Another reason is “If a married lady is caught [in adultery] with another man, they shall bind them and cast them into water.” This is also a very harsh punishment. The last law is law 148. The last reason is, “If a man has married a wife and a disease has seized her, if he is determined to marry a second wife, he shall marry her. He shall not divorce the wife whom the disease has seized. She shall dwell in the house they have built together, and he shall maintain her as long as she lives.” This is unjust because you should not leave your sick wife alone and marry another woman.
In the propaganda, it is said that “best men wanted pureness in their wives. Even though they would try to persuade a girl to have sex and say they would marry her later, but as soon as she gave in, they would lose all respect and end up making her life miserable.” It shows that the society values highly of women’ pureness before marriage, and such that Esther comments this as if “the world is divided into people who had slept with somebody and people who hadn’t, and this seemed the only really significant difference between one person and another.” If woman does not obey to this patriarchal rule, their life will be doomed - taunted by the society and cannot safeguard a marriage. On the other hand, remaining pure is merely an option for men, like Billy. They would only care about their own desire and does not have to bear any
She will live in the house they had built together and he will maintain her as long as she lives. This law is unfair to the first wife because if her husband really loved her he would not marry a second wife. The woman might not want to stay with a man that does not truly love her. However, she has no choice but to stay with her husband and his new wife. This is why one of the reasons Hammurabi’s code is unjust.
She is simply fulfilling God’s will by marrying multiple times. This interpretation aligns “The Wife of Bath” with Church expectations that married couples produce children, as God commands. Another biblical reference can be found on line 52 of the tale referring to the writings of St. Jerome, one of the most prolific writers in the Christian tradition. In the text, the Wife states, “For thanne th ' apostle seith that I am free to wedde, a Goddes half, where it liketh me. He seith that to be wedded is no synne; Bet is to be wedded than to brynne” (Chaucer).
Equality of genders is a basic human right that all should posses. However, in the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, the reader explores Afghanistan’s true nature of extreme gender inequality towards women and how it affects all the characters within the novel. The novel explores how within a marriage, women have unequal rights, undergo major amounts of physical abuse, and are emotionally and mentally tormented by their very own supposedly beloved husbands. A marriage is defined as a union of two people as partners in a personal relationship. However within the novel this is definitely not the case.
In ancient times, which in this analogy will be referred to as the shadows on the wall in Plato’s cave, women were seen as inherently inferior to men, and their only role was to get married and have children. Men owned women, they were passed down from their father’s possession to their husband’s possession, as symbolized in the traditional isle-walking during marriage, and dowries almost always being needed for marriage. The old sentiment was, that nobody wanted previously “used” property. In addition, because there was no contraception and heritage decided your level of respect in the community, virginity was a guaranteed paternity test. But of course, all these reasons for the invention of virginity pale in comparison to religion.
(Doc 54). This woman is deemed virtuous because of the loyalty and affection she possesses for her husband, valued for neither her intellect nor talents. It is foolish to base a woman’s value on her chastity and dedication to a man, the saddest part being that she was still less valued than the man she was so loyal to. In a letter from Hilarion to his wife, Alis, he emphasizes, “If you have the baby before I return, if it is a boy, let it live; if it is a girl, expose it” (Doc 31). Females were less valued than males in Ancient Rome, as many female infants were exposed because they could not carry on the family name and they required a dowry at their marriage.
The husband could give his wife a divorce for no reason. On the contrary, the wife could demand divorce only on the basis of the most extreme circumstances to which adultery is not treated.In fact such a position of a women was very much alike in Ancient Times in many existing civilizations-Babylon,Egypt, Jews. The women there had the same social status- ' 'GYNE"". Which means ' 'ones who bears the children ' '.The wife for the husband was ' 'The first among the servants". On the contrary, the women for the pleasure were the hetaera.They have more privileges than the wives and were the great part of male society.
She, however, manages to get the upper hand in the end. The Wife of Bath, seems to be only authentically happy when she has mastery over her husbands. They have to willingly hand over this power, consciously or unconsciously. She, as described in the general prologue, “knew of all the cures for love” and “ at that game she was a past mistress.” thus she was able to get the control of the relationship and be the dominant part. Another example is that the Wife of Bath convinced the Knight ,by explaining that the things, which are her being old, plain, beasly born and poor, making the knight prevent him from loving her are in fact what should make him love her, that he had to give up his power in order for her to acquire it, for if he had not given her control of the partnership, both would have been unhappy through the rest of their lives.
No sacrifice, no vow, no fast must be performed by women apart (from their husbands); if a wife obeys her husband, she will for that (reason alone) be exalted in heaven. 156. A faithful wife, who desires to dwell (after death) with her husband, must never do anything that might displease him who took her hand, whether he be alive or dead. 157. At her pleasure let her emaciate her body by (living on) pure flowers, roots, and fruit; but she must never even mention the name of another man after her husband has died.