Oppression Of Women During The Reformation And The Enlightenment

Women in society have often been oppressed, marginalized, and subjugated by men. The oppression and negative attitudes towards women rose from their physical weaknesses, typical feminine personality traits such as compassion and sensitivity being perceived as weak, and inferiority and mistrust from the Bible. The inferiority is due to Eve being created from Adam to serve and keep him company. The mistrust from the Bible is due to the story of Eve corrupting Adam in the Garden of Eden and making him fall to sin. As history progresses, women have made great strides towards equality, but have faced many challenges. The Reformation and the Enlightenment were times of progress and changes towards the attitudes and experiences of women, but they

One example of women being kept in their traditional role in society is seen through Martin Luther, the founder of Lutheranism and author of the 95 theses against the Catholic Church. Martin Luther believed that the role of women was to take care of the family. This belief emphasizes the traditional domestic role of women to care for the children and household. Women also remained below due to the teachings of John Calvin, another reformer and founder of Calvinism. Calvin believed that women were subordinate to men because of scriptural phrasing in Genesis. This shows that reformers took inspiration from the Bible to keep women in their traditional roles. In conclusion, the Reformation, which emphasized a priesthood of all believers, reading the bible, and direct translation of scripture, indirectly led to women being held firmly in their traditional

One such example in seen in the reduction on witch hunts which typically targeted and killed single or widowed women. The reduction in witch hunts is likely due to the decrease of superstition because of the glorification of using reason and science. Another change was an increased amount of influence from women on society. During the Enlightenment women organized salons where philosophes would meet and discuss ideas. Due to the organizing of these meetings, some women were able to hear and be influenced by their ideas of equality, education, and reason. Because of this, a small amount of women made progress and broke free of tradition during this time. One example would be Mary Wollstonecraft, a founding feminist, writer, and crusader for equality. Wollstonecraft’s ability to go against the grain and break tradition made her a founding feminist. In conclusion, during the Enlightenment, women experienced less accusations of being witches, gained greater influence due to the salon movement, and a select few were even able to break free of tradition and domestic