WOMEN IN THE WESTERN WORLD SINCE
THE 16TH CENTURY
Shelby Best-Miller, Jaclyn Rodrigues,
Erin Rousseau & Chelsea Morris
Women
Making
History
THE DAILY LIFE OF WOMEN
16th century – 18th century
16TH CENTURY WOMEN Most professions were unavailable There jobs were useless and low paid Usually housewives Helped run the
farms Self-sufficient
households Women were
responsible for running the house
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16TH CENTURY WOMEN CONTINUED...
Tasks of a housewife: bake bread, brew beer, curing bacon, salt the meat, make pickles, jellies and preserves
All tasks done daily
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16TH CENTURY WOMEN CONTINUED...
Women makes soap and candles too Also spun wool and linen As well, women milked cows, fed
animals, grew herbs and vegetables A woman also had to clean and cook for
the entire familyE.R.
16TH CENTURY WOMEN CONTINUED...
Women were expected to have knowledge regarding medicine
Middle class women were kept very busy
The wealthy women had duties too
Rich women had to organize and direct servants
Rich women hunted deer and rabbits
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16TH CENTURY WOMEN CONTINUED...
Married women were supposed to obey their husbands
Women seen as they weaker vessel
Men allowed to hit their wives
Violent age were physical abuse was acceptable
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16TH CENTURY WOMEN CONTINUED...
A married woman could not own property
Marriages were usually arranged
Divorce was unknown Legal age of marriage
was 12 years old Majority of women
married in their mid 20`s
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16TH CENTURY WOMEN CONTINUED...
Childbirth was dangerous Many women died because on unsanitary
midwives Poor women gave birth once every 2 years
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17TH CENTURY WOMEN
Women in the 17th century shared
similar traits and daily tasks as the
women in the 16th century
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18TH CENTURY WOMEN There were three social
classes that women were split into:- Upper-Working Class(wealthy), Lower-Working Class and the women of the under-class
More freedom to obtain jobs Life for women in the
eighteenth century consisted of many obligations and very few choices of their own E.R.
18TH CENTURY WOMEN CONTINUED...
Completely controlled by the men in their lives
Purpose in life was to get married and have many children and then take care of her family for the rest of her life
To stay single was frowned upon in society and ruined her family’s reputation
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18TH CENTURY WOMEN CONTINUED...
A husband had a right to everything that the wife owned, including her body
If a woman was not happy and tried to escape an unhappy marriage, she could be banned by society and punished by the law
The men made sure that their wives were suitable women and good influences and showed respect to all men
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WOMEN’S ROLE IN THE
SALONS
THE SALONSWhere were Salons first started?a) Franceb) Germanyc) Britain
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THE SALONSWhat is a Salon?
b) A room where an intellectually oriented hostess would entertain selected guests
a) A place where women went to get their hair and make-up done in the 17th century
c) A room where an intellectually oriented group of people had lunch
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WOMEN AND THEIR ROLES IN THE
SALONS Gather to
discuss politics, literature and other topics of interest
Women were seen as equal to men in the Salons
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LITERATURE
JANE AUSTEN
One of the most famous women in literature was from the eighteenth century. Jane Austen was a major English novelist whose brilliantly constructed literature is still looked at today
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ART
Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci
A portrait of Mona Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo
Da Vinci set a new standard for composition and expression of complex emotion
Most recognized painting in the worldSignificance: An ideal portrait, echoing renaissance interest in Platonic theory, when the beauty of the body reflects the soul.
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Judith Slaying Holophernes
Artemisia Gentileschi
Judith Slaying Holophernes by Artemisia Gentileschi
Depicts the biblical story in which Judith seduces and murders the marauder Holophernes with his own sword
Gentileschi was known for adapting the technique of chiaroscuro (the strong contrast of light and dark) as seen in many of her works
Significance: Gentileschi was one of the first woman artists to make her mark in western history.
C.M.
OdalisqueJean-Auguste Ingres
Odalisque by Jean-Auguste Ingres
Odalisque: female slave of a harem (Turkey)
Odalisques were among Ingres favorite subjects
Ingres often contorted the body to achieve desired pose
Significance: The painting is in a style recalling the renaissance however the subjects, a woman of a harem reflects foreign elements ofromantic thought.
