Christopher Chun and Mithilesh Athreya

Christopher Chun and Mithilesh Athreya

1/10/2011

AP European History

Muller

Fill-In Review Narrative Test: Women

Women in the fourteenth century were considered (1) to men. However, (2) proved her prowess when she murdered her husband and took the throne for herself in January 1327. Another significant woman in European history is a French peasant girl named (3) who defeated England in the battle at (4) in April 1429 to save the French crown from the English. However not all women were as important as these two. Normal women during the fifteenth century often formed (5) , voluntary lay groups that were organized by occupation, devotional preference, neighborhood, or charitable activity.

In the fourteenth century, the appropriate marriageable age for a noble girl was considered (6) years. Poor women often tended to wait until adulthood before marrying. There were also other women who didn’t marry at all and chose to become (7) . Women were also targets of sexual assault as the penalty for (8) in the 14th century was considerably lower than that of other crimes.

During the Renaissance, women were excluded from many of the arts and sciences available to men. Also, there was a discussion called the (9) that argued about women’s character and nature that would last for centuries. While there were many misogynist critiques of women, notable artists like Giovanni Boccaccio and (10) wrote in defense of women. However for the most part, men during the Renaissance considered women as objects for marriage.

During the sixteenth century in a time of many religious reforms, women were given some rights. However they were still required to be subservient to men. Also during the sixteenth century during the time of the Great European (11) , women were considered more likely to be witches than men. This was because women were thought to have a weaker will and more likely to fall to (12) than men were.

The Enlightenment period saw a slow yet steady rise of women in intellectual thought and social life. (13) , a long time companion to Voltaire, was one of the most notable female intellectuals. Apart from publishing scientific articles and translations, she was one of the main voices that argued against the unequal education for women. The Enlightenment also saw a rise in (14) , private drawing rooms where social gatherings were held by talented by talented women. Two women in particular are among the most notable salon owners. One named (15) had one of the most famous salons in France and is also the unofficial godmother of the Encyclopedia. The other named (16) was one of the youngest women to form her own salon. As far as art was concerned, a feminine style called (17) also saw some popularity.

However during the Enlightenment period, misogynistic arguments continued to build up. Philosophers like (18) and (19) felt women should not have influence in public affairs. The latter philosopher believed that women were destined by nature to have a passive role in sexual relations and social life. He also believed that a woman’s role in life should only be taking care of the house and her children. For he felt that if women had a bigger social life, they could corrupt politics and society.

When the textile industry was established, women had a more active role in labor for the family than simple household duties. While men operated the loom, women and children performed (20) tasks such as preparing the warp threads, mounting them on the loom, and winding the threads on bobbins for the weft threads.

As merchants found it difficult for weavers and their families to produce enough thread, they turned to alternate sources of labor. They hired wives and daughters of (21) to spin thread in their spare time. Some of the female spinners were either widowed or unmarried and were called (22) . This term is now synonymous with an unmarried woman.

Wages differed drastically between men and women. While men earned decent wages through long, hard labor, women earned extremely low wages. Getting fired or (23) or could mean disaster for a woman and her children.

Over the 18th century, some previously all-men guilds grew more accessible to women as more female workers were needed in the (24) department. In 1675, financial minister Colbert granted seamstresses to an all-female guild in Paris. In the late 17th century, vocational training programs were established for poor girls in European cities to teach them (25) . More girls and women (both rural and urban) entered the paid labor market in greater numbers as male guilds sought more skilled workers. And by (26) , all guilds were formally open for women.

During the Industrious Revolution, women started to take on a more controversial role in the new economy. While they still earned low wages, they seemed to have a greater role in (27) decision making as most of the earnings went for necessities that they could no longer produce with a few shillings left for some extras like stockings and ribbons. Women’s control over the surplus income thus helped cause a rapid growth of textile industries.

The lives of European men and women had changed. For instance, both genders could delay marriage by at least ten years. Both left the household to find work although women had limited job opportunities. Apprenticeship in occupations like seamstresses, linen drapers, and midwives helped usher an increasing demand for skilled female workers. However some masters weren’t so kind as they would abuse their apprentices especially the females. Some girls were forced into prostitution even if the practice was illegal. Not only was the sex trade a corruption in society but (28) , an infection prostitutes often carried, was also a major threat.

Low rates of illegitimate births and large numbers of pregnant brides led villages to enforce (29) . These actions were to prevent premarital sex among young men and women. However during the second half of the eighteenth century, an (30) occurred with the number of illegitimate births rising. Also, while women of the middle and upper classes nursed their own children, upper class women felt breastfeeding was crude. So they hired rural women from the (31) business. And yet there were those women who could not provide for her child and felt little choice but to smother their babies in secret as (32) was punishable by death.

Women’s rise to more prominence was capitalized off the revolt on October 5, 1789 during the French Revolution. Seven thousand women marched from Paris to Versailles, demanding action after the increase in unemployment and hunger, and the high costs of (33) . These women were somewhat successful as they managed to have the French king reside in Paris to settle domestic affairs better. Also, new laws were established to grant women more rights. These rights included seeking divorce, (34) , and obtaining financial support for illegitimate children from fathers.

Still, women were still not allowed to vote or hold political office. The great majority of educated males in the National Assembly believed that women should be limited to child rearing and domestic duties. This way, the National Assembly felt that (35) would be created if women focused on being mothers and raising their sons to be future leaders of the nation.

Yet women still continued to fight against their subordination to men. A young writer in London named (36) wrote a book called A Vindication of the Rights of Man to argue against the sexual inequality. It would still take years for women to finally have equal rights as men, but the role that women have played throughout European history has developed pretty significantly.

Answer Key to Fill-In Narrative Test on Women:

1. subservient
2. Queen Isabella of England
3. Joan of Arc
4. Orleans
5. confraternities
6. sixteen
7. prostitutes
8. rape
9. “debate about women”
10. Christine de Pizan
11. Witch Hunts
12. temptation
13. Madame du Chatelet
14. salons
15. Madame Geoffrin
16. Julie de Lespinasse
17. rococo
18. Montesquieu
19. Rousseau
20. auxiliary
21. agricultural workers
22. spinsters
23. missing a day of work
24. dressmaking
25. needlework
26. 1777
27. household
28. venereal disease
29. community controls
30. illegitimacy explosion
31. wet nursing
32. infanticide
33. bread
34. inheriting property
35. civic virtue
36. Mary Wollstonecraft