Course:History 344 Nasty Families/Marital Relationship

Marital relations in Stuart England were firmly hierarchical and the distribution of power between man and wife was greatly uneven. The man in the relationship held a position of superiority over the his wife. He was in charge of earning the majority of the income for the household and he was legally responsible for the conduct of all those under his charge.

Women, for their part, were expected to be subservient to their husbands. Because women had very little standing before the law, there was practically nothing that they could do if their husbands proved to be tyrants or cruel. Furthermore, although a woman could have brought land to the marriage through her dowry, the land only belonged to the man. Women could only own property on their own if they were widowed. (BN: True, but she still had some legal rights over some types of dowry, particularly land, I believe)

In 1699, when describing the woman's position in marriage, William Mather wrote, "The woman at marriage becomes wholly the man's together with all her movable goods, and if goods be given to a married women, they all immediately become her husband's; she cannot let, sell, give away, or alienate anything without her husband's consent. (BN: Identify Mather, and why he is writing this).

Women did, however, play an important role in managing household affairs. Most women, including those of the upper class, were responsible for running the household establishment, tending the gardens, managing the domestic animals, cooking and cleaning, and caring for children under the age of five. (BN: In gentry families? Perhaps women's work / role in life should be a separate category)

Other Topics: Women's status under the law, gardens