Monogamous Women

The monogamous family in the beginning was not based on love rather it was a mere convenience for both the man and the woman involved. By becoming a family there was a form of economic stability in which all members in the family would benefit in one way or another. However it is important to note that the man in the household held the most power and would pass on his fortune to his children. As a result, his children would become his property and would eventually inherit all of his wealth when he passed away. If the father did not hold the most superior position in his family or could not reproduce he would essentially see his marriage as an obligation. As for the women in these loveless marriages they would often turn to prostitution. This …show more content…
Wives in these marriages were inferior to their husbands as they could not terminate the relationship. Married men held all the power when it came to these decisions and could even have an affair without the extreme discipline women would endure. For instance, Greek married women in the heroic age were not viewed as anything more than what they were regarded in society: a mother, the husband's maid, the boss of the female workers within the home, and the husband’s object to use when he wanted. Although, women in this time span were considered more by their status, they were admired by their ability to tackle many duties. Now with this in mind, women from the proletariat and bourgeois classes led very different lives. Women in the working-class were no longer stuck living their lives inside their home. They could socialize, make an income, and potentially be the sole provider of their family. This means that both the wife and the husband in the family would be equally dominant. For this reason, wives in the working field made the family unit no longer monogamous according to the historical definition since no one overpowers anyone in the relationship and the women were able to end the marriage without the husbands input. With regards to wives in upper class monogamous marriages, they had to choose whether their lifestyle would be directed outside the home or inside the home. Wives could not do both; thus, they lost apart of their lives that bourgeois husbands were able to have. All in all, women were oppressed in the bourgeois class as they had to pick between the public or private sphere yet men were advantaged in the classes, the spheres, and even in the present legal system. Unfortunately, this strict regulation has followed women until now since jurists believe modern women have nothing to complain about since legalized marriages are done by two people who agree to be married and