Womens Expectations

What I found within the sheets was many horrifying things such as:

·         If were everything but a maid, she be called a whore, but if she was nothing but a maid, she is worth marrying.

·         At the age of seven or so, she may be married, nine she has a share of her husbands estate if widowed, etc.

·         When the maid is in the conversation of her two parents of which she has to marry someone, she isn’t to talk. At all.

·         Once married, they cannot be separated by law but can re marry if widowed.

·         A woman’s virginity is the main thing about her – otherwise no man would bother marrying her.

·         “Hippomenes, a great man of Athens, when he knew his daughter desoiled of one, he shut her up in a stable with a wild horse, kept meatless. For the horse, when he had suffered great hunger long and because he was of nature fierce, we waxed mad and all to-tare the young woman to feed himself with…” (Vives VII)

·         There was also a story about a woman whom was pregnant but not married and once she gave birth the father and brothers stabbed her and the mid wife still looked on.

As you can already see those times were terrible for women.