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Gender discrimination in Elizabethan times
Gender inequality in the Elizabethan era
Gender inequality in the Elizabethan era
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In Her Shoes: Wife, Mother and Reformer Katharina was not a typical docile, homemaker, Reformation woman. She was a woman fighting for her home, marriage, reform, her husband and reform for everyone. In her marriage Katharina von Bora was Luther's equal and responsible for their house, six children, and their livestock. Luther being a 16th-century male fervently believed that the man was the head of the family and should be in charge and rule as well. However, distinct from many of his contemporaries, Luther did not subssubstantiate substantiate misogyny that was proliferated by numerous men in his era.13 Besides loving table talk Luther showed his affection for his wife Katherine in other significant ways. For example, he put her on a pastoral
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 ...
Drawn from her surviving love letters and court records, The Burgermeister's Daughter is an engaging examination of the politics of sexuality, gender and family in the 16th century, and a supreme testament to the grit and perseverance of a woman who challenged the inequalities of this distant age. The story, in Steven Ozment's meticulous and experienced hands, goes well beyond the litigious Anna to encompass much else about the 16th century, including the nature of sexual morality, the social individuality of men and women, the jockeying for power between the upwardly striving bourgeoisie and the downward sliding nobility, and the aftereffect of the reformation on private life. Steven Ozment's understanding of the Medieval German society and its effects on its citizens is amazing. Steven Ozment brings a medieval drama to life in this extensively researched and absorbing account of the 30-year lawsuit between Anna Buschler and her family. Anna's father was the Burgermeister (mayor) of the German town of Schwabisch Hall. He banished his daughter from the family home in 1525 after he read letters that proved her sexual connection with two men. Anna responded by suing her father. Anna Buschler looked predestined to a comfortable and serene life, not one of constant personal and legal conflict. Born into an eminent and respectable family, self-confident and high-spirited in her youth, and a woman of acknowledged beauty, she had a standing as the beauty of her hometown, and as something of a free soul. In an era when women were presumed to be disciplined and loyal, Anna proved to be neither. Defying 16th-century social mores, she was the constant subject of defamation because of her indecent dress and flirtatious behavior. When her we...
What was the predominant image of women and women’s place in medieval society? Actual historical events, such as the scandal and subsequent litigation revolving around Anna Buschler which Steven Ozment detail’s in the Burgermeisters Daughter, suggests something off a compromise between these two literary extremes. It is easy to say that life in the sixteenth century was surely no utopia for women but at least they had some rights.
James Kittelson’s biography on the life of Luther is thought provoking and informative. Kittelson does not have a concise thesis, but as it is a biography the central theme of Luther the Reformer is an insightful narrative of Martin Luther’s life from his birth in Eisleben until his death on February 18, 1546 in Eisleben. Kittelson thoroughly and with great detail and sources explains Luther’s mission to reform the catholic church. Luther the Reformer seeks to condense Luther’s life in a manner which is more easily read for those who do not know the reformer’s story well. Luther is portrayed not only as a theologian throughout the book, but as a person with struggles and connections throughout the Germanic region in which he lived. Luther’s theology is portrayed throughout the entirety of the book, and Kittelson approaches Luther’s theology by explaining Luther’s past. The inclusion of
Henry, one of the most well known kings of England, is best remembered for breaking with the Church of Rome, Roman Catholicism. There were many reasons behind the reformation in England, but perhaps the most prominent of these had to do with Katharina, the Spanish princess turned English Queen. Though Katharina of Aragon lived a hard life, from the death of her children, to a public divorce, she cared for the people that she reigned over, and stayed in their hearts long after she was exiled.
Men and women were seen to live in separate social class from the men where women were considered not only physically weaker, but morally superior to men. This meant that women were the best suited for the domestic role of keeping the house. Women were not allowed in the public circle and forbidden to be involved with politics and economic affairs as the men made all the
Katherine was born to Sir Thomas and Maud Parr in 1512. She had a younger brother and sister, William and Anne.2 Maud served Katherine of Aragon as a lady-in-waiting. It is possible that Katherine and Princess Mary, born only a few years apart, played or were briefly educated together.3 When Katherine was around five years old, her father died. Maud was left to raise her three young children, and from all appearances, took the job as mother and educator very seriously.4 Katherine learned to speak and write French as well as English, which was a remarkable feat considering most people could not read even English. Katherine's love of learning never ceased throughout her entire life. As an adult she pursued the study of Latin and Greek, as well as religious writings of the period. Katherine composed two separate books, Prayers and Meditations, and Lamentation of a Sinner.5
Women “were expected to bear children, stay home, cook and clean, and take care of the children” (Cobb 29). They were expected to be weak, timid, domestic, emotional, dependent, and pure. Women were taught to be physically and emotionally inferior in addition morally superior to men. During this time, women were ostracized for expressing characteristics and wants that contradicted those ideals. For women, the areas of influence are home and children, whereas men’s sphere includes work and the outside world” (Brannon 161).
