Elizabethan society was patriarchal, which means it was controlled by men, and women their inferior(Thomas). The 1600's to 1700's was a time where women had very limited say in the society, everything was done by men. Women had no vote, few legal rights, and an extremely limited chance of ever getting an education or a job(Papp). Most women were denied the chance of school and get an education. Marriage for women in this time was very important but also very strict compared to how it is now(Alchin). Elizabethan women were not open to many job opportunities, just household work(Papp). Compared to this century, women were treated very poorly and had little rights in Elizabethan Era. Education All women faced problems when …show more content…
Firstly, women only benefit to forge alliances with other powerful and rich families through arranged marriages(Alchin). Weddings back then were not for love but for business(Mcgowan). Women had absolutely no say in their future husband and became a housewife. They were arranged so both families involved would benefit in wealth and social rankings(Alchin). The legal age for Elizabethan marriage was 14 for boys and 12 for girls(Mcgowan). This shown in the play Romeo and Juliet when Juliets mother and nurse talk to her about marriage(Act1, Scene 3, Lines 63-67). One marriage custom was that the bride would have to offer money, goods, riches and prosperities called a Dowry(Alchin). Also, it required a Marriage Bond which was a contract of a sworn statement that there is no pre-contract. After the wedding women were expected to run the households and provide children. Her husband became her authority figure. Everyone was expected to marry in Elizabethan England. In fact, women who did not marry were regarded with suspicion, some were even called witches(Benson). The main reason for all of this was because it was believed that women were lesser than men and their rights did not matter as
Although it can be said that seeing as women had no rights during the time period, why not have them serve their husbands as a primary goal. Women usually were less educated, had restrictions on trades that they may practice and limited job opportunities. (S.V. Rosser, 2008 p23) They also were considered to be too young at the time of marriage to know what is best for them so their parents chose their suitor. In fact, one could say if the girl is too young to know what is best for he, should she marry at that age in the first place? Although work was not always strenuous for wives of wealthy suitors, they should have their own lives within the marriage like their husband and not have to constantly please them and have their own lives dictated to...
During Elizabeth’s reign, she never married. People started calling her “The Virgin Queen,” since she never married. Elizabeth had many affairs and she kept romantic friendships throughout her life, but never married. Elizabeth had many reasons why she didn’t marry. If Elizabeth had married her balance of power would’ve shifted. Elizabeth saw when Mary I died that her husband, the king, was more appreciated then the queen. Elizabeth didn’t want that to happen so she stayed single. Also seeing her father kill so many wives and
Throughout history, especially in the fifteenth century, it was extremely rare for a woman to choose her husband. The majority of marriages were planned by the head of the household, which was usually the father of the bride or groom. The purposes of these marriages were to gain power and social standings. This in turn also provided the chance for the heirs of the marriages to have possession of power, territory/land, and a set social standard for the family for all future heirs. This was more of a benefit for the men than the women, for the men could own territories and be the head of the household, women could not. Instead, a woman’s obligation was to fulfill their family’s jurisdiction in their future.
Women primarily undertook the role of being a mother from a considerably young age. Prejudice views prevented many women from holding office let alone playing influential public roles. Most men in the colonial era were farmers or merchants, very few having careers in the medical or law fields. Women seldom held jobs of higher nobility, yet a fraction practiced the trades of their husband or served as midwives. Religion in the colonial era emphasized women balancing the roles of mothering and serving their husband as an idealistic wife. ...
Women in the Elizabethan era were presented as very obedient to their husbands and respectful to them also. They had no power and no say, they were treated badly and nothing would be done to stop the behaviour. In modern society most women have as much say as the men, they are not expected to stay at home and clean etc, and instead they go to work as well. Some women are like Katherina before she was supposedly tamed, very out spoken, yet inequality still exists.
"We may say that the dominant ideas in most societies are the ideas of the dominant sex, associated and mingled with those of dominant class." (Chedgzoy, pg.50) During the Elizabethan time men dominated society. Historically speaking males have always held more power then females in most cultures. Although a few cultures were Matriarchal societies. Yet even in these cultures women were not the superior power but were valued as equal to men. Most of the matriarchal societies viewed women as the embodiment of the goddess. Women have never been the sole dominant sex in a society. The fall of the Matriarchal societies occurred mostly from the organization of Christianity. The Christian ideals taught that women were not intended to have influential roles in society. In the Elizabethan era women were in a weak social position. In addition when Shakespeare writes about women he encompasses the complex issues that socially surround females. Shakespeare allows the audience to observe issues that effect their own factual society acted out on stage. At this time the society was definitely patriarchal, where women were viewed as inferior. In addition women had little to no power over there own lives. Fathers viewed their daughters as their propriety. Which left daughters in a powerless position. The power that women did have was their personal sexuality, virginity was prized and seen as a jewel. Once daughters were married their husbands also valued them as propriety. "Marriages were still arranged, as they had been in the Middle Ages, to further the interests of land-owning families. On marriage all the girl's legal rights ceas...
