Society's views on women during the 15th and 16th centuries in England.?

Question

I have to do a report in English on this and i am having a lot of trouble being able to find links to give me any information on this topic. Thank you for any information or links you're going to give me in advance!!

Answer 1

Women lived shorter and more dangerous lives than men, and many died in childbirth. They didn't work outside the home or farm, but neither did most men. Royal women were married off and husbands took power when they were the lucky bridegrooms. You can contrast Mary of Scots and Elizabeth of England to see how high ranking women were treated. Mary went to France as a young girl, to marry the Dauphin, heir presumptive to the French throne. When her bridegroom died young, she became a political pawn and went back to Scotland which she'd never called home. Elizabeth, her cousin, saw her as a threat to Elizabeth's power, and eventually executed her. Elizabeth never married, although her advisors continued to advise her on suitable mates. Therefore, she exercised huge political power throughout her reign.

Answer 2

In "A Room of Her Own " (1929), 20th-century English novelist Virginia Woolf asks what would have happened if William Shakespeare had a sister? Woolf concludes that since she wouldn't have had a personal space, or room of her own, she wouldn't have been able to write the plays and sonnets that Shakespeare did. During the Renaissance and Reformation, almost all European women didn't have much of a personal identity apart from their roles as a wife and mother, although the English also came to realize that a woman, such as Elizabeth Tudor, could be a very capable ruler.

Although Humanism during the Renaissance advocated a classical education for upper-class women, and the Protestant Reformation stressed the importance of a primary education for both girls and boys, so they would be able to read the Bible, a woman was subservient to her husband or her father, even if she helped him in his trade or work. Indeed, her legal identity and social status were based on his. Hence, Common Law in both the United States and England still guarantees that women do not have to testify against their husbands. Never married women couldn't own property, although widows could inherit it.

Some genealogies that are able to trace ordinary middle-class families back to this time period sometimes find that the wife's maiden name is not given and only a first name appears. Sometimes, the wife is listed only by her husband's name. Thus, a female ancestor from this time period may only be listed as "Mary" or by her husband's name, "John Smith"! If her father came from a prominent or landed family, however, records will probably list both her first and last names.

Answer 3

I know from a Shakespeare course that Queen Elizabeth I (the "virgin queen") maintained her power because she didn't marry, which shows that once women married, they were pretty much their husband's property during that time. Maybe it would be useful to look at how Elizabethan society portrayed their Queen for your project? They certainly idealized her, which again apparently stems from her virginal status.