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Women In Elizabethan England Essay

573 Words3 Pages

Women in Elizabethan England, were not treated with as much respect as they should have been, but they were not treated as if they were not human beings. They were typically seen to be the weaker sex, mentally and physically and were thought to need a male figure constantly watching over them. If a woman was single, she was usually watched after by a father or an older brother, but if the woman was married it would be her husband’s job to take after her. Men were the ones that brought home the money. They were the head of the home and in charge of most decisions that took place. The men of the Elizabethan Era were to be leaders while the women were housewives and mothers. Although, childbirth was seen as an honor during this time, men still had more respect than the women. Due to the fact that they were seen as the lesser sex and did not have the respect men did, they were not allowed to vote, but neither were a …show more content…

In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream , Egeus, Hermia’s father states, “With cunning hast thou filched my daughter’s heart, turned her obedience, which is due to me, to stubborn harshness. And, my gracious Duke, be it so that she will not here before your grace consent to marry with Demetrius, I beg the ancient privilege of Athens: as she is mine, I may dispose of her; which shall be either to this gentleman or to her death…” (Act One, Scene One. Lines 38-46.). This text is an example of how the father was allowed to choose his daughter’s fate; who she married, or what the consequences were to be if she did not oblige to his decision. The ladies who did not get married and remained single, did not have as many options open for them as married women. Convents began to close, and unless they were a wealthy heiress, they did not have many things they could do. Many single women were looked upon with suspicion and were receivers of witch

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