Faith and FamilyFaith and Family

While religion was the source of a lot of disagreement in EME, the bible did cement some beliefs – mostly about family and the traditional roles of men and women.

Events from Garden of Eden established views of women’s place First sin – Eve = women are inferior.

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 1632 The Law’s Resolutions of Women’s Rights. Published

anonymously to give a guide for women’s social and legal responsibilities – reinforced blame for Eve.

“Women have no voice in parliament. They make no laws, they consent to none, they abrogate none.”

Women had ONE role – to be married and subject to their husband.

Education for Marriage & Education for Marriage & MotherhoodMotherhood

Thomas Becon – Protestant Minister said in 1559 education for women was a good thing – it would reinforce their traditional roles as wives and mothers.

Girls should be educated to… enable her to look after her husband and to promote the welfare of her husband and family. Even though women had ruled over nations (Elizabeth was

Queen at time of quote) most people thought appropriate role was wife and Mum

Teachers were adamant about women’s place in society, BUT they had to admit their contribution to family life was vital.

Courtship to MarriageCourtship to Marriage

Marriage was biggest life decision for most people Choice of partner determined success in life – if you made a bad

choice …?

Marriage didn’t happen till late in 20’s Apprenticeships didn’t finish until 24 – so they couldn’t

contemplate marriage till after that.

Girls could be placed in arranged marriage by guardian, at age 7.

Usually accompanied by a dowry.

Girls could marry of their own accord at age 14 – at 12 with parent’s consent.

In practice most people sought parental consent for marriage regardless of their age

Love was important, but sometimes in wealthier classes, it was not the MOST important thing.

Promises / Pitfalls of courtshipPromises / Pitfalls of courtship

Courtship often very formal process.

Even when ideal partner was found – friends and family could interfere.

Ideal courtship = formal process = tokens of love (flowers, clothing, gloves etc), acceptance of affection = parental consent = formal ceremony.

Broken Promises : Causes and Consequences If a man or woman broke their promise to marry for any reason –

they faced family and community disapproval But it did happen – some women were tricked into a marriage

contract – the men took the dowry and then took off !! Church courts worked hard to enforce obligations of ‘liable

husbands’ and ‘liable fathers’

Married LifeMarried Life

Once married men and women had very distinct roles HUSBAND = Provider WIFE – Maintained house, looked after kids

These were the roles for an ‘ideal’ marriage, but in the ‘real’ world, roles often overlapped, mostly from the female side. Women would supplement income of the family through various

activities; brewing, baking and pin making.

The expectation that women should get married and have babies was reinforced by the church and the law – it was what should happen.

If a marriage did not produce children, then it could legally be annulled CASE: Thomas Sabell 1560, no kids – divorced, him and his ex

got re-married; new marriages produced kids – church annulled their 2nd marriages and ordered them to get back together

Married Life cont..Married Life cont..

Historians were led by cases such as this, to believe that marriage was often loveless and oppressive.

Relationships seemed to be set up under Biblical commands and legal requirements And these requirements stressed male authority and female

subservience.

BUT… Bad news always lasts longer than good news – church courts

reflect the cases of desperate people trying to end unhappy times Happy and loving relationships often stayed within the private

confines of home – William Gouge’s book Domesticall Duties in 1612, stressed the importance of mutual affection within a marriage He said sex was very important as it strengthened the bonds of

affection. And physically beating your wife, while not illegal under law,

had no Biblical warrant and was unacceptable in a relationship where wives were partners in a household.

Childbirth, War and WoeChildbirth, War and Woe

Most dangerous time in a woman’s life

This is where they were forced to reflect the curse of Eve

The pain of childbirth seemed to many women to be fulfilling this prophecy

Approx 25 /1000 mothers died during childbirth (not to mention the number of kids that didn’t survive – which was considerably higher)

Miscarriage was common and could lead to other illnesses.

During the 1640’s Civil War intensified the daily trials of life. Forced many women to assume new responsibilities, but mainly

just made their existing lives that much harder and scarier They faced food shortage, predatory soldiers looking for food,

shelter and often, sex

Women challenge their placeWomen challenge their place

Lady Harley of Brompton Bryan classic case of women taking over man’s role.

Her husband away fighting for parliamentarians – Royalist forces besieged her home so she organised the defence of her home as her husband would have – actually fighting off the troops

She died in the process from such exertions Did she fit the mould of the traditional woman? NO !!

Anne Cock – (or Cook) a Quaker aged 60.

Interrupted a church service in Cambridge – a most unwomanly thing to do

She was hauled out of the chapel, thrown across the street and had water and urine thrown all over her on her way home.

Independence and AuthorityIndependence and Authority

Women’s roles can seem oppressively restricted when compared to today.

Society was authoritarian and male-dominated

Literal interpretation of Adam and Eve story seemed to give men almost unlimited authority. Dorothy Leigh wrote book for men in 1616 trying to remove sin of Eve from society – she claimed that Jesus’ birth by Mary absolved ALL women.

However, many cases existed where the woman was an equal partner, at least in the home, if not in public.

Medical problems existed that did not have proper solutions – primitive assistance at best, often caused more problems than it fixed.

Some women were lucky and found loving husbands and lived happy lives; others used feminine wiles to seduce men into a relatively even situation, but for the most part, women faced a life as a subordinate.