Dowries
were significant to the social and patriarchal constructs of both the Middle
Ages and the early modern period. Particularly in Italy, the inflation in dowry
during the sixteenth century had an impact on varied aspects of society, not
just marriage, and thus, was responded to by prominent institutions, like government
and the Catholic Church. As Wiesner-Hanks alludes to, both provided an avenue
through which women, albeit specifically women who were judged to have “potential”
for marriage, could amass a dowry when they would not otherwise have been able to (Women and Gender 81). In this way, it
was almost as if “work programs” were set up to guarantee the “employment” of
such women in the future, their job being one of a wife and a mother. However,
the dowry inflation ensured that women, in most cases, would fulfill certain
roles. In a hierarchal manner, dependent on their level of resources, women were
shuffled into an identity of that of a wife, a nun, a seamstress, or a domestic
servant (Women and Gender 81). Therefore,
the dowry inflation, as it reflected a more stratified society on the whole, perhaps
intensified the status quo of patriarchy, as it more precisely relegated women
to a specific position with fewer, if any, possibilities of escaping it. On the
other hand, it may have permitted more women to circumvent an expectation of
marriage and thus, explore more untraditional roles for themselves. Overall,
the responses to the dowry inflation demonstrate just how prevalent gender was in
the political, economic, and social environment, as women’s supposedly “private”
sphere was continually a major player in the public context.
Wiesner-Hanks,
Merry E. Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2008.
This painting (1480) represents the transportation of a woman's possessions, some of which were household items considered part of a dowry, into her husband's household at marriage(
http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allthingstuscany/tuscanyarts/cassone/).
1 comment:
Sadie,
Interesting read and very factual on the various reasons for dowry inflation during the early modern period. One thing you mentioned that would have been interesting to explore further was the idea of "escaping" marriage or the traditional role of women. I was just wondering if you had thought of anything specific when you were writing it or if you just meant in general? The reason being that from the Wiesner-Hanks reading it suggests that many women did not want to "escape" and those that did, well usually suffered greatly in poverty trying to attain any level of stability in work or living conditions.
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