Early Modern European Women

HIST106

Word Count: 1536

To what extent were women able to gain and practice power in Early Modern Europe?

Even now in the 21st century, the historical and political narrative of early modern Europe is still largely defined by generations of famous men who ‘held sway over the kingdoms,’ women during these times were dominated by men. Their roles in society were generally domestic responsibilities, such as caring for children, food preparation and cleaning. However, there were some women who were able to gain and exercise power, and provided a challenge to the stereotypical image of medieval women as being the oppressed and inferior gender. Therefore, the ability of Early Modern European women to gain and practice power ultimately depends

This saw women working in occupations from every sector of the economy; including ‘farmwives, fishmongers, artists, scholars, midwives, doctors, prostitutes and servants.’ Directly influenced by the views of the patriarchy, women’s work was neither understood valued as much as the work of their male counterparts, they were generally paid much less even with a large majority of women participating in the labour trade. Merry Wiesner states that it was ‘the gender of the worker, not the work itself or its location, that marked the difference between what were considered domestic tasks and what was considered production’. In some instances, occupations including law, medicine and fine arts, those with higher pay and status, did not allow women to join despite their education and a growing number of female professionals. Consequently, there was little to no opportunity for women in these situations to gain or exercise any power in Early Modern Europe due to the societal values and beliefs that consider women incapable of such

Women were solely blamed for the fall of man in the story of creation, and medicinal and political sciences proclaimed women as unreliable and unfit to exercise any kind of authority in society. Many artworks exhibited this behaviour in the popular culture of the Early Modern European period; a prime example being Lucas Cranach’s artwork ‘Eve’. The sole figure of the painting is Eve, a representation of the female gender, and is portrayed as being a villainous and corruptive figure, clear from both the popular masculine-emphasised artworks, but also within the works portraying Eve as the martyred heroine.

For most of history, the political, cultural and social power of leadership has been bestowed upon the male gender. In Early Modern Europe, this view was cemented in society through literature, artwork, pulpits and in so much of everyday life that made it exceedingly difficult for women to gain and practice power during these times, even in the state of rulership. Those who did however, were ultimately subjected to obstacles unknown by their male