Elizabethan Women

Although many men offered a hand in marriage to Queen Elizabeth I, she refused every offer. She was one of the only female rulers of England who did not get married, because it was frowned upon for a woman to not have a male to take care of her (Sharnette). From woman’s inability to get educated and class rankings in society, to men’s lives, much has changed since Queen Elizabeth I ruled England.
In Elizabethan England, women were not allowed a good education. Men were allowed to go to school and get education throughout their whole childhood, whereas girls could only go to school to be taught basic skills like reading and writing (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “The Status”). Without being educated, women obviously were stripped of
The wealthier girls that did get educated still were unable to get good jobs (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “The Status”). The richer girls generally did lots of charity work because they could not get jobs that would pay them (Alchin). Any smart girl that did manage to somehow get a good job was considered a man because girls were not supposed to have good jobs (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “The Status”). The average woman only had one career option, and that was marriage (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “The Status”). Women were not allowed to be in the military or act in a theatre (Alchin). Usually, women were not nobles. However, there were some girls born into noble families (“Elizabethan Societal”). In these times, the belief was that the sole purpose of a woman was to serve a man (Alchin). If a woman was unmarried, her neighbors considered her a witch (Alchin). Another job that some women had was running a small school from their home, they earned very little from these jobs (Mahal, Prasad. “The Children”). Women were also expected to have children; large families were very common during this time. Unfortunately, many women and children ended up dying in childbirth (Alchin). Some lucky girls got apprenticeships as well that they kept until they were 21 to earn money and get experienced for their future (Mahabal, Prasad. “The Children”). Because women were
In Elizabethan times, women in the upper class were very dependent on men to support them. Women in the upper class had marriages pre-arranged for them, most of the time it was with boys from the upper class (Alchin). Many men had lots of debt, so they supported the women in their lives by giving them a nice place to live and servants (“Elizabethan Societal”). The people in the upper class had a better overall lifestyle than the poorer people. The rich also outlived the poor by a notable amount of time (Mahabal, Prasad. “Daily Life”). For a child to be noble, he must be born into a noble family. Titles were passed on from a father to his eldest son (“Elizabethan Societal”). Children were required to always obey their parents, and every day had to ask for their parents’ blessings (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “Family Life”). The title just under the noble class is the gentry’s class. However, unlike the noble title the gentry’s title is acquired (“Elizabethan Societal”). Wealthier children enjoyed going to plays written by Shakespeare, they would pay extra to get a better seat that had a cushion on it (Mahabal, Prasad. “Elizabethan Era”). At the time, there were not many people in the higher classes (“Childhood”). There were only about 55 total people in the upper classes of society (“Elizabethan Societal”). The upper class only accounted for about three