Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Women's status during the renaissance
Women's status during the renaissance
an essay on renaissance
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Women's status during the renaissance
The Renaissance was simply “the green end of one of civilization's hardest winters” (Robert 10). In other words, catastrophic events swept through Europe such as the black plague, warfare, and starvation causing a high population of death rates. After an era of destitution, the Renaissance was a period of “rebirth” where individuals could express their intellectual thought through art, science, literature, and education. It’s true that people during that time express humanist ideals of individual achievement, but does the word “individual” contribute to both men and women (Ramirez 439)? As a result, in what ways did the Renaissance world view influence or impact social issues such as gender equality? The Renaissance highly influenced gender equality especially in terms of marriage, wealth ownership, and freedom of expression. With this is mind one should question, “did women have a Renaissance” (Kelly 1) or exhibit the same privileges as men?
In the subject of marriage a woman’s main purpose is to conceive children and remain as a “property” of her husband (Suite101 1). A woman’s marriage is mostly based on her dowry and wealth. If a woman owns a high dowry, most likely she would marry a man of a high status; a woman who lacks a proper dowry would in turn marry a man of a lower status. Consequently, marriage during the Renaissance is generally based on prosperity rather than the love between couples (Essay911). A dowry is like a “ticket” for a marriage because without a dowry it is almost impossible for a woman to obtain a husband. When a couple confirms a dowry the husband sends a receipt to the wife’s parents in order to finalize their marriage. This symbolizes the bride as a purchase or a product that can be bought in...
... middle of paper ...
... Web. 28 Feb. 2010.
renaissance_courtship_and_marriage>.
"renaissance quotes ." Your Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2010.
.
"Renaissance Women ." Yesnet. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2010.
renaissancewomen.html>.
"What is a Renaissance Man?" Wise Geek. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2010.
.
"Women in the Renaissance." Sparknotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2010.
.
Zuber, Amber. "Gender Roles in the Renaissance." Cedarcrest. N.p., n.d. Web. 28
Feb. 2010.
azuber.htm>.
In the traditional political history of Italy the people outside of the ruling class of the society were rarely studied. Only with the use of social history did the issues of class and gender begin to be debated by scholars. Numerous recent articles have done a great job of analysing particularly men of high status. In this paper I will look at the lower classes of Renaissance Florence. More specifically, I will center my focus on the lives of women during this era, how they were treated and viewed by people of other classes and how women were viewed and treated by men.
Through history, the period of the fifteenth century, a woman choosing her husband was extremely rare. The majority of marriages was planned by the head of the household, usually that father of the bride or groom. The course of the marriage is to gain power and social standards. Also provides the chance for the heir of the marriage would have in possession the power, the territory, and the social standard for the family for next future heirs to come. This benefit more for the men than the women, for men can own territories and be the head of the household, women cannot. Instead, a woman’s obligation is to fulfill their family’s jurisdiction in their future.
Wiesner-Hanks, Merry E. "Do Women Need The Renaissance?" Gender & History 20.3 (2008): 539-557. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
Do you believe in equal rights for women? During the sixteenth and seventeenth century, the rights of women were restricted when compared to the rights of men. Many of these rights were based upon the social and marital status of the woman, but regardless of her status, she had less rights than her husband. As I will argue in this paper, men controlled women and limited their rights with regard to guardianship, serving as a witness, and owning property. Women were viewed as inferior to men and often considered unable to make intellectual decisions. As Professor Byars stated in class, women at this time had illegitimate power rather than legitimate power. Anything they received, they received from someone or something else. Women only obtained wealth or power in a manner deemed appropriate by men. Women faced restrictions and lack of personal control their entire life and were under the authority of men.
In the year 1520 European women begin arriving to the New World; all these women were treat as minors and became adult at the age of 25 years old. At this time or before women were destined to get marriage. Marriages were controlled by fathers, fathers would make sure that the husband choose to their daughters were equal or better in economic matters. The issue of “inequality” of course, rarely arose on the top elite level, but to middle or low level classes it was a major issue. According to one of the stories of Tales of Potosi called The Strange Case of Fulgencio Orozco people from low classes pass throughout many difficulties to arrange a marriage for their daughters; in this story a Spanish man who lacked in economic matters experience many complications trying to organized a marriage for his daughter, he never obtain a good marriage for his daughter and finally became crazy, lost his faith in God and died. Cases like this one occur around all Spanish America in low classes; marriage was an economic contract that almost always benefits top elite level class.
