Women and Children in the Elizabethan Era

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During the Elizabethan time period women were considered the weaker sex. They were thought to always need a man in charge of them. The man in charge of her could be her father, employer or husband. Children were expected to obey their parents and help out whenever needed. I believe women were more equipped to be the head of the family since they had to care for the children and manage the house daily.
An average day for a woman consisted of several responsibilities such as cleaning, cooking, marketing, care for domestic livestock such as poultry, pigs and dairy animals, child care, and basic health care. A woman was also expected to know how to brew ale and maintain a garden, which provided food to eat and sell, and herbs used for medicine. (Forgeng 5) Occasionally they would also need to assist their husbands with haymaking, harvest and trade. (Forgeng 6) Women were expected to get married and have children. (Ros 7) The lower a women was in the social class the more likely she was to choose her own husband because there was nothing being lost or gained from the marriage. In richer families the father would choose the husband because the marriage would benefit the family with land or money. (Ros 4) If a woman was unmarried and had no children she would be considered a disgrace to her family. (Ros 12)
Women were allowed to work but only at part time jobs. The jobs women could have included the following: wet nurse, petty teacher, tutors, spinning, knitting, seamstresses, laundresses, servants, and street vendors. A woman had to obey their husband since he had the final say; however, if he became abusive, the wife could seek help. The first attempt would be her neighbors and ministers using informal methods such as putting pressure...

... middle of paper ...

...uring the Elizabethan time period. I disagree with the way women and children were treated neither sex nor age shouldn’t affect your level of importance.

Works Cited

Forgeng, Jeffery L. “Children in Elizabethan England.” Daily Life through History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 21 Jan. 2014
Forgeng, Jeffery L. “Family Life in Elizabethan England.” Daily Life through History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. web. 21 Jan. 2014 < http://dailylife.abc-clio>
Papp, Joseph, and Elizabeth Kirkland. “Family life in Shakespeare’s Time.” EXPLORING Shakespeare. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resourses in Context. Web. 22. Jan.
Ros, Maggi. “Children and Childhood.” 14, Mar, 2010. 21 Jan. 2014
Ros, Maggi. “Love and Marriage.” 25, Mar, 2008. 21 Jan. 2014

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