount of production happening on larger scales like we see now. Because of this, production was commonly very slow and tough work. Work was relatively simple and the number of specialized artistries was limited. The individuals that lived in the cities found new livings in creating handcrafted goods. These crafters worked in small workshops to create their good and at times would

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.

Then in society, men were portrayed as “dominant figures” and women were the “nurturers”. Men not only filled the fatherly role but they also usually earned the “breadwinning”, went to work all day, and financially provided for the wives and

At the end of the 18th century and during the 19th century, there were many changes to public ideology that affected the way that women perceived their roles in society. Prior to these changes, women had adopted the beliefs of separate “spheres” separating work into public life and their duties as mothers at home1. Women stayed at home to take care of the children and provide a warm, welcoming home for their husbands to take refuge from public life. Women became aware of their lack of legal and political power after the American Revolutionary War ended as they were denied the right to the same freedoms that granted the right to vote to the white, property-owning male population2. Despite granting women more liberty to run businesses, farms,

Married women were considered property of the husbands. The job of the woman was to satisfy their husband and take care of the family. Women were not entitled to any property or money in the relationship except if the husband died. Marriage for men meant being in charge of your own home. Married men could take charge and give direction to their wife. Men also had the authority to discipline their wife in any manner if he felt that she had passed a boundary. Men were required to provide for their family. If a man was poor, he must get a job before completing school in order to provide for his future

Typically, women were also not allowed to be educated or gain knowledge outside of the home because it was a man’s world. Patriarchal society did not allow women to have the same privileges as men. Consequently, women were ascribed the more feminine duties of caring for the home and pursuing the outlets of feminine creativity. Victorian men also expected women to possess feminine qualities as well as innocence; otherwise, they would not be of marriage potential.

Their roles were still emphasized as wives and mothers. Women were viewed as naturally suited to a different social role than men, and sometimes known as inferior to men. This was a social issue because woman had to be told where they were allowed to go and what they were allowed to do according to their husbands.