Spoken generally, in early modern Europe, individual life trajectories were expected to follow a similar path, with variance that depended on one’s economic class and religiosity. Embedded by the Catholic and Protestant churches, this format maintained that society’s structure and religion was mirrored and taught within families led by the fathers. When women reached old age in the early modern period, society’s perception of them depended on their social status. Philip Stubbes, A Crystal Glass for Christian Women (1590) demonstrated how a respected religious woman, Kathrine Stubbes, was regarded after she passed. This contrasts with Margaret Fernseed in The Arraignment and Burning of Margaret Fernseed (1608), and Joan Buts in The Trial of …show more content…
As a result, Margaret Fernseed was not a recipient of respect like Katherine Stubbes was. The Arraignment and Burning of Margaret Fernseed (1608) even described Margaret Fernseed as an outcast in prison. This suggested that she was so off putting, even amongst the worst of society, which exaggerated the disrespect for women of low social status. In Europe, during the late modern era, it was often the case that women of lower class, specifically those who displeased the church, were accused of crimes, and described as wretched, as displayed in the life of Margaret Fernseed. Another woman that was given a lack of respect was Joan But, because she did not comply with religious and cultural standards set by the church. In The Trials of Joan Butts (1682), it is narrated that she was indicted for “not having the fear of God before her eyes.” This demonstrated how Joan Butts displeased higher society, and as a result she received scolding words that justified at the …show more content…
Both are women that did not please the church, and thus were described as wicked. This exhibited the pattern that was present during the late modern period, in which women of lower status were chastised in later life. In addition, it is stated that Joan Buts is “guided by the instigation of the Devil,” this characterization contrasted Katherine Stubbes, as she was described with a connection to God. Once again, the difference in religiosity and social status was highlighted, which were highly linked to how the women were treated in the United Kingdom during the late modern period. A woman in Europe set out to follow a pattern in life in the late modern period, which was mediated by the women’s class and godly appearance. The three extracts demonstrated the difference of respect between a woman of higher class and lower class during this time in the United Kingdom. This was first established in Philip Stubbes, A Crystal Glass for Christian Women (1590), which laid out the way a women had to live her life to gain the respect of society by the time she reached her late
The life style of a woman’s role in society was to take care of the house while the husband went off to work and to make the life of the husband easier whenever the husband was home. Although during the Nineteenth Century we start to see a movement towards women’s rights. During the Second Great Awakening women were given a more important role in activities such as religion. Women could be sent out regularly on mission trips, or even to preach in churches. This being said was one thing in particular Matthias was trying to prevent. Matthias went so far to prevent women preaching in the church that he was kicked out of one of the churches that ...
Jeanne de Jussie, a dedicated Catholic nun, recorded events that took place in Geneva during the Reformation as the official chronicler for the Saint Clare convent. Although littered with biases, Jeanne de Jussie’s experiences reflect broader trends during the Reformation; therefore, The Short Chronicle is a valid source and not merely a personal attack against the Protestants. Her experiences and beliefs, including those concerning celibacy, reflected those of many members of the Catholic Church during the Reformation. Also, her categorization of Protestants as ‘heretics’ was consistent with the practices of the Catholic Church. Although biased, her fears about Protestant views on celibacy and marriage were legitimate and consistent with
Karlsen highlights with an remarkable accuracy, the prejudices connected with areas of the particular portrayal of women along with the linkage of the "lady as-witch" idea inside United states tradition. Many contemporary individuals ended up being perplexed by such hasty action against a force that has no evidence. Karlsen brings a plethora of ideas to the table regarding these prejudices and explains in detail, the injustices performed against entirely innocent individuals.
There were many people that were women, older, widowed, and on the brink of poverty. But not all these women were put on trial for witchcraft. The problem with the stereotype is that it breaks down once the actual trial starts. If a person who doesn’t fit the stereotype confesses to witchcraft and more importantly for elites, to dealing with the devil than the person is going to be convicted as a witch. Unfortunately for Françette Camont she did fit many of the stereotypes for being a witch and therefore when it was time for her trial it made it that much easier to convict
The book focuses mainly on the time period between 1620-1725, give or take a few years. Colonial New England is the setting. The author puts great emphasis on towns where witch trials were predominate. In these towns religion, social status and wealth seemed to be important to most people. The courts in these towns relied on religion as much as the law to run their trials.
