Once And Future King Gender Roles

T.H. White wrote the novel The Once and Future King during a time when gender roles were very strict and heavily influencing society. From the time where this book takes place to the period where this book was written, some of these ideas have changed while others have not. In both time periods, men were the heads of the house and the main providers, which is shown through "masculinity was based on three factors: impregnating women, protecting dependents and providing for ones family." Women were still mainly seen as people who make babies and take care of the kids, which is shown here "Not only did most married women walk down the aisle by age 19; they also tended to start families right away. A majority of brides were pregnant within seven months of their wedding, and they didn't just stop at one child. Large families were typical." (The American Expierence) . Because men controlled their families, they were forced into being a certain way and if they weren't, it was seen as a negative thing. Women were still partially seen as possessions in these relationships. …show more content…
Because most marriages were formed as a political bond, spouses weren't always faithful. Because the married couple didn't get to choose who they were marrying, this caused issues in their marriage with consent and loyalty. Most women didn't get to choose who their husband was, they were not in a position to give consent, which is shown here "Noble women had very little, if any, choice in who her husband might be." (Alchin) These women had trouble leaving these relationships because they did not have their own money. It was also very common for men to have young wives, while they were considerably older. These women could also be cast aside if they did not produce any male