Women role during the Renaissance

The Role of Women in the Renaissance

Introduction

            The society during the Renaissance period was patriarchal in nature and the role of women during this period was just in the backdrop of the men’s roles. Just like in the Middle Ages women in Renaissance were denied participation in the politics, which was legally considered as the domain of men. The women irrespective of their class were expected to play and perform in the roles of housewife. The women in the class of peasants worked in the farm hand in hand with their husbands and performed the duties of running the home. The women of middle class merchants and shop owners in many times helped their husbands in running the businesses. On the other end, the wives of the elite class, though were attended by a number of servants, were often involved in the household tasks, cooking, entertaining, and sewing among other chores (Brown and McBride 48). In this view, the role of women during the Renaissance was specifically household duties as well as just acting in the background of the men’s roles supporting them.

Role of Women in Marriage during Renaissance

Marriage was considered as important role in the women life and those who did not marry were however, not allowed to live independently. The society instead ensured that they lived in the male relatives’ households or they were encouraged to join the convent. Although education had gained momentum in the renaissance period, education for women was limited for the patriarchal society had the fear that it would greatly interfere with the traditional roles. There was fear that educated women would transform the society. The women who after acquiring education embraced individuality and independence were, in fact, looked down upon as they lived outside the social norms boundaries and were often labeled as witches. This was just a move to maintain the status quo of men in the society and ensured women were beneath them in the social order. The political arena and the government were dominated by men in the Renaissance and this point to the inequality that existed pushing the role of women in society to the periphery. On a few wealthy women in the Renaissance were able to break the chains of patriarchal subjugation. Through this deviance, such women were able to achieve just fame but not independence (Adams 18).       

Life of Women during Renaissance Period

            The Renaissance society had laid expectations for the women. Patrick (195) argues that the life of the Renaissance women revolved around marriage, bearing children and the main job was in the household taking care and running the chores of the household. This meant that their roles in the society were limited. The unmarried women could not live independence as this was against the social norms: thus they were placed under the care of their male relatives’ households and not given any role to play in the society outside those of household. The society imperatively had clear expectations from the women and men where the men significantly played the role of breadwinners, and the women occupied the role of mothers and housewives. On average, the society expected the women to give birth to a baby every two years. Many of the children and babies died from diseases then and the families were not always that large as a result of the diseases that killed the young children. According to Kuehn (61), the expectations of the society on women was that they should bear children to continue the existence of the society, and childbearing was thus highly regarded as a great honor to women and children were considered as a blessing from God. Many women in the Renaissance thus to pride in being mothers.

Gender inequality contributed to the inferior roles of women

            Women during the Renaissance were to some degree given the opportunity to work but the working environment was quite discriminating in the sense that such women were paid less on the same job where their male counterpart worked. Gender inequality was rife during the Renaissance period, which to some extent translates to alienating women in participating outside the household activities. This meant many women remained unemployed in their lives so as to ensure they remained the depending on men. Their lives during this time and the social norms then maintained the status quo of the patriarchal society where the women remained tenaciously under the confines of the patriarchy. Literature of the Renaissance clearly depicts the place and role of women then and attempts thwarting them from breaking away from the patriarchal society. The society confined their lives role in the running of households, childbearing, and in marriage as housewives who were admired by their enterprising husbands. Although “behind every great man, is a woman” and yet the society never noticed the important role women played in society (Merriman 56).

            The lives of the women who could not marry and were not wealthy were required to join the convent and become nuns. Those who tried to live independently had to make a choice of living under their male relatives as the social norms required. If they sought jobs, which were also undertaken by men, the pay was significantly low yet their male counterparts were paid more. This was a strategy to alienate women from participating in the public sphere, which was dominantly a male zone. Analyzing their role from this perspective, it is true to conclude that the women had little control over their own fates in society since all the important roles that influenced the society were reserved for men. There was no divorce and marriage lasted as long as the man and wife lived during Renaissance period (Saari and Saari 308).

Women Education in Renaissance

            The Renaissance period is linked to development of contemporary thought, progress of science, as well as the idea that a person can ultimately shape his or her own destiny. The education that women were given during the Renaissance was just limited to ensure they could read and write. The rampant education was viewed as an aspect in raising social consciousness, which would eminently undermine the traditional values and roles and upset the tenets of patriarchy. Therefore, women were not given importance in education for the fear it would be detrimental to the social norms and social set up. The men did not see the importance of education to women then, which explains why the women were not given education then (Major 132). However, disparity was exercised in education during the Renaissance where the women from elite class only up to some extent, whereas those women of lower status wanting education were only encouraged learning so that they could become nuns. Generally, the Renaissance education endeavored to ensure that women performed the housewife duties properly as well as make them good mothers. The inequality that existed in the Renaissance society did not care the participation role of women in the society thus educating women was seen as waste of time. Educating them was not aimed at making them professionals but only to ensure they performed their duties at home properly (Levi 299).

