Women in Roman & Chinese Civilizations Essay
...en as the entity that made a man whole. Although, having a woman, as a first-born was a sign of bad-fortune, the woman was the creator of life and the source of life for men; women were the homemakers after all. The Chinese civilization believed in the yin and yang, which symbolized the harmonizing character of male and female roles in the natural rank. The Roman society also believed in women being the homemakers and men being the providers. In the both societies, women play little or no public role. Roman women were not allowed to own land or to represent herself in legal procedures. These limitations caused women to be forever under jurisdiction of a male. She went from being under the authority of her paterfamilias to that of her husband’s paterfamilias as a married woman. A woman always depended on a male guardian in order to have a position in society. Chinese woman had the same lifestyle. A female could never be an heir to any land. If a married couple did not have a son before the death of either parent, the remaining partner was allowed to go out and search for that heir with someone else. The husband could choose any woman but the woman was forced to marry her brother-in-law. This example shows the bigotry that occurred between men and women in earlier times and in some modern societies. Later, Roman women gained more personal freedom, more education, and more outspoken. Before only the elite women were educated and outspoken, but now “common” women also shared those qualities. Stories of queen’s being poised and aggressive are evidence of their transformation from meek and quiet women. Religiously the women were not worshipped. Men being the providers and the head of the homes were seen as gods. Others worshipped were elders and ancestors but nowhere were women included. In other Greek civilizations, like Athens, women were seen as equals. Inequality and equality are the result of the type of government that women were under. The Roman and Chinese civilizations were monarchy wh...