During the High Medieval Period, people’s opinions and behaviors were controlled by the Church. Church believed that women should belong to men and they needed to be subservient to men. Women at that time seen as objects could be sold and bought by men. However for Eleanor, she controlled her own marriage and fate, she used to announce that she did not want to have the marriage with her husband anymore, which was her first marriage with Louis VII. After married to Louis VII, Eleanor became a birth machine to his husband; her husband wanted a boy to inherit his crown, but for open - mind Eleanor, she could not bear this - she wanted a husband who really loved her. As a result, their marriage became very fragile. When Louis decided to join the second Crusade, Eleanor decided to take part in too; also she contributed armies for that cause, and she decided to come with Lois to the battle, brought almost three hundred ladies with her. The church did not agree with the idea that Eleanor wanted to follow with her husband of joining the Crusade. No women at that time would challenge the Church, let along to let a woman join the battle. Eleanor showed how powerful and how rich she was to the world, and also the Church could not stop her. During the Crusade, Eleanor met her uncle Raymond, who sooner fell in love with Eleanor. The trip to Jerusalem was failed, and they return back to France.
The political organization and religion aspects during the 16th century influenced Protestant Reformation to occur in Germany. Martin Luther’s writings reflect on his views and perspectives of German politics and religion at the time. Martin Luther’s ideas in the Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation and The Statement of Grievances mentions Martin Luther’s thoughts about how corrupt the church is, why the corruption in the church needs to end, and what Martin Luther’s ideas are to change the way of the church.
Understanding the way women both were controllers of and controlled by social, political and cultural forces in the medieval period is a complex matter. This is due to a number of factors- the lack of documentation of medieval women, high numbers of illiteracy amongst women, especially lower class, medieval sources being viewed through a contemporary lens and the actual limitations and expectations placed upon women during the period, to name a few. The primary sources: The Treasure of The City of Ladies by Catherine of Siena and Peter of Blois’ letter to Eleanor of Aquitaine concerning her rebellion, highlight the restrictions women were expected to adhere to, and the subsequent reprimanding that occurred when they didn’t. Women were not passive victims to the blatant patriarchal standards that existed within medieval society, even though ultimately they would be vilified for rebelling.
She went to the court “as a full and autonomous tenant”1, she made some critical decision for the household as she was the head of the household and disciplined her servants without hesitations. Cecilia acted more like her brother in law as most these things were his works. Cecilia was able to do these things because she was unmarried but her sisters were not allowed to do many such things which shows how the difference in gender shapes the lives but difference in the status of gender plays some major roles as well. Along with the negative side of being married there are also many benefits of marriage which depends on the nature of husband. Cecilia’s sister had many advantages from the marriage such as “social approval and support; greater
In marriage, men viewed women more as possessions, but for women it was a fulfilling ambition just to be married (Brown, 1973). Other statements in the book suggest the only valuable part of a woman is her beauty, making it clear that women were not treasured for their accomplishments, although it is critical they have them (El Azrak).
In an age where bustles, petticoats, and veils stifled women physically, it is not surprising that society imposed standards that stifled them mentally. Women were molded into an ideal form from birth, with direction as to how they should speak, act, dress, and marry. They lacked education, employable skills, and rights in any form. Every aspect of their life was controlled by a male authority figure starting with their father at birth and persisting through early womanhood into marriage where it was the husband who possessed control. Men believed that it was the law of the bible for one of the two parties to be superior and the other inferior. Women were ruled over as children and were to be seen, but not heard.
Reformation thinkers believed that the role of the man in a marriage was to care for the needs of his family by providing for their shelter, food, and safety. The role of the woman in the marriage was to support the male, take care of the household, and raise the children. Neither the male or the female were considered to be higher than the other in the marriage. As Ozment states in When Fathers Ruled, the husband's duties were to ensure his families well-being and to rule over his family and servants with a firm hand.1 The bad husband was one that had no self control because without self control the husband could not provide for the family properly. A bad wife was one who did not know or respect her place in the family. Ozment writes that many reformer thinkers believed that the husband should have the rule in the household. This is because " a wife required proper deference... Because of her perceived physical and temperamental weakness, compared to men; magnanimity, patience, and forbearance befitted the superior nature and position of men."2 Reformation thinkers believed that husband and wife were on the most part equal with the male heading the household because of his stronger characteristics.