Her chief arguing points and evidence relate to the constriction of female sexuality in comparison to male sexuality; women’s economic and political roles; women’s access to power, agency, and land; the cultural roles of women in shaping their society; and, finally, contemporary ideology about women. For her, the change in privacy and public life in the Renaissance escalated the modern division of the sexes, thus firmly making the woman into a beautiful
It is clear that women of the Renaissance experienced hardships and injustices throughout their lives. Women had to be "perfect" and not question the authority of men. Obviously, the times have changed but we should never forget how the women of the Renaissance were treated and how much improvement was
Throughout the years, rights between both genders has changed and provided women more equally rights similar to men. It took women hundreds of years to gain the same or similar equality as men, and even now there is still inequality in the workplace. Men originally treated women like objects and extremely poorly. It is known that during the Renaissance time period, society was a patriarchal society, in which men were the primary authority. Women were forced to live by rules and standards that were unfair and unreasonable in both the household and in the workplace. Women should have had the same rights as men instead of being treated as a minority and known as incapable for being independent because they did extreme amounts of work that were unrecognized.
The Enlightenment is known as the revolution that brought to question the traditional political and social structures. This included the question of the woman’s traditional roles in society. As the public sphere relied more and more ?? and the advances in scientific and educated thinking, women sought to join in with the ranks of their male counterparts. Women held gatherings known as salons where they organized intellectual conversations with their distinguished male guests. Seeking to further their status, enlightened women published pamphlets and other works advocating for educational rights and political recognition. Even with this evolution of woman in society, many still clung to the belief that the role of the woman was solely domestic. The females that spoke up were usually deemed unnatural. However these women used the time period of reason and science that allowed them the opportunity to break away from their domestic roles and alter the view of women in society.
When women are often perceived they are thought of as a complicated, uneducated, person who should only stay inside the home to prepare dinner and take care of the children, at least in the 17th century. Now women are fighting for equal rights just as their counterparts and while they are still complicated and well-educated people it was not always this way women have been fighting this same fight for countless centuries before this time trying to be known as being just as important as their male acquaintances. The first time equality between men and women was thought of was in the 18th century during the enlightenment period.
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.
This endeavor is necessary to protect women’s rights in the labor force in matters such as sexual harassment, salary, work opportunities, etc. Currently, there are several trade unions in Malaysia namely Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) and Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (CUEPACS). However, specific trade unions that fight for women and their equal rights does not exist. At the most, women are only a small part of the committee in general trade unions due to a low number of female workers in the labor force. Therefore, the formation of FTAs can reap benefits in terms of gender inequality and female labor participation which eventually leads to an increase in income per capita and economy
Throughout Western history it was known to have this Patriarchal system in which the men are the head of the family, and community, during which these spheres between the male and female were divided, each having their own set of roles: the male in the public view and the women in the private view. The men worry about what is going on outside the home like politics, money, control over property while the women take care of what happens on the inside of the home doing things like taking care of the children and doing the house work. With these roles set in place the women have had a hard time being respected because of this Patriarchy.
Many of people today feel trapped inside their homes, just how the women of Pre-Industrial Europe felt. Working day in and day out inside the homes, just to keep the family together, and make a little money on the side, these women were an integral part of Pre-Industrial families. Not only were the women important to Pre-Industrial European families, but so were the households. Much of the money was made in the households, and this is where families either succeeded or failed. The household and women of Pre-Industrial Europe played an integral role in the economy of the families, and more importantly, the women of these households kept them running smoothly. Without either of these important aspects of life in Pre-Industrial Europe, it is safe to say that the families would have collapsed, due to a lack of organization and structures. Pre-Industrial Europe, in which the women and the household were “the factories” per se, due to the income they generated, was much different from the Europe we know today. Leading into the Industrialization of Europe beginning in the late 1700's and lasting through the early 1800's, the household played an integral role in the family’s income. Without the household, the families would literally collapse, due to a lack of organization and stability. Within these important family sub-units, there was one married couple, their children, the family’s servants, and in some cases, depending upon the region of Europe, there were grandparents, aunts and uncles. Not only did the father and servants of the house work, but also the women and children. Also, in the case of there being more than one generation of family in a single household, depending upon the region of Europe, the grandparents, aunts, and uncles would also work within the house. Once the children of these households reached a certain age, usually the early teens, they were sent off to work in a house as a servant. These servants were different then the servants of today, as they worked for room, board, and food, not waiting on the family. Once they started to generate income, the teens would save up the money necessary to begin their own family. However, there were the few exceptions; teens that did not work as servants, and ended up marrying into an existing household. This however,...
In the medieval, the arranged marriage which is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are selected by a third party rather than by themselves seems to be a norm worldwide. This sort of marriage is ludicrous especially in the contemporary society, however, it gradually tends to be set up by modern individuals' parents or marriage agency excluding the royal and aristocratic clans and numerous in underdeveloped countries. Although this marriage sounds ridiculous and against the human rights, it absolutely bears some merits catering to the modern lifestyle and relationship pattern.