Women in Ancient Rome

Since Ancient Roman women were defined by the men in their lives, they were valued mainly as daughters, wives, and mothers. In Rome, women were not allowed to be active in politics, so not much information survives about them because they were not really written about, and they were not taught how to write, so they could not tell their own stories. While the nature of Roman culture allowed for a relatively generous amount of freedom for its women, some scholars suggest that a sense of fear toward women of the time existed. Within the core of Latin, those phenomena that are violent or uncontrollable are associated with feminine nouns. Notably, both the volatile natura (nature) and fortuna (fortune; luck), over which the Romans had absolutely no control in their age are solidly gendered as “woman” (Mosier-Dubinsky 2013). Dubinsky believes that this may show us something of the conceptions of women during this time period in a way that “the force and influence they [women] wielded was unpredictable, and must still be respected” (Mosier-Dubinsky 2013). Looking into the roles of women in marriage, education, and work, gives an idea of how the ideal woman lived in Ancient Rome.

Marriage

Marriage was one of the main focuses in the life of a Roman woman because the ideal woman was said to hold many wifely virtues such as being able to weave, cook, and perform other domestic tasks of that nature.  When getting married, the woman did not have much say in choosing her spouse. Rather, the marriage was an interest of the family more that the individual, and father would choose a suitable man for his daughter. The woman could only object to her father’s choice if it was “immoral” (Mosier-Dubinsky 2013). When getting married, the bride had the choice of marrying “cum manu” (under the control of her husband) or “sine manu” (remaining under the control of her father). Being a good wife was so highly valued that when Emperor Augustus’s daughter Julia could not perform wifely duties such as spinning and weaving and she took on a series of lovers, he “denounced her in public and banished her for the rest of her life” (Devilliar Donegan Enterprises 2006). This act showed the Roman people just how important it was for a woman to perform her role as a wife well.

Augustus banishing his daughter Julia for not upholding

her role in society and having wifely virtues.

Education

Roman historians provide evidence that women, on average, were exposed to both formal and indirect education during this era (Mosier-Dubinsky 2013). Even plebian girls were educated to a certain level. However, there was never educational equality for the sexes in Rome because the men were always better educated. This is seen through the belief that women should be educated enough to be an effective teacher for their children, yet not so educated that they injure the pride of the males in their households. Therefore, a woman was often educated enough to where she could fulfill her role as householder and mother. General working knowledge for daily life, including the math necessary for household sums, would have been necessary, as well as a the ability to be somewhat conversant in the philosophical issues of the day.

Childbirth

A woman’s main job as a wife was bearing healthy children, especially boys, for her family. According to Doctor Don Todman, childbirth in Roman society was “associated with a high risk to both the fetus and the mother, with substantial infant and maternal mortality” (Todman 2007). During this time, childbirth was still a confusing process to the people so they used many folklore practices that were not very effective. These practices and unsanitary conditions led to the high mortality rates during birth. Some scholars suggest that parents remained unattached emotionally to their children when they were young because the mortality rate was so high, but anthropological evidence shows that the mothers went through real grieving any time they lost their children (Todman 2007).

The aspects of childbirth, education, and marriage were the major parts of a woman’s life in Ancient Rome. Through the cycle of being a daughter to a wife to a mother, it was important for the Roman woman to remain under the control of the males in her life. The women of Rome may have had more freedoms than women before them, but they still remained very limited compared to today’s view of the modern woman.

Bibliography

Devilliar Donegan Enterprises. (2006). The Roman Empire: Women. Retrieved March 01, 2014, from PBS: http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/women.html

Donaldson, J. (1907). Woman; her position and influence in ancient Greece and Rome, and among the early Christian. London: Longmans, Green, and Co.

Mosier-Dubinsky, Joy (2013). Women in Ancient Rome. JCCC Honors Journal, 4 (2).

Scheidel, W. (1995). The Most Silent Women of Greece and Rome: Rural Labour and Women's Life in the Ancient World (I). Greece & Rome , 42 (2), 202-217.

Todman, D. (2007). Childbirth in ancient Rome: From traditional folklore to obstetrics. Australian & New Zealand Journal Of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 47(2), 82-85. doi:10.1111/j.1479-828X.2007.00691.x

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