the life of the women, therefore marriage was often viewed as imprisonment and a burden. The
Firstly, The Elizabethan life for men was one of power. Men were expected to have all the say and they were de facto the head of the family and expected to be obeyed as women were believed to be inferior to men. Next, as the head of the family, -men had to guide the female members of the family and in case of wealthier people, arranged fruitful marriages for their sons and daughters. In spite of their superior position, they were expected to be lovable to their wives. “In fact, they were encouraged by the bible to love their wives and treat them lovingly”. As a gender role, men in Elizabethan period acted as an authoritative person being the head of the family
During the Elizabethan era, men were more powerful and the more significant gender type, while women were more obedient and silent. This gender difference influenced how the society viewed women during this time. In “Women in the Renaissance and Reformation” the author discussed about how the women had different jobs then the men did. The men had to do the more work in the family, while the women were sitting at home watching the kids or doing something that was not very productive. The roles women played in their family included “a daughter, then a wife, mother, or widow.” On the contrary, men’s roles were “generally defined by social position or occupation, as in a merchant, knight, priest, peasant and more.” (Carnagie 541). Women were subservient to their men. They relied on their male relatives to support and take care of them while they could have been taking care of themselves. “Before the renaissance even occurred, men dominated European society and women lacked power to challenge them. After about 1400, however, women began to demand for som...
During the Middle Ages and Renaissance period marriage and love were idealized, divine and celebrated. Weddings were large events that included the entire families of both the groom and the bride. Reality was different; women were viewed as being fickle, inferior to men and a possession of men. Women had very little, if any, choice in who they would marry. Marriages were arranged so that both families would benefit in gaining wealth or power. Even though the ruler of England for over 4 decades was female, women were still not respected. Women were kept at home and not allowed to take place in public events. In Shakespeare’s Richard III, male and female relationships are displayed as deeply cynical and are based on lies, lust and political gain.
Many changes occurred during the Enlightenment period of the late eighteenth century. For instance, more and more emphasis were placed on the family as the eighteenth century passed. There were three groups of urban women in the eighteenth century, lower-class, middle-class(the Bourgeoises in France), and the upper-class or the aristocracy. The work of married women differed if you lived in the city or in the country. In the country the women could be seen as literally carrying the heavy weight of the plantation for her husband. In the city a wife of a merchant may run the household finances and might even take part in her husband's business. In France women fought alongside men in urban revolutionary activities. It was the job of women to buy food for the family, and when they became unable to do this, the situation became intolerable. For Bourgeois women there were many changes. Marriages that had been arranged in the past became more of a romantic relationship as well as economic. Mothers stayed at home and cared for their children more. Female education and t...
During this time period, men are expected to marry accomplished women who are on the same intellectual level as them, but it is almost impossible for women to be on the same intellectual level as men because they do not receive the same level of education as the men do. Also, women are expected to marry man whose family has a high social status, whether he is accomplished or not. Darcy and Elizabeth disobey this social value at the end of Pride and Prejudice where they get married to each other. Darcy is looked down on for getting married to someone of a lower social status, while Elizabeth is seen as someone who has married up into a higher social standing. Their marriage is seen as an untraditional one because instead of getting married because of society’s social values, they were getting married because of their love for each other. This is an example of how Darcy’s horrible first impression on Elizabeth was turned around by his ability to change his manners because of his love for
In the Elizabethan society, it was expected for women to be obedient and to be in her place.
People of around 150 years ago were very superstitious and marriage was important. If a woman did not marry by a certain age she was thought of as a witch, or 'spinster'. Her only roles were to be faithful to her husband and to bear a son to become heir. The role of women was very different from today's society - it was world dominated and run by men.
Throughout the early 1800s, British women most often were relegated to a subordinate role in society by their institutionalized obligations, laws, and the more powerfully entrenched males. In that time, a young woman’s role was close to a life of servitude and slavery. Women were often controlled by the men in their lives, whether it was a father, brother or the eventual husband. Marriage during this time was often a gamble; one could either be in it for the right reasons, such as love, or for the wrong reasons, such as advancing social status. In 19th century Britain, laws were enacted to further suppress women and reflected the societal belief that women were supposed to do two things: marry and have children. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen portrayed a women’s struggle within a society that stresses the importance of marriage and strict behavioral customs. As evidenced by the Bennett daughters: Elizabeth and Jane, as well as Charlotte Collins, marriage for young women was a pursuit that dominated their lives.