Women were not citizens of
Rome. Only adult free men were citizens. The ancient Roman men believed that a
women had to be under a guardianship. That guardianship could be a father or a
husband. But they believed a women was unable to direct her own activities. As
Cicero once said of early
Roman men, 'Our ancestors, in their wisdom, considered that all women,
because of their innate weakness, should be under the control of guardians.' During
the 200 years when Rome was a kingdom, a wife was the center
of the household. It was her job to take care of her home and family. She
taught her daughters how to cook and sew. But women had no rights. A woman
could not even make a suggestion to her husband. Her guardian, her husband or
father, had complete control over her activities. In most families, women
could shop, visit a temple, or chat in public. But she could not participate
in government. Few women wanted additional rights.
During
the 500 years that Rome was a Republic, women gained no legal freedoms, but
women were allowed, in private, to make suggestions about business to their
husbands. That was a huge change. Towards the end of the Republic
period, and throughout much of Empire period, a new form of marriage became
popular. This marriage allowed a wife to be placed under the control of her
family instead of her husband. Typically, her family was more lenient and also
further away. While under family control, wealthy women could hire someone to
manage their money and land. The manager did what she told him to do. That
gave wealthy women a tremendous amount of freedom.
During
the 500 years that Rome was an Empire, women gained considerable freedom. Under
the Empire, it became legal for women to own land, run businesses, free
slaves, make wills, inherit wealth, and get a paid job. Women were still
considered to be under the guardianship of her father or husband.
Drinking wine
was part of daily life. In very early days, women were not allowed to
drink wine. Their husband might kiss them on the mouth to see if they had
been drinking. It sounds sweet, but if a husband believed his wife had been
drinking, she could be severely beaten. During the Empire, women could drink
wine! Life was very different during the Empire than it was in the days
of early Rome.
