The lives and exploits of women have largely been overlooked by most historical texts. Until forty years ago, historians assumed that feminine history was, "adequately covered by general history, which was largely the story of the exploits of men" (p. 157). More modern analysis of past events, however, tends to refute long held sentiments on femininity. Mary Jo Maynes and Ann Waltner's "Women and Marriage in Europe and China" contrasts the status of women in Confucian China and Christian Europe. Despite shared sentiments of patriarchy and female subservience between European Christianity and Chinese Confucianism, certain discrepancies between the religious and marital practices of the two cultures give Christian women an advantage over their Confucian counterparts.
While both European and Chinese societies placed the patriarch as head of the family unit, women in Europe did enjoy some assertions of autonomy. For example, according to the Catholic faith, a woman must be a willing spouse of the man. This loophole in male dominance allowed women in 16th century Europe to appeal to Catholic court systems in cases of coerced matrimony. Young women won such cases at a staggering rate (p. 149). The Confucian ideology provided no such loophole in arranged matrimony, as the rules of family formation were generally segregated from the influence of state and religious law (p. 150).
Marriage rate and age further separated Chinese women from the status held by their European counterparts. The Confucian family doctrine accentuated the strength of the male family head through marriage customs. In China, marriage was universal for all women and it occurred at an early age, before either party had the financial stability to exist autonomously. The newly-wed couple would traditionally live within the household of the groom's family, with new households only being formed upon the death of the groom's father. This practice promoted a hierarchy of male superiority within Chinese family units. Early marriage also served to limit feminine participation in the workforce, as Chinese women were only instructed in marriage and homemaking skills before being married off. (p. 152-153). European patriarchy, while still a dominant force, held less sway over the lives of women. Christian couples were expected to marry later in life, after first accruing the means to live and thrive separately from their parents (p. 150). This post-marital separation from parental authority allowed increased freedom for young men and women by giving them an opportunity to seek gainful employment during their unwed years (p. 151).
Despite the relative freedoms enjoyed by European women compared to their Chinese counterparts, the cultural values inherent in Confucian concubinage and Christian chastity each served to hold women as inferior. While virtually all Chinese women served to become brides, not all of them became "principal wives" (p. 153). Concubinage, although rare, supplied noble husbands with multiple women to have legal sex with independent of the principal wife. Concubines could be removed from their status at any time by the male owner, further establishing their status as a lover of convenience to the male and negating any hopes of equality in the relationship (p. 153). European women, although not subjected to the ignominy of becoming an additional spouse, were also subjected to certain cultural standards not applied to males. Although both men and women in European society were expected to live single lives for some time after puberty, only women were expected to remain virgins until their wedding day (p. 151). To maintain order, certain members of the unmarried male population would form a sort of "morals police," punishing deviance from acceptable practice with public shaming and ostracism from the "righteous" population (p. 151-152).
For the most part, women within Chinese and European society were at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Confucian ideals of early marriage, subservience to patriarchal authority, and the practice of concubinage placed women in a position of inferiority within their social spheres. Christian practices of arranged marriage and female specific chastity also served to marginalize women, although certain loopholes regarding church involvement in domestic affairs and later ages of marriage helped to give women a slight advantage over their Chinese counterparts. Analyses of such practices within different cultures serve to highlight important cultural relatives, and also to shed light on the day-to-day life of half of the world's population.
The assignment is as follows:
After reading Mary Jo Maynes and Ann Waltner's "Women and Marriage in Europe and China," can it be said that Christianity allowed European women more independence than Confucianism allowed women in China? Or vice versa? In which society was the patriarchal family more powerful, and what was the relative impact of patriarchy on women in both societies? How did the age and rate at which people married in each society compare? What was the importance of Chinese concubinage and Christian ideals of chastity?
- I can use the documents in question and ONLY those, cited with a page number (p. 213)
-The professor is a self proclaimed "grammar nazi", and is very strict against slang, curse words, contractions, colloquialisms, passive tense, use of apostrophes, and hanging quotes. This is a second draft, so I've tried to minimize these mistakes, but ANY insight into how I can improve that in addition to the flow and argument of my paper would be greatly appreciated.
