Yesterday, we started a discussion about the whole partnership issue concerning Magdalena when it came to her role in conducting her husband's business. While Ozment and most of the class seemed to agree that she had an independent partnership relationship with Balthasar and the business, I'm still not completely convinced. I think it's important to show caution when making such statements so as to avoid the "Goddess" effect we discussed during the first week of class.
While there has been lots of evidence given to show that Magdalena was very independent when running the merchant business, I also believe there is some to show the opposite. For example, when Ozment discusses the chores Magdalena was assigned while Balthasar was away, he states: "On one occasion Balthasar urged Magdalena to seek the assistance of his brothers...to collect peasant debts" (73). He also mentions that "Balthasar frequently admonished Magdalena to keep exact records. On one occasion [Balthasar] suggests she asks cousin Paul for help" (Ozment 73). The command to keep records indicates employer-employee relationship. The frequent urges to receive help suggests that he didn't see her as a true equal partner. It should also be kept in mind that Magdalena reported all of her business decisions to her husband. Though she may not always have asked for permission (which wouldn't be productive if he were away anyway), she certainly informed him of her actions. And, unfortunately, Ozment doesn't/can't provide more information about whether she made independent business decisions while he actually was in Nuremberg with her.
Thus, while I believe that women had a more active role in early modern Europe than we usually give them credit for, I think we might be too hasty in deciding that Magdalena was an equal partner to her husband in the business sect. I'd call her more of a somewhat independent employee.
2 comments:
very interesting concept to think about. I can defiantly agree with this idea of Magdalena as an independent employee in relation to Balthasar's business.
McKenzie,
I thought it was really intriguing the point you make that we really do not know, at least from what Ozment provided, how independent she was when Balthasar was home and she would have been acting alongside him in business, not entirely in his stead as she was when he was away. I wonder actually if possibly it would have allowed her to be more his equal partner in some ways, as they both would have been able to instantly debate on business matters, in which she more than likely won some victories based on her letters. Additionally, they could have acted together, rather than her having to report on her end of things. However, I also agree that she is probably subject to Balthasar in business in some ways, unlike a partner would be, and you make really good points to that conclusion.
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