In the Introduction to the text Women in reformation and counter-reformation Europe: Public and Private worlds, Author Sherrin Marshall explores how the ‘great religious changes of this period affected the lives of women.’ Though Marshall identifies that the leaders of religious change ‘were men, almost without exception’, she also acknowledges the huge impact that religious change had on the lives of women in Europe, particularly in creating new ‘confining and limiting norms’ for women to adhere to. This identifies that although they weren’t actively involved in the administrative and formal reforms, women were still impacted on by the Reformation, as they were required to adhere to strict gender norms. The gender norms were primarily used as a method of supporting familial goals, as women were expected to manage the household and create families. This assertion was promoted by Martin Luther, a prominent religious reformer, who in 1523 wrote an open letter stating ‘a woman should remain a woman, and bear children, for God has created her for that.’…