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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. The pressure of having a son in Ancient Rome was huge. Yet, obviously not every girl in Ancient Rome was left to die. The women of Ancient Rome had many duties as well as the many rules that they were expected to follow. Roman women were considered “owned” or “property” amongst their families. According to the dominating patriarchal system, women remained in a kind of legal servitude to their husbands, fathers or nearest male relative. …show more content…
Another thing that was expected from the wife was providing clothing for the family. This meant that spinning became a huge hobby for the women. Surprisingly, women were in charge of lighting the house and heating it. Washing, cleaning, and cooking were also still part of a wife’s duties in the household. Roman women were in charge of keeping the house stable while the husband was off at work. Poor Roman women obviously had it harder than the wealthy Roman women. One thing that poor women weren’t able to share with the wealthier women was this new found independence that was introduced when the dowry was put in place. Women had endured many social, legal, and political handicaps, beginning from birth. Wealthy women still suffered from both legal and social restrictions, but they had something that the poorer Roman women didn’t; influence. The wealthy intermarried and knew each other, making it easier for women to play a role in political affairs by assisting husbands with their …show more content…
Women continued to rebel against their “duties” when a large group of women had a meeting at the Forum where Hortensia asked the question, “Why should we pay taxes when we do not share in the offices, honors, military commands, nor, in short, the government, for which you men fight between yourselves, with such harmful results?”. The wealthier Roman women were indeed educated just like the men. Giving Roman women education on somewhat of the same scale caused annoyance for many men. As one satire written by a male said about the education of women:
Still more annoying is the woman who as soon as she sits down to dinner, talks about poets and poetry... professors, lawyers... can 't get a word in... Wives shouldn 't try to be public speakers... I myself can 't stand a woman who can quote the rules of grammar... as if men cared about such things. If she has to correct somebody, let her correct her girlfriends and leave her husband
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. The pressure of having a son in Ancient Rome was huge. Yet, obviously not every girl in Ancient Rome was left to die. The women of Ancient Rome had many duties as well as the many rules that they were expected to follow. Roman women were considered “owned” or “property” amongst their families. According to the dominating patriarchal system, women remained in a kind of legal servitude to their husbands, fathers or nearest male relative. …show more content…
Another thing that was expected from the wife was providing clothing for the family. This meant that spinning became a huge hobby for the women. Surprisingly, women were in charge of lighting the house and heating it. Washing, cleaning, and cooking were also still part of a wife’s duties in the household. Roman women were in charge of keeping the house stable while the husband was off at work. Poor Roman women obviously had it harder than the wealthy Roman women. One thing that poor women weren’t able to share with the wealthier women was this new found independence that was introduced when the dowry was put in place. Women had endured many social, legal, and political handicaps, beginning from birth. Wealthy women still suffered from both legal and social restrictions, but they had something that the poorer Roman women didn’t; influence. The wealthy intermarried and knew each other, making it easier for women to play a role in political affairs by assisting husbands with their …show more content…
Women continued to rebel against their “duties” when a large group of women had a meeting at the Forum where Hortensia asked the question, “Why should we pay taxes when we do not share in the offices, honors, military commands, nor, in short, the government, for which you men fight between yourselves, with such harmful results?”. The wealthier Roman women were indeed educated just like the men. Giving Roman women education on somewhat of the same scale caused annoyance for many men. As one satire written by a male said about the education of women:
Still more annoying is the woman who as soon as she sits down to dinner, talks about poets and poetry... professors, lawyers... can 't get a word in... Wives shouldn 't try to be public speakers... I myself can 't stand a woman who can quote the rules of grammar... as if men cared about such things. If she has to correct somebody, let her correct her girlfriends and leave her husband