The early modern era in Western Europe was a dangerous place for women with the rise of so called “witches” populating towns and country sides. With the peak of these witch trials happening between 1560 and 1640 in England (the making of the west 499). This caused the people of Europe to live in fear of the devil and his counterparts on earth. Over 80 percent of victims of these witch trials were women and thousands upon thousands of trials taking place all across Europe and the North American Colonies at the time as well (motw 500). Seeing that women are mostly accused of witches, it raises the questions as to why that is. Upon examining 2 specific cases in this essay, those being of Walpurga Hausmannin from Dillingen, Germany and Francatte Camont from Lorraine, France; one can see that both these cases are very similar in many aspects despite the fact that both these women were trialed in different countries in Western Europe. In this essay, the reader will explore the motivations, visions and the targets of these witch trials with specific evidence and focus on the trials of both Walpurga and Francatte. The reader will also be able see connections between both trials throughout as well.
During The Second Great Awakening, the legal rights of men and women were greatly influenced by gender and race. Paul Johnson and Simon Wilentz’s book, The Kingdom of Matthias, describes the life of two young women, Isabella Van Wagenen and Isabella Matthews Laisdell, both of whom men’s power effected. During the nineteenth century, men were the “backbone” of the family; the men made the money, supported, and provided for the family. Throughout the era, women were nothing more than housewives. A woman’s daily job was to cook, clean, and care for the children. The views of motherhood changed over time as the mothers began bearing fewer children. This alteration was made with the intentions of showing each child more attention with the hopes that the family would rise in social standard and class. There are extreme cases of women's social and spiritual roles changing in The Kingdom of Matthias (Kelly, Dustin). The rising market shaped the rights and freedoms of the women in society. Matthias thought that the increasing rights of women degraded his rights as a man and as a laborer (Fiorini, 3/27).
The case of Anne Gunter fits the modern stereotype of witchcraft accusations and the trials that resulted from them; a young girl falsely claims that an older woman or women are causing her harm using supernatural abilities they have gained through nefarious means, sending the community into an uproar. Hysteria runs rampant through the community and the poor women are harshly punished – the formulaic story plays out similarly throughout popular media, must notably in Arthur Millers’ ‘The Crucible’. Yet in the case of young Anne Gunter from North Moreton, there is a deviation from the “standard plot” of a witchcraft trial – the women are acquitted and Miss Gunter’s subterfuge is revealed. The fact that the allegations are not only proven to be false, but a confession of such is given by Anne Gunter allows the focus to shift from the actual Gunter case to what factors played into why people were accused of witchcraft. What we can infer from the Gunter case is that people in England were accused of witchcraft because of three major things: lack of power, prestige, and plenty within society.
Anne Llewellyn Barstow finds that there was a disproportionate amount of women who were accused of Witchcraft in Western Europe between 1400 and 1650. Barstow moves on to point out through the text that these Women were victims of Misogyny due to the definition of Witchcraft being so broad and actually fitting the descriptions of the lives of many women. The patriarchal society of Europe at the time also bound women to lives of a lesser class if they were not living under the protection of men. Women were also seen as sex objects, and were seen as a threat to men who viewed women as untrustworthy and whorish. The findings of her research and views led Barstow to find that women were more likely to be accused and put to death for Witchcraft than men, as they were seen as minors before the courts and could not hold high positions but, they could be accused before the court for the heinous act of Witchery. Women were blamed for every malfunction of their reproductive systems, including stillbirth and were also blamed for preventing conception. Barstow believes that the first ever accounts of Witchcraft prosecution rose in the fifteenth century Europe as a means to control women’s sexual and reproductive lives. Barstow states, that in the English county of Essex, an amazing 92 percent of those accused of Witchcraft were women. The author proves that authors of the day do not concentrate on Women as the victims. In fact Women’s issues were merely brushed o...
