Elizabethan Era Women's Rights
“Women in her greatest perfection was made to serve and obey man.” Although John Knox was right in his time, many women would find this completely offensive in today’s culture. Women were to be obedient, their family lives were not always pleasant, and they were not taken seriously. The controversy of women’s rights has been around for decades. During the Elizabethan era, women were treated cruelly and as servants. Women were not always seen as equals who had rights. They faced many trials and were not always allowed to do the same things as men. Women were not allowed to go to school, but they could have a tutor visit their home (Alchin 2). Many women in high power such as Queen Elizabeth were very well educated despite the fact that they
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Men were the head of the house and their wives were suppose to take care of the family. As head of the household, men had the authority to chastise his wife if she disobeyed his wishes (Thomas 1). This means that if a man told his wife to do something and she did not obey him, he had the authority to beat his wife if he felt the need to. “On average, a woman gave birth to a child every two years, but as a lot of babies and children died from sickness, families were not always large (Thomas 1). Today, families are broken apart due to divorce, however, death played the greatest role in broken families. It was to be believed that only one out of five children would live past the age of ten. They would catch deadly diseases such as smallpox or were affected by the Black Death, which swept across England (Papp 1). William Shakespeare struggled with death first hand when his son Hamnet died at a young age. He wrote in Romeo and Juliet, “each has swallowed all my hope but she.” In other words, Juliet was the last of Lord Capulet’s children left alive (Kemp 17). However, parents were not the only ones faced with grief. Many children lost one of their parents before they were twenty five years old (Papp 1). Many women died during childbirth due to lack of medical knowledge on the midwife’s behalf. The natural births were painful and many mothers did not see their babies grow up. Many of the children’s fathers died during the war, fighting for their country (Papp
Men were the head of the house and their wives were suppose to take care of the family. As head of the household, men had the authority to chastise his wife if she disobeyed his wishes (Thomas 1). This means that if a man told his wife to do something and she did not obey him, he had the authority to beat his wife if he felt the need to. “On average, a woman gave birth to a child every two years, but as a lot of babies and children died from sickness, families were not always large (Thomas 1). Today, families are broken apart due to divorce, however, death played the greatest role in broken families. It was to be believed that only one out of five children would live past the age of ten. They would catch deadly diseases such as smallpox or were affected by the Black Death, which swept across England (Papp 1). William Shakespeare struggled with death first hand when his son Hamnet died at a young age. He wrote in Romeo and Juliet, “each has swallowed all my hope but she.” In other words, Juliet was the last of Lord Capulet’s children left alive (Kemp 17). However, parents were not the only ones faced with grief. Many children lost one of their parents before they were twenty five years old (Papp 1). Many women died during childbirth due to lack of medical knowledge on the midwife’s behalf. The natural births were painful and many mothers did not see their babies grow up. Many of the children’s fathers died during the war, fighting for their country (Papp