Significant Educated Women even denigrated in Society

            The little education women in Renaissance received was tailored only to make them workers especially where they were hired to do farm work. In the views of Brown and McBride (93), the women were the majority in the household servants in the elite class and also in the middle class. Those who were educated, especially the daughter brought money to a country family when she was send out to be hired in a day labor. The daughters who were not strong could do nothing for the family. They were advised to practice chastity so that they could bring dowry to the family. They were only taught womanly stuff and when they were married off and would ultimately be an asset if they gave birth to a son. The education women in the Renaissance received were for only give them skills and knowledge in writing, cleaning, embroidery, and to efficiently carry out other household chores. They also were taught how to behave in public and when they are with their husbands. It is obvious that the education women received during the Renaissance period was male oriented and was not aimed at increasing their roles or participation in the society (Majors 92).

            However, there are important women in the Renaissance whose role in politics is seen as a great deviation from the social norms of the Renaissance society. Elizabeth was among the women who were born the elite people in the Renaissance period. She was born in the 7^th September 1533 at a time when sons were highly valued to continue the family lineage as well as takeover kingdoms. Unfortunately for Elizabeth’s father, he had two girls where Elizabeth was one of them and became the queen. During Renaissance, Queen Elizabeth became a very important figure in the England’s history. Since women were considered the weaker sex, Elizabeth tried to prove this as a myth because like men, women can equally play the politics and handle leadership in public sphere as well. Queen Elizabeth tried to encourage the noble men during Renaissance to take their daughters to school and ensure they get education something they did to only please her (Merriman 61).

Roles and their Portrayal of Women during the Renaissance

            As earlier discussed in this paper, women role in the society was limited and mostly they took active roles in the households, marriage, and in childbearing as well as in helping men in running businesses and in the farm. Women were not permitted to enter in professions for instance, medicine, law, politics, and if they took jobs like painting they were employed to work under men. Those who ventured in writing works of literature were allowed to do so if it only suited the subject of women, which was mainly religious works or translations (Merriman 45). Inequality persisted in this society because even in theatre the constraints of the patriarchy were deep rooted. The society did not allow women to act plays on public stage or write the same plays for public stage. Acting was in fact considered shameful for women and this trend did not stop until in the seventeenth century in England where women could participate in plays. To fill the roles supposed to be acted by women in theatre then, the women roles were played by young boys in the plays of Shakespeare (Estep 548).

            Further, women were regardless of the social position they held as important members of the society, they were not allowed to cast their votes when important matters and decision of the leaders to lead the society. In fact the political arena was reserved only for the elite or those from high social class. Only certain men from certain social position had the privilege to vote. Women also were not permitted to inherit the title of their father, which were only passed to brothers or sons according to the circumstances at hand. Women could not inherit land and estates, and only those children from affluent and noble families were heiresses to property. However, the only exception involved the crown as it was the case of England. A daughter could be given the crown and also all the Majesty and power of a king if there was no other male heir (Adams 73).

Depiction of Women roles in Historical Literature

            Niccolo Machiavelli in his Renaissance literary works Mandragola and The Devil Takes a Wife depicts the society and how it upheld the role of women during the Renaissance period. There existed inequality in the society then and women roles were according to the confines of the patriarchy. With the status as they were during Renaissance, women could not hold positions in the government and other public spheres. The works of Machiavelli portrayed women in negative light as a way to justify the prevailing degrading and unequal treatment of the women by the men in the society (Levi 301). From the ideas presented by Machiavelli in his two works Mandragola and The Devil Takes a Wife, women of the Renaissance are depicted as the trouble makers in marriage as opposed to obediently caring for their husbands. Even in the historical literature, women are portrayed as powerless in the Renaissance society and did not take active roles because the social norms and expectations did not advocate for their participation. This is just a biased side of the story because women had their reasons in somehow revolting against the petty tyrant of oppressive and self-centered husbands. In The Devil Takes a Wife, Machiavelli depicts women as greedy, prideful, and manipulative whereas in Mandragola they are presented as annoying, unintelligent, and dependent of men. The truth is that no space has been given to prove their worth and these portrayals are biased and inaccurate judgment on Renaissance women (The Florence Newspaper 1). The women contributed greatly to the society according to Renaissance society but in the background of men who took centerstage in politics, governance, and other roles in the public sphere because of the Monarchy (Major 264).

Conclusion

            The role of women in Renaissance societies is just like in other patriarchal societies that do not offer any space to the women to prove who they really are in the society. The roles of women in Renaissance era were just in marriage, childbearing, and in running the household chores. For the women in elite class, although were attended by a group of servants, they were expected to actively participate in entertaining husbands guests, cooking, sewing and other chores in the family as well as caring and nursing the children. The middle class women were to help the husbands in running businesses but not own their own businesses and property. The women from the peasant class worked in the farm alongside their men as well as performing duties at home. One would be right to say that the role of women in Renaissance period were specifically performing household duties and acting as backdrop of men roles in the society. The education given to the women was to only enable them become better housewives, perform their household chores better as well as ensuring they do not take up professional jobs and transform the traditional social setup.