Elizabethan Women

Although many men offered a hand in marriage to Queen Elizabeth I, she refused every offer. She was one of the only female rulers of England who did not get married, because it was frowned upon for a woman to not have a male to take care of her (Sharnette). From woman’s inability to get educated and class rankings in society, to men’s lives, much has changed since Queen Elizabeth I ruled England.
In Elizabethan England, women were not allowed a good education. Men were allowed to go to school and get education throughout their whole childhood, whereas girls could only go to school to be taught basic skills like reading and writing (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “The Status”). Without being educated, women obviously were stripped of
the right to vote as well (Alchin). Most grammar schools during this time period didn't even accept girls, if they did the girls were taught easier lessons than the boys. Cambridge just started allowing women to get equal degrees to men in 1948, and Oxford did the same just 28 years sooner in 1920 (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “The Status”). Women, however, loved to read. Over 80 percent of the books published in the Elizabethan Era were published specifically for women (“Elizabethan Women”). There were a few special exceptions to the rule that women could not get a good education. Some rich families paid tutors to come to their house and teach their daughters, and some fathers taught their daughters themselves (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “The Status”). Girls from higher ranked families would be taught the duties and responsibilities that came along with being the queen. These young girls would be taught the languages of Latin, Italian, Greek, French, and possibly more; often times before the age of five years (Alchin). Some girls were sent to the other families’ homes to have a group tutoring session, but this was mostly for the richer families as well (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “The Status”). Girls were taught manners, proper etiquette, how to curtsey, dancing, music, archery, and how to ride a horse during their younger lives. Most girls did housewife jobs from the time they were young, so they could learn early what their life would be like in the future (Alchin). Women could not get a good education during the Elizabethan Era (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “The Status”).
As a result of women not being able to get a good education, they also cannot get good jobs.
The wealthier girls that did get educated still were unable to get good jobs (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “The Status”). The richer girls generally did lots of charity work because they could not get jobs that would pay them (Alchin). Any smart girl that did manage to somehow get a good job was considered a man because girls were not supposed to have good jobs (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “The Status”). The average woman only had one career option, and that was marriage (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “The Status”). Women were not allowed to be in the military or act in a theatre (Alchin). Usually, women were not nobles. However, there were some girls born into noble families (“Elizabethan Societal”). In these times, the belief was that the sole purpose of a woman was to serve a man (Alchin). If a woman was unmarried, her neighbors considered her a witch (Alchin). Another job that some women had was running a small school from their home, they earned very little from these jobs (Mahal, Prasad. “The Children”). Women were also expected to have children; large families were very common during this time. Unfortunately, many women and children ended up dying in childbirth (Alchin). Some lucky girls got apprenticeships as well that they kept until they were 21 to earn money and get experienced for their future (Mahabal, Prasad. “The Children”). Because women were
down upon and treated as if they were academically inferior, they were expected to thank their husbands with a gift when they got married (Alchin). Since women were not allowed to get a good education, they were also unable to get good jobs.
In addition to women not being treated equally, there was also a distinction between the upper and lower classes.
