It was well known in the community that married women essentially had more power and legal rights than widowed women. As a widow, it was generally expected that one would forfeit all of the land and property of their late husband to his family. In the fiction story of Woman P’eng; her husband died and officials took her ox and persuaded P’eng to move out of the house so that the land would be inherited by her late husband’s family. When Woman P’eng refused to move, her brother moved into the house with intentions of forcing her out. In the story, her son is also murdered so that there would be no inheritance on her side of the family.
Women were relegated to house and family duties such as cleaning, cooking and taking care of the kids. The working opportunities for women in the nineteen-century were very limited. Employers regularly paid less to women; about one-half to two-thirds of what a man was paid for doing the same kind of job. Working was frowned for a woman because it meant that her husband could not support the family or that she could not get one job. For this reason the only women that were able to work were the ones that were the poor women or the members of the lower class in society.
At that time, women were socialized to attend exclusively to home and family tasks. Gradually they were allowed access into “men-duties.” Thirty years ago, men used to be regarded superior, so men were more important and valuable in the society than women. For centuries, men were allowed to play more sports that women were not; such as football, tennis, among many others. However, women have shown that in spite of the fact that they may be physically weaker, they can do the same sports and jobs that men do. Nowadays, men and women have the same rights; they have the possibility to vote, the opportunity of choosing a career as well as the chance of working.
Females were controlled by the males in their lives; first, by their fathers, brothers and male relatives and finally by their husbands. Women were expected to find a husband, marry and reproduce and serve her family until they died. Education for women at the turn of the century was a luxury not afforded to many, and if one chose to be single and seek education over domesticity, she was often pitied or ridiculed by both her peers and community. Emily Dickinson is one example of a woman who was able to choose a significantly different path for herself. Because Dickinson was born into a wealthy and affluent family she received the opportunity to be formally educated.
Government propaganda, as early as the 1920’s emphasised the role of woman workers as well as homemakers. Abortion became available on demand. Marriages were performed in brief ceremonies only in register offices and wedding rings were abolished. Divorce could be done easily by one partner in the marriage requesting it. Even though this was to help women get out of a bad marriage, Women would not have anywhere to go when divorced except to rely on another man, as most were not independent.
One way was by leaving her home to be with her husband. As she was not of high birth she had no guarantee of being able to provide food, clothing, or shelter to her children should a situation arise and she was left alone. She then found out that her husband had engaged in a relationship with the King’s daughter and intended to marry her. The King planned to exile her because of the way she behaved concerning the situation. She was expected to just step aside and watch her husband and children be taken away from her after she sacrificed everything to have a life with him.
I can’t recall many stories where they speak of women in any other way The medieval structure of fellowship society prevented women from claiming ownership to public authority. When they become a wife, she gave all her land to her husband, leaving a power in him and decreasing her power. Women were supposed to be submissive to their husbands and obey them, neglecting their own needs and desire to promote those of their husbands. In the Middle Ages public opinion and court system were under the control of the Church and aristocratic men who both agreed that a woman was to be like a servant to their husband and if they were single they had to obey their king, father, brother, or son, etc. The Church felt this way because they blame Eve for the failure of mankind and viewed all women to be an advocate of the devil.
The number one reason a couple face a divorce is that career women are independent decision makers, and they prioritize career to chase their dreams rather than focusing exclusively on family. From the two articles “Don’t Marry Career Women” and “Don’t Marry a Lazy man,” I do agree with Michael Noer stated that “Don’t Marry Career Woman” because career women are more likely to cheat and get divorced. In the article, “Don’t Marry Career Women,” Michael Noer says, “Recent studies have found professional women are more likely to get divorced, more likely to cheat, and less likely to have children” (509). The author tells us that marriages between two career couples could have a lot of difficulties in couples’ life. On a daily basis, career women are constantly thinking about work duties even when they are at home.
During this period, there were three types of women: single women, married women and widowed women. As noted above, the single woman was considered her father's chattel and under heavy pressure to marry. Only through marriage did she gain any measure of power and control, and then usually only over her own household. Even with marriage, a woman held no legal identity or rights. Widows, on the other hand, did have legal identities and legal rights.
Maggie’s mother was also older and better suited to be a mother because she was older and more experienced however, Maggie’s father also left the family. Maggie turned out to be shy and refrained from social life since she did not leave the house after being burned. “She stoops down quickly and lines up picture after picture of me sitting in front of the house with Maggie cowering behind me” (Walker 746). Too much attention leads to Maggie clinging to her mother and not enough attention drives Emily to not seek out a close relationship with her mother. Both mothers are concerned with the status of their daughters.