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Roles of women in the 1500s
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Female roles in medieval society
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Since the beginning of literature, women have been depicted as devious individuals. As a result, women put use to this stereotype to get what they want. This is proven, especially in medieval literature. Examples of this are shown in works like “Macbeth,” * Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” and “The Canterbury Tales”.
Women we’re treated fair and properly; at least that’s what men in the postclassical era would think. Some men now might think this as well. However, in the postclassical era not all women had the right and the freedom that women nowadays have. In some regions women were forced to obey their husbands, others were highly supported from their men, and others were in charge of households or businesses. There might be different views upon women during this era but during the postclassical era it all depended on the region they lived in, the religion they worshiped, and the type of society they ran.
Women were expected to behave and live in a certain way. Women had to "walk straight and not trot or run"(Document 1). They were meant to show respect towards everyone they knew, especially towards men. Women also had an endless amount of expectations they had
All they were considered to be good for was to have babies and take care of men’s needs. Men thought they can do whatever they wanted to do with women. Men mistreated woman badly. In 1790 women started to fight back to gain their freedom to have rights of their own. In the “Wife of Bath’s Tale”, a young knight came across a beautiful young maiden.
In “The Knight 's Tale” I am wondering whether the sign that Diana made towards Emily on page 66 is meant to show the roles how women are an afterthought in society at this time or did it symbolize how the church puts the feelings of the knights first and fails to recognize the feelings of the women. In “The Knight 's Tale” I am wondering whether the reason that the stadium is decorated with gods and religious idols (54) to show that knights fight in the name of religion or that religion is just an excuse to solve their problems with an aggressive nature. In “The Knight 's Tale” I am wondering whether the reason that Arcite and Palamon are able to obtain such a large army willing to fight to the death (59) is to show the great powers of
Women who broke with cultural norms, such as being unmarried, subjective, or educated about medical herbs, were more likely to be accused of witchcraft. Females were also considered property. Their capacity to own property, inherit riches, and engage in legal procedures was frequently restricted. Women's legal standing was frequently linked to their marital status and the authority of male relatives. Marriage was an important event in a woman's life, usually arranged by her family for economic or social reasons.
Before the Reformation, women not seen or viewed as equals to men in any way. Men believed that a woman's role is to bear children and be something like a housewife, taking care of the children and the house. They were not to hold any major responsibilities because society believed that it is not a women’s place and that they would not be able to handle it since they thought that women have limits. During the Reformation in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, society’s attitude toward women changed. The society started to view women as equals in religion and education, but apart of society still believed in the subordination of women, which caused some things not to change.
Throughout Old English Literature, women were seen as evil. Like in Beowulf where the woman with the most power was a monstrous sea creature who destroyed things. Or in Lanval and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight where women were dishonest and corrupted men, or like in The Wife of Bath where women manipulated men to get what they wanted; owned them in a way. In old English texts women are seen as an evil force; a force of destruction, corruption and cunning.
Women of the Medieval Times Women have always had a significant role in history even though they were treated horrible in most cases. During the Medieval Times was really the first time women were allowed to become more than just a house wife. The fight for equality has always been a struggle and even in today’s society is still an ongoing battle. Although women of lower and middle class were treated poorly in the Medieval Times, some powerful women held great responsibility and were looked up too by both men and children; despite being admired, “men were thought to be not only physically stronger but more emotionally stable, more intelligent, and morally less feeble” (Hopkins 5). “The position of women in the Medieval Society was greatly influenced by the views of the Roman Catholic Church” (Heeve).
Women in the 1600s to the 1800s were very harshly treated. They were seen as objects rather than people. They were stay-at-home women because people didn’t trust them to hold jobs. They were seen as little or weak. Women living in this time period had to have their fathers choose their husbands.
EARLY MODERN EUROPE' NOTION ABOUT WOMEN In order to understand the position of women in Early Modern Europe, firstly we need to understand the society of this period. The society took place in Early Modern Europe was the patriarchy.
A man was able to chastise his wife if he felt the need, as long as he was not cruel and did not inflict bodily harm, but a woman was never allowed to chastise her husband. Women were also not allowed to enter the professions with the exception being women could work in domestic services (Thomas). Another thing men could do that women could not was inherit family property (“Daily Life in the Elizabethan Era”). Women were not allowed to inherit property and so the oldest son inherited everything (Alchin). Women were also not allowed to act on the public stage or write for the public stage.
In what ways are women abused and discriminated against inside literature and throughout history? In many patriarchal societies, men have held authority over women due to gender. This power imbalance between men and women sometimes led to unjust treatment of women; men exert their authority over many women in the play, The Crucible. In The Crucible¸ male characters intimidate women to achieve specific outcomes and mark their superiority. Elizabeth Proctor, the protagonist’s wife, shows the standard for Salem women as she is submissive and does not defy her husband or the traditional role as a housekeeper.
Introduction Women in the Middle ages were treated as the second class members within their social class. They were taught to be obedient to their husbands and were expected to run the household and raise children. Their role in the society, however, was much more complex, while some medieval women achieved a high level of equality with men. In the Middle Ages women had a secondary role, coming second after men.
During medieval times, women were expected to be mothers, wives, and peace weavers, none other than that. They were required to be pure, good, and attractive in order to be portrayed as the “greatest gift to mankind.” Otherwise they would be looked upon as evil, witch-like, and monstrous. Women were expected to be adorned in jewels, well-liked, and respected by all. They shall cause no conflicts and should bow to their male authorities.
