Women in The 16th Century Essay

Women in Renaissance Italy faced rigid societal standards to which they were supposed to conform. They lived public lives, directed almost exclusively by other people in regards to significant decisions. However, this does not mean that a rise above the oppressive nature of the Renaissance was impossible. Several exceptional women were able to challenge their given positions in a society through their education, practices, seclusion, beauty, and roles. In an examination of several positions, through the Exhortations to Women and to Others If They Please by Lucrezia Marinella and the letters of Laura Cereta, a Renaissance feminist, women can be seen as accepting of their position in society or rebelling against it. Their lives and prescriptive writings show how one can either follow the role given to them or exceed beyond it and become an exceptional woman.

     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

Therefore Queen Mary had all the people like her at first and thought that it was her rightful rank and place to be. Roger Howell states

In the sixteenth century the role of women in society was very limited. Women were generally stereotyped as housewives and mothers. They were to be married, living their life providing for her husband and children. The patriarchal values of the Elizabethan times regarded women as the weaker sex.’ Men were considered the dominant gender and were treated with the utmost respect by females. Women were mainly restricted within the confines of their homes and were not allowed to go school or to university, but they could be educated at home by private tutors. Men were said to be the ones to provide for their families financially. Women were often seen as not intelligent. Property could not be titled in the name of a female within the family. Legally everything the female had belonged to her husband. Poor and middle class wives were kept very busy but rich women were not idle either. In a big house they had to organize and supervise the servants.

Comparing the culture of France and England during the sixteenth century reveals a commonality that the women were not considered worthy, whether as the heir to the throne or as those that might want to think theologically. (Davis, 77 and Lindberg, pg.

Life was not easy for women and children in the middle ages. We have abusive spouse and such in today’s time period, but in the Middle Ages abuse was even encouraged “as a way to keep women under control” (Lawler). The children had it worse. The children of the Middle Ages, were abused by men, women and even servants to make them behave. In the Middle Ages, the law did not intervene. If you were a woman of upper class then you were lucky! They typical did not go through the abuse that the lower-class women did. As long as a man didn’t kill his wife during the abuse, he wasn’t doing anything wrong according to the Canon law. (Lawler)

According to Kwatra, Mary questions, “What acquirement exalts one being over another” (3). Mary could not understand why society felt women were lesser beings than men. As such, she resolved to write about the societal constructs concerning women because the community did not embrace her condemnation of the treatment men received, at the expense of women. The 18th century was a dark moment for females in England and other parts of the world. Mary’s attempts to address the prejudice women faced in the society, through verbal means, did not make any progress. In fact, she was subject to criticism from men, and in some occasions, these people frustrated her efforts. Regardless, Mary did not give up. The strength to push on despite the apparent rejection makes her a feminist. Also, when things became too dangerous, she sought an alternative, which was writing. The fact that she had witnessed the violence women faced in the hands of men, through the life of her mother (Falco 2), Mary had resolved, completely, to make society change its view on

Women's lives, roles, and statuses changed over various early world history eras and culture areas in many ways. Ancient Persia, Paleolithic, Athens, Mesopotamian and Roman eras were all different in very unique ways. The Paleolithic era treated women fairly and were treated equally. During the Neolithic era women were not treated fairly. She was the daughter of her father or the wife of her husband. Women rarely acted as individuals outside the context of their families. Those who did so were usually royalty or the wives of men who had power and status.” (oi.uchicago.edu, 2010) Athenian women were not treated fairly

Mary I Queen of England was a very controversial queen. She is remembered for the prosecutions she set in place against the people of Protestant faith. When in fact Mary I Queen of England was a good queen that suffered many hardships through her early childhood, her fight for the crown, and even her life during her reign. Mary’s early childhood came with a mix of emotions from her father, King Henry VIII. Mary was the first child to King Henry, he was very happy when she was born in 1516 even though she was a girl.

With three failed kingdoms and three failed marriages, Mary, Queen of Scots not only wanted to be the Queen of Scots, but as well as the Queen of England.To have control of her life. With all the knowledge that Mary possessed, Queen Elizabeth felt threatened and had Mary arrested for treason, because of her ‘not so welcomed’ religious views.

Judith M. Richards, the author of the book Mary Tudor (Routledge Historical Biographies), presents a different point of view towards Queen Mary I’s choice of persecution. In her book she illustrates the troubles that Mary, particularly just as a women faced during her reign. She targets Mary’s childhood as an important incentive for her reign because after her parents’ initial divorce, she was

In the Gospel of Mary, circa 120-180 AD, Mary Magdalene displays that women exercised agency by being a vessel of God and finding favor with the Lord. Beginning in the first paragraph of the work, it states, “Andrew and Peter question her veracity and ask why a woman should become a favorite disciple” (The Gospel of Mary 53). This demonstrates that men did not understand why a woman would be seen as a greater or more trustworthy being themselves as Christ’s inoculator. However, Mary remains humble, and she uses her agency to teach the men. Mary shows her willingness to enlighten the men when it is stated, “Mary answered, ‘What’s concealed from you I’ll tell; I saw him in a vision and I told him’” (The Gospel of Mary 57). This demonstrates Mary’s power over the males. In this situation, she holds knowledge that only she can give to them. This allows for her to become the individual in

Margaret L. King takes the stance that women advanced just as much as men. She begins her argument by mentioning quite a few heroines of the time such as: Joan of Arc, Caterina Sforza, Elizabeth of Tudor, and Cather de ’Medici. In fact, these women are what King largely bases her arguments on. She tells the individual stories of these women and how they altered the status quo in their individual countries regarding females. Many of them were a part of the noble class, but she argues that they must be noted when discussing the role of females in the Renaissance. King uses the women that were brought to power in their country to show that women had to have advanced socially in a substantial way to be able to be in positions that men usually held. King makes the final argument that women advanced in the sense that their perception of themselves in relation to the world around them developed into a

Mary wanted to be in the line of succession for the throne. She pleaded and tried to convince her father to allow her the place, but his wife at the time Anne Boleyn, didn’t want anything of that sort. Anne was against Mary since the very beginning, plotting any way she could to keep the

She never was a good Queen but people will always remember her. Mary had a rough child hood and couldn't do what most kids got to do. She got to live her dream and become Queen until her death. Mary died on November 17, 1558 in England. After killing all those people Mary turned into Bloody Mary. Now there are scary games that if you turn the lights off in the bathroom, close your eyes, say Bloody Mary three times. Then you open your eyes and she will be there but that isn't true. I think Mary was a good person but she didn't know that killing people would affect her whole