Femme Sole Research Paper

Superior Essays
Femme sole refers to a medieval law that provides ownership to single women, spinsters,divorcees or widows individuals.This law focuses on the fact that women whose marriages have been annulled become independent of their spouses and automatically own their properties. So, women can gain legally right to own Properties that could be obtained before or after marriage. At the beginning of the Femme sole establishment, it just protected male spouses from future economic and legal implications of the wives' activities.However, throughout time,female sole provides women relevant status in society institutionalizing female' powers within the boundaries of a patriarchal society.

In every state, the legal status of free women depended upon marital status they belonged to. For instance, Unmarried women, including widows, were called “femes soles,” or “women alone.”This women had the legal right to live where they pleased and to support themselves throughout any professions that did not require a license or a college degree directly restricted to males. In the case of Single women they could enter into contracts, buy and sell real estate properties or accumulate personal properties. This law was called personalty.It consisted of everything that women could be moved such as cash, stocks and bonds, livestock, and, in the
…show more content…
This is due to the effective various mercantile roles women played in the workforce during the war and plague,contributing with the economy growth of the state of England. This was the beginning for women institulization moved from the domestic power into a public facet benefits Upon their marital

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Jon Cleland’s Memoirs of a Women of Pleasure, In other times known as Fanny Hill, is a story of a country girl whom becomes wealthy by selling sex in the brothels that thrived in London in the 18th century otherwise considered “pornography.” In those days, the term pornography, in all actuality ‘writing about prostitutes”, which in essences perfectly describes the book context. The novel is very explicit and graphic by nature, with its in depth descriptions of “the truth, stark naked truth”, and full of “unreserved intimacies”, and expressly “violating the laws of decency” quoted by the author in the book. During this era, women whom were unmarried and also lacking male relatives to care for them, were very limited in choices of supporting themselves.…

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Common Assignment “Remember the Ladies", said Abigail Adams to John Adams during the American Revolution. What Abigail meant by this is that to never forget the amount of work that women had to do when the men were off at war and how they had to take care of everything but are still treated as if they were nothing but house slaves. Abigail wanted for things to change for women, women now wanted more rights, they wanted to be taken seriously, and they were now willing to fight for it. During the American Revolution many people’s lives were affected in many different ways especially for women.…

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    “In a marriage, men were expected to rule over their wives, and all property (except in some cases property acquired by the woman before marriage) belonged to the husband” (Clive Emsely, Tim Hitchcock, & Robert Shoemaker, “Historical Background-Gender in The Proceedings”Par.2.line.4-6.).A woman’s role back then was to get married and to be a house wife. Women had to maintain the up keep of the house, care for the children, and do what she was told to do by her husband.” If your husband could afford to hire help, the wife would get a break from some of the duties” (History of marriage in America: 1800’and early 1900’s.). If woman had a job it was a low paying job and the types of jobs that were available to them were teaching, nursing, and domestic service. Some women even worked on the farm with their husbands.…

    • 1884 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It states that. “Choice of marriage partners was, therefore, not personal, but a way for families to advance their political status or business relationships. A wife was subject to her husband or her father (depending on the specific form of the marriage agreement) throughout her life.” (Sources, 76). As time moved on women would have additional rights, especially during wartime when men were off fighting, but women were always of lesser value from the men and were possessions “under the authority of a male head of household, including nonrelated slaves and servants.”…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    1625-88 Transformation

    • 1431 Words
    • 6 Pages

    To a certain extent it can be argued that there was little to no change in the years 1625 – 88, however when compared to society in years’ prior there is a significant transformation in many different elements of society during 1625-1688. There is some limited evidence to support the view that there was little to no transformation to society in years 1625-88. Firstly, though the growth of population had reached its peak during the mid-17th century, this growth of the population had been gradually occurring since the country was wiped out by the plague in the 14th century. In addition, one third of the population was poor and though this could be seen as a massive change from prior years, these numbers were similar to the numbers of the poor…

    • 1431 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gender roles before the 1920’s were very distinct. Women were lower than men on the social scale and had little to no power. They were strictly in charge of the domestic issues and chores. Women taught and raised their children, as well as did the cooking, cleaning, and other chores throughout the house.…

    • 1758 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    American Revolution Dbq

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages

    History 135 Professor Brazy December 2, 2014 Question #1 On “September 3, 1783” , the Treaty of Paris was signed. The Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolution, and gave the 13 colonies their independence from Great Britain. The citizens of the 13 colonies started the revolution that lead to the treaty in order to break away from Britain for many reasons; Republican Motherhood, Declaration of Independence, and religion being some of the main reasons. Considering the ideals that lead up to the American Revolution, in my opinion, the New America lived up to those previously highlighted ideals that the colonist expressed in their rhetoric, as seen in the treatment of women, taxation and the Bill of Rights.…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Women at home took over necessary roles that men had to do when they were not in…

    • 1409 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Women were considered free only when under the submission of their husbands (L2). Marriage was regarded as a contract and rarely did it involve love for each other at the beginning of the marriage (L2). Women did most of the work. Continuously working both in and outside of the home caring for the children while still having to perform their daily household duties. They, not only took care of the family but also were responsible for the increase in the population of early settlers with the children they bore resulting in the expansion of the early colonies.…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Females were citizens to, but they had limited rights. Could own property, but could not vote or…

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    From the construction of this nation, to becoming America, this nation has promoted three main concepts: liberty freedom and equality. The conspiracy between the founding concepts and the idea of who is granted these privileges was still to be determined in the following years to come. Since the creation of this nation, women were unprivileged as their natural rights were not taken into consideration. Women in the 1700’s were seen as strictly domestic housewives continuing with the perception that women belonged at home and men belong in the work force. For the most part, women were seen and treated as property.…

    • 1573 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    2 Ancient Rome was a male dominated society. Men in Ancient Rome lived privileged lives compared to the women. In Ancient Rome, the goal was to produce a male heir or heirs. Believe it or not, a girl born to a Roman was greeted with mourning, and it was not uncommon for a baby girl to be left to die.…

    • 1116 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The courts than required the husbands to pay these charges. The judges called this doctrine of necessities. This prevented the men from financially neglecting his wife. Unmarried women were then given the opportunity to live wherever they pleased and support themselves with any occupation that did not require an education. Single women were now able to enter into a contract, own property and buy and sell estates.…

    • 1910 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    During the time period from 1750 to 1900 European women has experienced many changes and continuities. For changes, women socially has changed as they were given more opportunities for varies jobs. Politically women have started movements against the society for their individual rights. While for the continuities experience by women were many. Socially continuities include women still bounded to their role in the house, women weren’t given rights to vote, as the society politically are still patriarchal.…

    • 1212 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the colonial years, unmarried women and widows have more rights than married women. According to Carol Berkin’s “First Generations; Women in Colonial America, “As feme sole, or woman alone, a free English-woman could sue and be sued, make contracts, earn…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics