Reference no: EM133243852 , Length: Word Count: 4 Pages

Assignment - Women in the Middle Ages

Description - In the Middle Ages, women had few rights under the law; they were legally dependent upon their fathers and husbands. Marriages were often arranged based on the economic advantages for a family, and entering a monastery was the only choice available to women who could not or did not wish to marry. The place of women in society and conceptions of ideal womanhood were dictated by the Church, which emphasized the authority of men over women (a particular interpretation of the writings of St. Paul), and which contrasted the conniving and sensual Eve against the Virgin Mary, a symbol of chastity and motherhood. Nevertheless, women did have a great deal of responsibility within their families and communities. While women had primarily domestic responsibilities, such as preparing food, caring for children, and tending livestock, rural women would join their husbands in the fields during busy times of the year, such as planting and harvest. Women living in towns would assist husbands and sons with metalwork, leatherwork, or running shops or inns. Many women participated in cottage industries, such as brewing, baking, or creating and selling textiles. Women of higher social classes would often exercise authority over an estate or region if their husbands or older sons were absent due to untimely death or war. The life of a monastic was an attractive alternative to some women, as it meant a life of contemplation, prayer, and communal work, free from the dangers of childbirth or an unhappy marriage.

Therefore, women living during the Middle Ages were more skilled and their lives more varied than we might assume. In this assignment, you will explore representations of women and women's roles in two of the literary works read this week.

In your paper -

Develop an introduction with thesis statement that presents an argument about how women's roles and status are represented in two literary texts from the late Middle Ages.

Analyze how each literary text depicts women and women's roles and status.

Evaluate how the religious context of the Middle Ages influences depictions of women as they either affirm or defy established expectations and morality.

Determine whether the depictions of women are real and fair, or if they are filtered through the perspective of male writers and male-governed institutions.

Incorporate two scholarly sources into the discussion.