A Women’s life how can historians disagree when working from the Same Sources

George Spencer Year 8 History 2005

 

         Historians disagree about the lives of married women in the period 1500-1750. Some historians think that Women in this period had hard lives they had to do all the domestic jobs and they were not allowed a free will, they were treated badly by their husbands, they spent most of their time doing all the jobs and looking after their children. Other historians think that women had a lot more freedom, they were often treated the same as their husbands, husbands treated their wives well and their wives did not always abbey their husbands. They also think that women did a lot more jobs as well as looking after their children.

 

         Domestic conduct books and advice manuals can be used to support both interpretations. On one hand the books and advice manuals are in support with interpretation one. A book called ‘ boke of husbandry’ states‘ when you first get up sweep the house, set the table and put everything in your house in good order’ this is saying that women had to do all domestic jobs. On the cover of a seventeenth century pamphlet it shows pictures of a women doing all domestic jobs. On the other hand some books and manuals are on the side of interpretation two the same book ‘The boke of husbandry’ says ‘Feed your pigs morning and evening and make sure your poultry get there feed’ this shows that women were not stuck at home they would look after their animals. It also states ‘It is her job to go to market to sell cheese, milk, eggs, and to buy everything that it is needed for the house’ this shows that women were allowed to go out and this shows they were also in control of her families money. A Seventeenth century pamphlet shows a woman putting cosmetics on so this means she did have free time for herself.

 

         The evidence from pictures and descriptions suggests that women did have some control over men.  This picture called ‘A skimmington Ride’ supports the suggestion that women did have some control over men.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This woman here smacks her husband because he has been drinking whilst looking after her baby and he is taking it and not fighting back so she does have some control over him. This is supporting interpretation two. Also this is part of the same picture the man who let his wife beating is being made a fool by being carried on a pole for letting his wife hitting him this means that men weren’t allowed to let their wives hit them. This part of the picture support interpretation one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also a description by a male Dutch visitor states that ‘ this England is called the paradise of married women.’ But this is only an opinion of a visitor to England he would have not have seen everything that goes on in England he would have only scratched the surface.

 

         Most of the evidence from diaries supports the view that women had hard lives and they had to look after their house, such as the example is diary from seventeenth century written by Samuel Pepys ‘Some angry words with my wife about neglecting to keep the house clean’ this shows that women had to clean the house otherwise their husbands would come and tell them off this supports interpretation one. Most of diaries support interpretation one. One diary by Adam Eyre also in the seventeenth century is in support of interpretation two by such words as that his wife would not let him go out for bowls or he thought that god was angry with him for not being friendly to his wife.

 

         Historians will continue to disagree about the lives of married women because lots of sources can be used to support either interpretation, not many women have written evidence, there are lots of opinions and not much facts, lots of sources are unreliable