In Elizabethan times, women in the upper class were very dependent on men to support them. Women in the upper class had marriages pre-arranged for them, most of the time it was with boys from the upper class (Alchin). Many men had lots of debt, so they supported the women in their lives by giving them a nice place to live and servants (“Elizabethan Societal”). The people in the upper class had a better overall lifestyle than the poorer people. The rich also outlived the poor by a notable amount of time (Mahabal, Prasad. “Daily Life”). For a child to be noble, he must be born into a noble family. Titles were passed on from a father to his eldest son (“Elizabethan Societal”). Children were required to always obey their parents, and every day had to ask for their parents’ blessings (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “Family Life”). The title just under the noble class is the gentry’s class. However, unlike the noble title the gentry’s title is acquired (“Elizabethan Societal”). Wealthier children enjoyed going to plays written by Shakespeare, they would pay extra to get a better seat that had a cushion on it (Mahabal, Prasad. “Elizabethan Era”). At the time, there were not many people in the higher classes (“Childhood”). There were only about 55 total people in the upper classes of society (“Elizabethan Societal”). The upper class only accounted for about three
percent of the total population in Elizabethan England (“Childhood”). When a nobleman died, the king or queen did not usually appoint a new one, therefore the numbers kept decreasing (“Elizabethan Societal”). During the Elizabethan Era, the gentry were the most important class because it included justices of the Peace, philosophers, and the chief minister to the queen (“Elizabethan Societal”). There were few people in the upper class, but they were powerful people.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, servants were treated very well. Masters were required to treat their servants as if they were their children; they were to view them as equals (M. St. Clare). Servants were provided clothes by their employers, and they were not allowed to wear any clothes to work other than the ones given to the. If they wore their masters’ clothes, it was considered a defiance of orders (Mahabal, Prasad. “Daily Life”). All servants were considered to be equal to one another. They all earned the same wages, worked under the same conditions, had the same work hours, and wore the same clothes (M. St. Clare). Society considered a person to be a servant if they did any form of manual labor with their hands (“Elizabethan Societal”). You can be appointed to a job as a servant if you are unmarried and are between the ages of 12 and 60, or if you are married and younger than 30 but have a yearly income of less than 40 shillings (M. St. Clare). Another way you can get a job as a servant is if you do not come from a wealthy family (“Elizabethan Societal”). Anyone who was declared a servant was required by law to serve an entire term. If a servant was to escape before their term was up and they were found, they would be imprisoned and sometimes even whipped (M. St. Clare). Servants could only eat grains and vegetables because that was what they could afford (Mahabal, Prasad. “Daily Life”). Some of the really poor parents went through a lot just to feed their kids (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “Family Life”). The life expectancy of the peasants was only 42 years on average (Mahabal, Prasad. “Daily Life”). The poor went without heat in the winter, and they had very thin clothes (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “Family Life”). Most could not afford necessary treatments and medications when they were sick, as a result, many people died at younger ages (Mahabal, Prasad. “Daily Life”). The upper class lived totally different lives than the lower class.
The upper and lower classes were viewed differently in society, and boys lived different lives than girls did. Boys’ early lives were much different during the Elizabethan era than they are now. First of all, boys had jobs from the time they were very little until they turned about 24 (Mahabal, Prasad. “The Children”). Children were treated as if they were just small adults throughout their whole childhood. They were expected to be very proper, polite, have good manners, and have proper etiquette (“Childhood”). At school, the children were taught the classical arts along with grammar and manners (Mahabal, Prasad. “Daily Life”). Lots of young boys’ sole focus during their childhood was going to school to get the education that would be required to later attain the career choice they wish to pursue (Mahabal, Prasad. “The Children”). There were societal rules that all young boys were required to follow, the first being that they had to wear skirts until they turned six. Also, when a boy did something wrong, it was not uncommon for him to have a severe punishment (Mahabal, Prasad. “Daily Life”). Being the oldest son could be looked at as a good thing in some aspects, but in other aspects it was not so good. It was good because if you came from a wealthy family, you inherited everything; however it was bad because if your father had debt you were required to pay off his debt after he died (Mahabal, Prasad. “The Children”).
Lastly is a man’s role in marriage. Not every man could find a wife suitable for him (M. St. Clare). However, the men that did get married were very lucky because women lived to please their husbands (Zuber). Being a husband was considered a job during the Elizabethan Era (M. St. Clare). One of the jobs of a husband was to love his wife and provide for her (Zuber). Men who were married were considered superior to their wife. Also, men were in control of everything in society except the duties of the queen (Mahabal, Prasad. “Daily Life”). A rule of life at the time was that women had to obey their husbands (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “Family Life”). If a woman’s husband finds something displeasing to him, the woman was not allowed to do it. Men also trained women to listen to them and believe that women are less than men and are never right (Zuber). Men supported their wives, both emotionally and financially (Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. “Family Life”). Men decided if a woman was beautiful or not, and they were allowed to value them based on their physical appearance (Zuber).
From women’s inability to get educated, class rankings in society, and men’s lives, daily living is much different today than it was in the Elizabethan times.

Works Cited
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