-In the final paragraph before the conclusion, should I put the word righteous in quotations or leave it outside?
Thank you all so much in advance, all the papers I've put through here in the past were looked at exceptionally thoroughly.
While both European and Chinese societies placed the patriarch as head of the family unit, women in Europe did enjoy some assertions of autonomy. For example, according to the Catholic faith, a woman must be a willing spouse of the man. This loophole in male dominance allowed women in 16th century Europe to appeal to Catholic court systems in cases of coerced matrimony. Young women won such cases at a staggering rate (p. 149). The Confucian ideology provided no such loophole in arranged matrimony, as the rules of family formation were generally segregated from the influence of state and religious law (p. 150).
Marriage rate and age further separated Chinese women from the status held by their European counterparts. The Confucian family doctrine accentuated the strength of the male family head through marriage customs. In China, marriage was universal for all women and it occurred at an early age, before either party had the financial stability to exist autonomously. The newly-wed couple would traditionally live within the household of the groom's family, with new households only being formed upon the death of the groom's father. This practice promoted a hierarchy of male superiority within Chinese family units. Early marriage also served to limit feminine participation in the workforce, as Chinese women were only instructed in marriage and homemaking skills before being married off. (p. 152-153). European patriarchy, while still a dominant force, held less sway over the lives of women. Christian couples were expected to marry later in life, after first accruing the means to live and thrive separately from their parents (p. 150). This post-marital separation from parental authority allowed increased freedom for young men and women by giving them an opportunity to seek gainful employment during their unwed years (p. 151).
Despite the relative freedoms enjoyed by European women compared to their Chinese counterparts, the cultural values inherent in Confucian concubinage and Christian chastity each served to hold women as inferior. While virtually all Chinese women served to become brides, not all of them became "principal wives" (p. 153). Concubinage, although rare, supplied noble husbands with multiple women to have legal sex with independent of the principal wife. Concubines could be removed from their status at any time by the male owner, further establishing their status as a lover of convenience to the male and negating any hopes of equality in the relationship (p. 153). European women, although not subjected to the ignominy of becoming an additional spouse, were also subjected to certain cultural standards not applied to males. Although both men and women in European society were expected to live single lives for some time after puberty, only women were expected to remain virgins until their wedding day (p. 151). To maintain order, certain members of the unmarried male population would form a sort of "morals police," punishing deviance from acceptable practice with public shaming and ostracism from the "righteous" population (p. 151-152).
For the most part, women within Chinese and European society were at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Confucian ideals of early marriage, subservience to patriarchal authority, and the practice of concubinage placed women in a position of inferiority within their social spheres. Christian practices of arranged marriage and female specific chastity also served to marginalize women, although certain loopholes regarding church involvement in domestic affairs and later ages of marriage helped to give women a slight advantage over their Chinese counterparts. Analyses of such practices within different cultures serve to highlight important cultural relatives, and also to shed light on the day-to-day life of half of the world's population.
The assignment is as follows:
After reading Mary Jo Maynes and Ann Waltner's "Women and Marriage in Europe and China," can it be said that Christianity allowed European women more independence than Confucianism allowed women in China? Or vice versa? In which society was the patriarchal family more powerful, and what was the relative impact of patriarchy on women in both societies? How did the age and rate at which people married in each society compare? What was the importance of Chinese concubinage and Christian ideals of chastity?
- I can use the documents in question and ONLY those, cited with a page number (p. 213)
-The professor is a self proclaimed "grammar nazi", and is very strict against slang, curse words, contractions, colloquialisms, passive tense, use of apostrophes, and hanging quotes. This is a second draft, so I've tried to minimize these mistakes, but ANY insight into how I can improve that in addition to the flow and argument of my paper would be greatly appreciated.
-In the final paragraph before the conclusion, should I put the word righteous in quotations or leave it outside?
Thank you all so much in advance, all the papers I've put through here in the past were looked at exceptionally thoroughly.