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Liberty Leading the PeopleEugene Delacroix
Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix
The three days of riots led to the downfall of Charles X and the enthronement of Louis-Philip despite the attempt of the people to re-establish the republic, the day is celebrated in the painting
The woman with the flag represents hope and urges people to follow her
Delacroix painted the woman as real instead of ideal
Significance: This painting caused uproar at the salon of 1831 and indicated the critical meaning of contemporary art. C.M.
WOMEN & THE ENLIGHTENMENT
WOMEN & THE ENLIGHTENMENT
Characteristics that impact women: Freedom of thought Freedom of expression Supremacy of Reason Emergence of the idea of equality Education for all The spread of intellectualism
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POLITICAL ACTIVISTS & WRITERS
MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT
1759 – 1797 Wrote “A
Vindication of The Rights of Woman” (1792)
An enlightened individual
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MARY WOLLSTOENCRAFT’S SIGNIFICANCE
REASON = VIRTUE + KNOWLEDGE
Believed that man was responsible for their own actions
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JOHN STUART MILL
1806 - 1873 A 19th century intellectual Wrote “The Subjection of
Women” (1896) Believed there was
injustice in society
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JOHN STUART MILL’S SIGNIFICANCE
Campaigned against wife-beating in the 1820’s
Argued the following question:
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How can we be enlightened when
50% of the population is being
treated with disrespect?
WILLIAM THOMSON
1824 - 1907 Lord Kelvin Wrote “An Appeal of One
Half of the Human Race, Women, Against the Pretensions of the Other Half, Men, to Retain Them in Political, and Thence in Civil and Domestic Slavery”
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WILLIAM THOMSON’S SIGNIFICANCE
Stated that the home was not “the abode of calm
bliss”, rather “the eternal prison-house of the wife...The house is
his house, with everything in it; and all of the fixtures the most abjectly is his breeding-
machine, the wife”
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Women &
Politics
CATHERINE DE MEDICISignificance Involved in the “Wars of
Religion”, most famously Saint Bartholomew’s massacre which is where the Parisian mobs wiped out hundreds of Huguenots (Protestants). This all happened under the command of Queen Catherine.
Saint Bartholomew’s massacre ended up killing 6000 Huguenots
J.R.
ISABELLA OF CASTILESignificance Isabella and Ferdinand are known as the
couple that united Spain
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CATHERINE OF ARAGONSignificance Catherine was well-known for
belonging to the House of Habsburg which was one of the most important royal houses in all of Europe and the fact that she was Henry VIII’s first wife. Henry wants to divorce Catherine of Aragon but cannot because of her connections to the Pope. The reformation begins in England as a result of this.
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MARY I “BLOODY MARY”
Significance Her reign was known
as the Catholic restoration because she brought back Catholicism.
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ELIZABETH ISignificance Elizabeth I was known for
her political excellence and her responsibility for starting England towards its economic and political power. Also because of her religious changes from her sisters Catholic restoration to making Protestantism the national faith of England.
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ANN BOLEYN
Significance The marriage
between Ann Boleyn and Henry VIII began the start of Anglicanism in England.
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JANE SEYMOURSignificance She was finally the
wife that was able to provide Henry VIII with a son to heir to the throne and also because she was the only wife that was buried alongside him.
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CATHERINE THE GREATSignificance Catherine the Great
implemented all of these enlightened ideas but what about the serfs? She never helped to decrease the amount of serfs in Russia because she wanted to keep the nobility happy (serfs worked for the nobility). This completely contradicts her enlightened ways.
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MARIE ANTOINETTESignificance Not only was Marie Antoinette
known for her title as the Queen of France, she was known for alienating the nobility in France that eventually ended up creating many enemies for her husband Louis XVI. “Let them eat cake” is a popular saying from Marie Antoinette. People thought that her acts of kindness and her extravagant behaviour was the cause of the poor French economy at the time.
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JOSEPHINE BONAPARTE
Significance Josephine was the
first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. Just like Catherine of Aragon to Henry VIII, she was not able to provide him a son to heir to the throne.
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MARIE LOUISE BONAPARTE
Significance Marie Louise
Bonaparte was the Empress of France even after Napoleon had to resign. She also helped to bring Austria and France together because of her connections to each.
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