The Primitive Roman Household Analysis

DeWitt, Norman W. “The Primitive Roman Household”. The Classical Journal 15.4 (1920): 216–225. JSTOR. Print. 1 May 2016. “The Primitive Roman Household,” an excerpt from volume 15 of The Classical Journal, details the unique structure of a household in the ancient Roman Empire, from the physical architecture of the house to the roles and hierarchies all the inhabitants lived by, the former of which tended to bear hardest upon the women. In the latter half of the piece, DeWitt describes the duties of young girls as vestals, which included tasks such as sewing, sweeping, and retrieving food from the cellar. DeWitt proceeded to state that the burden upon a mother in the household was even greater before describing her tasks, “…there is no doubt …show more content…
“Roman Women and the Vote”. The Classical Journal 16.2 (1920): 103–107. JSTOR. Print. 1 May 2016. “Roman Women and the Vote,” is an excerpt from The Classic Journal in which Harry W. Flannery details the oppression that women were subjected to in Ancient Rome before they fought for their rights, and even their suffrage. While detailing the Romans’ treatment of women, Flannery depicts the power that a man held over the women in his household, “But in Rome the males were the autocrats of the state and of the family. The father was the Roman woman 's master as a girl, the husband her master as a wife. The father could kill deformed children, he could punish his offspring as he pleased, sell them into slavery, and in some cases even order their death” (Flannery 103). Flannery adds that women were married according to business transactions that were out of her control, their husbands were as overloading as their fathers, they didn’t always have the right to a part of her husband’s estate after his passing, may not be mourned themselves after their own passing, and were essentially slaves before they stood up for their rights. Flannery’s excerpt is effective in conveying the oppression that women of Ancient Rome were forced to endure, and also details their first steps towards obtaining their rights. The piece may be useful support for an essay arguing that Ancient Rome was a patriarchy, as Flannery clearly depicts the grievances wrought upon the female …show more content…
"Women in Ancient Greece and Rome." Women in Literature. Illinois Valley Community College, 21 Apr. 2008. Web. 1 May 2016. In an online article written for her students and titled “Women in Ancient Greece and Rome,” Kimberly M. Radek uses an essay written by Marilyn Arthur to delve into the patriarchal aspects of Ancient Greek and Roman culture. As she begins to paraphrase the content relevant to Ancient Rome, Radek explains the Roman concept of paterfamilias that asserts absolute male control of the family, which allowed fathers to marry off his daughters at a young age or even kill them should they be unchaste or simply unaffordable for the family to raise. In her concluding paragraph, Radek conveys the fact that Arthur, “…sees that misogynistic literature makes its way into Roman society for the first time… their own historians and philosophers begin to depict ideal women as silent, obedient, and submissive, and women who do not adhere to those roles are seen as devious, immoral, and destructive to society. In fact, Tacitus, the historian, and Juvenal, the poet, both attribute the decline in the degeneration of and the corruption within the empire to women” (Radek). This article is very informative in depicting the Romans’ treatment and opinion of women. This article would be adequate support for the argument that Ancient Rome was a patriarchy as men held overt power over women, and that their contempt for the feminine population was so intense that