Tudor Queen Elizabeth's Domestic Authority Essay

There are also examples of domestic authority outside of the usual home setting. The reigns of Mary and especially Elizabeth were subject to the same kind of domestic authority that was held over other early modern women. Returning to the inference of Gouge’s original quote, the household and the state were seen as parallel to each other, in both importance and hierarchy. Both Tudor queens faced the struggle of marriage throughout their time on the throne, and the political crisis that surrounded it is another identifier of the strict monopoly men had on domestic authority. The crisis that surrounded Mary’s marriage had very little to do with her but everything to do with her husband. The fear was that England would become subject to the rule of a Spaniard. Despite her sovereignty, purely because of his status as a man, and even more so, her husband, Philip would be seen as the more powerful in the relationship. Elizabeth’s refusal to marry brought with it its own set of problems and political fears. She was largely …show more content…
Husbands were indeed the ‘kings’ of their own households, with the ultimate authority over their wives, children and servants. It was the subject of a lot of popular literature, which extensively justified and gave reference to these heads of household. It was prevalent in society and the religions that governed England during this time, regardless of whether it was Catholicism or Protestantism. Even those who could be seen as the exception to this rule were subject to it in some way; the female monarchs could not escape the overbearing power of the husband, and single women were constantly judged for their unruly lifestyle free of male reason. This domestic authority even governed those of the highest rank, forcing the Tudor queens to consider marriage as their most important political issue. Domestic authority was a stark, patriarchal reality in early modern