A Woman’s Duty

A Woman’s Duty

To the Anglo-Saxons, the most important figure was the ring-giver followed by his band of warriors. In a society in which war was relatively constant and life could be short, the ability to fight was highly prized. Anglo-Saxon women could not fight nor were they expected to. As a result of being left out of the warrior class, women were automatically relegated to the less important roles in society. Despite being second-class citizens, Anglo-Saxon women were able to attain dignity and respect in assuming their roles of wives, mothers, peace-weavers and mistresses of their halls.

Anglo-Saxon women spent their whole lives under the protection of their menfolk. As young girls, they lived in their fathers’ halls and were under their protection. When they came of age and got married, Anglo-Saxon women would be sent to their husbands’ households. A woman’s first loyalty was to her husband, whom she had to obey. She was expected to see to his comfort and bear his children. In “The Wife’s Lament,” (Norton, pp.102-103) the narrator feels sorrow for her isolation but more i...