Women's Role In Roman Society

In Roman society, women were considered to be subject to men, and this was reflected by their position in society. This essay will examine the role of women in Rome by considering the typical upbringing of an upper-class girl, the legal rights of women, and the daily routine of upper-class women. How these factors combined to influence the position a woman held in Roman society and her household will also be discussed and examined.
In early Rome, before the third-century BC, children were generally raised by their mothers or a female relative; however, by the first-century BC, this task had largely been passed onto wet nurses and slaves. A girl from an upper-class family would learn the skills of running a household, such as weaving and spinning, from an early age. She would then receive schooling in literature and Roman culture, and would possibly learn to play an instrument. When the girl reached a mature age, she would be trained in the managing of slaves and the budget of a household. In the writings of the early Roman historian, Tacitus, refers to the
They were expected to oversee the smooth running of the household by ensuring that slaves were performing their duties well and, if that was not the case, to discipline them; omen were also responsible for shopping to provide for the family. Women were quite active socially and regularly received visitors, or made visits themselves to other households. During meals were guests were invited, women were expected to act with gentility and would therefore sit with an upright posture, instead of reclining as did her male counterparts. This extract from epitaph written in the first-century BC gives an illustration of a woman’s role in Roman society, “She loved her husband with her heart: she bore two sons… With charming conversation, then indeed with a fine way of walking, she looked after the house. She made wool. I have spoken. Go your