The witch hunts in early modern Europe were extensive and far reaching. Christina Larner, a sociology professor at the University of Glasgow and an influential witchcraft historian provides valuable insight into the witch trials in early modern Europe in her article 'Was Witch-Hunting Woman-Hunting?'. Larner writes that witchcraft was not sex-specific, although it was sex-related (Larner, 2002). It cannot be denied that gender plays a tremendous role in the witch hunts in early modern Europe, with females accounting for an estimated 80 percent of those accused (Larner, 2002). However, it would be negligent to pay no heed to the remaining 20 percent, representing alleged male witches (Larner, 2002). The legal definition of a witch in this time, encompassed both females and males (Levack, 1987). This essay will explore the various fundamental reasons for this gender discrepancy and highlight particular cases of witchcraft allegations against both women and men. These reasons arise from several fundamental pieces of literature that depict the stereotypical witch as female. These works are misogynistic and display women as morally inferior to men and highly vulnerable to temptations from demons (Levack, 1987). This idea is blatantly outlined in the text of the 'Malleus Maleficarum' written by James Sprenger and Henry Kramer in the late fifteenth century. This book is used as the basis for many of the witch trials in early modern Europe (Levack, 1987). The text describes women as sexually submissive creatures and while remarking that all witchcraft is derived from intense sexual lust, a women is thus a prime candidate for witchcraft (Sprenger & Kramer, 1487). In this time period, men are seen as powerful and in control and thus rarely...
The fifteenth century was a gruesome era in world history. Church and state were not separated which caused many problems because the Church officials were often corrupt. The story of Joan of Arc, portrayed by George Bernard Shaw, impeccably reflects the Church of the 1400’s. Joan, a French native, fought for her country and won many battles against England. But Joan’s imminent demise came knocking at her door when she was captured by the English. She was charged with heresy because the armor she wore was deemed for men only but she justified her actions by stating that God told her to do it. Today, Joan of Arc would be diagnosed schizophrenic because of the voices in her head but she would still be respected for serving in the military. But in the fifteenth century, she was labeled as nothing more than a deviant. She was tried and the Inquisitor characterized her as a beast that will harm society. Through his sophistic reasoning, loaded diction, and appeals to pathos and ethos, the Inquisitor coaxed the court into believing Joan was a threat to society and she had to pay the ultimate price.
Wollstonecraft, Mary. “A Vindication of the Rights of Women with Structures on Political and Moral
In Mary Wollstonecraft’s The Wrongs of Woman, or Maria and Mary Robinson’s The Natural Daughter, women are subject to many hardships economically, simply because they are women. Women are not given sufficient opportunity, as men are, to pursue a living. Even if she is a woman of taste and morals, she may be treated as though she is a criminal and given no means to protect herself.
Women today are still viewed as naturally inferior to men, despite the considerable progress done to close this gap. Females have made a huge difference in their standing from 200 years ago. Whether anyone is sexist or not, females have made considerable progress from where they started, but there is still a long journey ahead. Mary Wollstonecraft was an advocate of women 's rights, a philosopher, and an English writer. One of Wollstonecraft’s best works was “A Vindication of the Rights of Women” (1792). In her writing, she talks about how both men and women should be treated equal, and reasoning could create a social order between the two. In chapter nine of this novel, called “Of the Pernicious Effects Which Arise from the Unnatural Distinctions Established in Society,”
They had to sacrifice their motherhood in some form or another in order to gain success in other aspects of their lives. Joan, a young girl wanted to have an education and so she ran away from home under the disguise of a boy to gain higher knowledge which was not an option for a girl in her time. Joan stated, “I dressed as a boy when I left home”… “I was only twelve. Also women weren’t/allowed in the library. We wanted to study in Athens” (8). Joan having to disguise herself as a boy, showed that women were not allowed to have an education; they had limited opportunities. However, under the disguise as a male, Joan was given the opportunity to be a pope, a role generally reserve for a man. Nevertheless, it was discovered that she was a female when she gave birth in public and hence, she was stoned to death. Even other women who did not have to choose between motherhood and career, were unable to get promoted even if they were more qualified than men. This is due to the gender gap and the historical male domination. Louise, who came for a job interview at Marlene’s employment agency stated, “Nobody notices me, I don’t expect it, I don’t attract attention by making mistakes, everybody takes it for granted that my work is perfect” (52). This illustrates that even though the feminist movement had made significant advances in gender equality, there are still limitations in inequality concerning