Please sit in the following groups:
| 1. Gouge / Richardson | 2. Byrd / VA laws | 3. Cavendish |
|---|---|---|
| Ryan Briles | Dom Maican | Sarah Bennett |
Becca Chornock |
Leah Forss | Amir Corsaro |
| Ryan Rathberger | Julia Napolitano | Katherine Weber |
| Danielle Thomas | Rich Nora | Patrick Dohogne |
| Ashley Jacob | Ainsley Sherlock | Stephani Allan |
| Patrick Lennon | Glen Graves | Rachel Donaldson |
| Kristen Lucero | Jennifer Zeigner |
Course questions:
- What kind of books are these? When and where were the written? Who is the intended audience for each? What do you know about the authors?
- What do the authors think is the purpose of marriage. Where do they agree or disagree?
- What was the relationship of marriage to other forms of household government?
- Were wives in early modern England / colonial America powerless?
- Was there room for love (or pick another term) in early modern / colonial American marriages?
- Identify key terms and confusing vocabulary.
Your Questions (How might you answer these historically? / What do the texts say?):
- What does this tell us about "traditional" marriage?
- Subordination v. Equality
- Is Gouge saying that if both husband and wife perform their designated duties they will live a "happy and easy" life? Is that really possible to choose an easy life? What do you think Gouge's sweet society and happy harmony would be in the houses?
- There was little respect for the women. Women were not as involved in the marriages as they are today.
- Obedience: who obeys whom in various texts, what happens if you don't?
- Were many other marriages similar to Byrd’s in this time period? Has the act of adultery changed much since then? There also seems to be much anger in the house between Byrd and his wife and also between master, mistress, and slaves. Do you see any connections between the comparable relationships? I thought that when any thing bad happened between husband and wife they seem to find some fault with the slaves and punish them.
- It seems as if the wife is more subject to punishment than the slave at times, and I was wondering if this was commmon in a marriage during this time period.
- "we [women] oftener inslave men, than men inslave us; they seem to govern the world, but we really govern the world in that we govern men." So there is a possiblity that despite the expectations that wives should submit to their husbands, many actually had more control in marriages than what they were suppose to have.
- Why were Virginians not for marriage within slaves? Was it because this denoted a freedom that they were not allowed? Did it allow a type of happiness that the people didn't want them to have? Or did it denote equality among the slaves and the slave owners? ...Was it more, a deeper reason?
- Where does religion fit? Does the religious aspect of marriage make respect and obedience to one another important because that is what is expected from people towards their G-d or Christ?How large of a role the church played in marriage?
- How many women during this time period expressed discontentment within their marriages openly and how many women actually agreed with the notion of subjection?
- How many women stayed in unhappy marriages in order to be accepted by society?
- Have divorce rates dramatically increased from the 1600s-1700s to present day? Also, is divorce still looked down upon in present day, and if so, is it still viewed as the woman's fault? Also, were divorces common and if so, is getting a divorce similar to today?
- Who did men at this time answer to, if anyone?
- How would the world change if men weren't effeminate, idle, wicked, or base? Have morals changed since the time this letter was written compared to morals now or do people still have the same morals as before? What changed this?