The final text analyzed for this text is Merril D. Smith 's 2008 text Women 's Roles in Seventeenth-Century America. Smith returns to the style of the pre-1990s authors who focused mostly on the White, European colonists. The goals for her text were : "examine how 17th century attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs about women affected and shaped their lives" and "demonstrate how significant women were in shaping the world around them ." She utilizes both Ulrich 's and Brown 's text for her own, and Brown 's text is listed as suggested reading for almost every chapter in Smith 's text. Her text is very repetitive of other texts when it comes to the subjects of Colonial women and work, and Colonial women and religion. While it is repetitive in
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There were established laws in Colonial America regarding rape, but they really only protected married women and children under 10- and the protection was minimal at most; even children who were victims of rape were not considered blameless, because they did something to attract their rapists, according to Smith. Rape of a child or married woman was considered a capital crime, but the justice delivered the attacker of a single woman (if any) was left under the jurisdiction of the judge. Married women were not always protected by the law. Women were expected to keep a spotless reputation and not even hint at being unfaithful to their husbands. Husbands were not always held to the same standards. Smith is not the first author to address a husband 's power over his wife or the fact that husband 's had to will wives their own property in his will, but Smith is the first author to address mistresses and their role in Colonial society; especially where a wife could be left out of a will in lieu of a mistress. Battered wives were not protected against their violent husbands because while societal laws were against the cruel treatment of a woman, cruelty alone was not enough of an excuse for a woman to divorce her husband. It is interesting that Smith chooses to discuss these topics of family and …show more content…
Smith is really the only author to really discuss, in depth, the integration process into colonial life and other religious sects. While it seems like something that could be assumed, Smith discusses the perils of the boat ride to America, especially the seasickness. She also discusses women outside of those who were Protestant or Quaker. Other authors address the Quakers as the alternate woman to the Protestant woman, but Smith is the first to really address the other religious sects that made their way into America: Jewish women and Catholic women. Not only is this discussion important in terms of religious diversity, but Catholicism itself threatened one of tenants of traditional colonial society: Catholic women could take vows of celibacy and not do the primary job of a Colonial woman, be a wife and mother.
Smith 's text is repetitive of other texts in this study, as previously mention. This is due to the fact that she utilized other authors from this study as well as the fact that only so much can be said when it comes to Women in Colonial America. She does touch on other subjects that other authors do not, especially the more violent aspects of society. Her text is lacking in information about women of color during Colonial America, which would have really expanded her discussion on violence and
There were established laws in Colonial America regarding rape, but they really only protected married women and children under 10- and the protection was minimal at most; even children who were victims of rape were not considered blameless, because they did something to attract their rapists, according to Smith. Rape of a child or married woman was considered a capital crime, but the justice delivered the attacker of a single woman (if any) was left under the jurisdiction of the judge. Married women were not always protected by the law. Women were expected to keep a spotless reputation and not even hint at being unfaithful to their husbands. Husbands were not always held to the same standards. Smith is not the first author to address a husband 's power over his wife or the fact that husband 's had to will wives their own property in his will, but Smith is the first author to address mistresses and their role in Colonial society; especially where a wife could be left out of a will in lieu of a mistress. Battered wives were not protected against their violent husbands because while societal laws were against the cruel treatment of a woman, cruelty alone was not enough of an excuse for a woman to divorce her husband. It is interesting that Smith chooses to discuss these topics of family and …show more content…
Smith is really the only author to really discuss, in depth, the integration process into colonial life and other religious sects. While it seems like something that could be assumed, Smith discusses the perils of the boat ride to America, especially the seasickness. She also discusses women outside of those who were Protestant or Quaker. Other authors address the Quakers as the alternate woman to the Protestant woman, but Smith is the first to really address the other religious sects that made their way into America: Jewish women and Catholic women. Not only is this discussion important in terms of religious diversity, but Catholicism itself threatened one of tenants of traditional colonial society: Catholic women could take vows of celibacy and not do the primary job of a Colonial woman, be a wife and mother.
Smith 's text is repetitive of other texts in this study, as previously mention. This is due to the fact that she utilized other authors from this study as well as the fact that only so much can be said when it comes to Women in Colonial America. She does touch on other subjects that other authors do not, especially the more violent aspects of society. Her text is lacking in information about women of color during Colonial America, which would have really expanded her discussion on violence and