The codes also show their views on women. It appears that the Babylonian’s did not have complete disregard for a women. Several of the codes explain that if the husband were to cheat or accuse her of cheating, but she has not been “surprised”, then she is free to go, whereas in other societies, the women was always found guilty and punished in some way. The Babylonian’s also did not tolerate stealing. The punishments were more severe if stolen from a temple or court, but mostly, the person who stole must pay for the property, or be put to death.
This can be shown in the ‘Proof of Marriage’ source as the phratry must accept that a child is legitimate, otherwise property will not be given to the son. However it can also be said that it is in fact wives who fear their husbands and not the other way round. In the Eurastophenes’ murder case, Euphilites laughed at his wife when she suggested he ‘mauled the maid which could indicate women were in fear of how sexually controlling their husbands could be and how they could still get away with it. In the Naerea source is also shows men can be abusive to women with little to no consequence as Phrynion gets away with his abuse towards Naerea. You could also view the violence as a cry of fear and other controlling behaviour could emphasise that.
Once married it was the woman’s responsibility to remain respectful to her husband. The only legal ways in which a woman could divorce herself from a man was if she was severely hurt by him or was forced to commit sexual acts with others by him (120). So in the cases of poor marriages, like in the case of Woman Wang, the only option for a woman was to run and be seen as a punishable fugitive. Another law regarding how women were forced to show respect for their husbands was in the case that she became a widow. If a woman became a widow and wanted to remarry she would have to give up her inheritance (72).
Sunna wrote that women are imperfect, derived from the imperfections of man, and that if man were to correct that, he would destroy the woman. He also wrote that a woman’s surefire way into paradise was to please her husband. According to the journals of Ibn Battuta, servant women used to roam freely and naked, however they were confined by their family. Muhammad once stated, “Is not the
Even though this may seem strict to some; the victim who endured the limb breaking would have to disagree. That is why there are laws such as those, they are sufficient and crucial. Although some laws are fair, there are plenty in the code that are not. Such as law number 230, “If it is the owner’s son that is killed, the builder’s son shall be put to death.” Which merely means, “If a house falls on the owner’s son the house builder’s son will be put to death.” This is absolutely wrong in everyway. It is not the son’s fault the house has fallen down.
If she was married, any wages she might earn were not hers, but must be handed by the employer to her husband, who was in every way her master. The law even gave him the power to chastise or punish her. The laws of divorce were helpless to the happiness of women. In every case, the man always gained the control of the children- even if he were the offender in the case. Men gained in every way possible to destroy a woman's confidence in her powers, to lessen her self-respect, and to make her lead a submissive life.
“Ismene: You ought to realize we are only women, not meant in nature to fight against men… Antigone: …Be as you choose to be; but for myself I myself will bury him. It will be good to die, so doing. I shall lie by his side, loving him as he loved me; I shall be a criminal—but a religious one.” (163 - 164) Sophocles is showing that women were not supposed to stand up to men. Ismene
A modern example of direct guarding is ‘vigilance’ which is coming home unexpectedly to see what the female partner is up too. Wilson et al found that women who agreed with questionnaire items such as ‘he is jealous and doesn’t want you to talk to other men’ were twice as likely to have experienced serous violence from their partners. Men can also guard against their partners infidelity either by conferring benefits or by inflicting costs, including violence. As not all men possess resources that might be used to provide benefits, some men are especially prone to using violence or the threat of violence (Shackleford et al). According to Daly and Wilson, death of a partner from physical violence may be an unintended outcome if an evolutionary adaptation that was designed for control rather than death.
The context of Donne’s writing indicates a time that females had power despite being subordinate to men in every day life. With much tension and debate over the effectiveness of a female rule, it can also be seen as a theme within Donne’s work where the male questions his own power and submission to female dominance (Guibbory, 1990). From here, Donne seeks to re-imagine a London based on Ovid’s Rome but instead of pandering to Ovid’s obvious Christian values that underpin his work; he ignores them and rewrites the style. Still incorporating the outrageousness of Ovid, Donne uses conventional values of this discourse of desire in posing lust and desire in a way that spurs chaos and anarchy. The female persona is the catalyst of the chaos but it is from the male’s perspective that readers experience the protagonist’s anger, desire and competitive nature.
Additional differences between men and women are that they differentiate as they often inhabit different social roles as well as occupational. Finally, sexual reproduction is a biological constant that is ultimately related to men and women being different since a woman is defined as childbearing and child rearing (Eagly, 1987) and promotes intimacy between the men and women. Furthermore, men often employ their power over women as well as their sexual relationships, which at times women counter power through sexuality by using sexual attractiveness to control the man. Therefore, concerns about power and the differences regarding the sexuality are bound together. Modern context in where social movement and increasing gender and equality threaten the traditional male dominance may be directed on those woman who challenge the power of a man and the status (e.g.