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Georgiana Donvain's Expectations Of Women

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in society. Donvain asserts that women weren’t held back by their roles within society, but by the men who assigned them. The author also pointed out that “Anglo-Saxon women within the seventh and eighth century spent their whole lives under the protection of their menfolk” (Donvain 13). As children, these young girls lived with their father’s in halls and were under their protection. When “they came of age and got married, Anglo-Saxon women would then be sent to their husbands household,” since her first loyalty was to her husband, whom she’d obey and respect. If Anglo-Saxon women joined the churches, they would then be under the watchful eye of the priest. What Donvain wanted to point out is that women, were technically never free during …show more content…

Each writer proved a valid argument about the Anglo-Saxon religion and what women expectations were, but Georgiana Donvain’s argument proved to be the most logical. Women were able to hold some form of power within the church, but there were still restrictions in place that prevented them from gaining respect within the community. These restrictions were enforced by men who were viewed as the superior sex between the two, because they were providers and fought in battle. The women of the Anglo-Saxon community were “expected to be submissive to their husbands or fathers and were only able to obtain a certain amount of freedom in the workforce through marriage or wealth” (Donvain 43). The specific point Donvain makes evolves around the idea of freedom. After reading what the author had to say about women during this time-period and how they were treated along with the expectations, I believe her argument is rational. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure where I stood on this subject-matter, but after conducting research of my own I believe that although Anglo-Saxon held power in the church, they weren’t truly

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