history of women in the early century :: essays research papers

WOMENS RIGHTS. Throughout most of history women generally have had fewer ratified rights and career opportunities than men. Wifehood and motherhood were regarded as womens most significant professions. In the twentieth century, however, women in most nations won the right to vote and increased their educational and job opportunities. Perhaps most important, they fought for and to a large degree courteous a reevaluation of traditional views of their role in society. Early Attitudes Toward WomenSince early time women have been uniquely viewed as a creative source of human race aliveness. Historically, however, they have been considered non only intellectually inferior to men however also a major source of temptation and evil. In Grecian mythology, for example, it was a woman, Pandora, who opened the forbidden box and brought plagues and unhappiness to mankind. Early papistic law described women as children, forever inferior to men. Early Christian theology perpetuated these v iews. St. Jerome, a 4th-century Latin father of the Christian church, said " charwoman is the gate of the devil, the path of wickedness, the sting of the serpent, in a word a perilous object." Thomas Aquinas, the 13th-century Christian theologian, said that woman was "created to be mans helpmeet, still her unique role is in conception . . . since for other purposes men would be better assisted by other men." The attitude toward women in the eastward was at first more favorable. In ancient India, for example, women were not take of property rights or individual freedoms by marriage. But Hinduism, which evolved in India by and by about 500 BC, required obedience of women toward men. Women had to walk behind their husbands. Women could not own property, and widows could not remarry. In both East and West, male children were preferred over female children. Nevertheless, when they were allowed personal and intellectual freedom, women made significant achievements. Du ring the midsection Ages nuns played a key role in the religious life of Europe. Aristocratic women enjoyed power and prestige. Whole eras were influenced by women rulers for instance, Queen Elizabeth of England in the sixteenth century, Catherine the Great of Russia in the 18th century, and Queen Victoria of England in the nineteenth century. The Weaker Sex?Women were long considered naturally weaker than men, squeamish, and unable to perform work requiring hefty or intellectual development. In most preindustrial societies, for example, domestic chores were relegated to women, leaving "heavier" savvy such as hunting and plowing to men.