In the 17th century rich women would normally be taught at home by a tutor, they were taught subjects like Latin, French, Needlework, and how to converse, and they were also taught how to look pretty and to play instruments like the piano. When they were older there parents would decide who they were going to marry and the family of the women would pay a dowry to the parents of the husband.
They only got married to get more popular and look more important, if the wives husband thought the wives got annoying the husband would put a scolds bridle on her head. If the husband wanted to get divorced the husband could just take the wife to market. A rich women wouldnt normally get a job, they would just stay at home and look after the family and tell the servants what to do. Poor women did not go to school or have an education, they just looked after their home, and span cotton or worked in fields. Poor women had to look after there children and prepare meals, work in the fields and produce cotton, they didnt get paid much and had to work hard. Women In The 19th CenturyIn the 19th century rich women were educated at home by tutors and learned pretty much the same as in the 17th century, learn to play the piano, speak French, entertain quests, look attractive, and entertain guests.
After 1870 it was made compulsory for all women to have an education, Girls didnt learn the same subjects as boys, they learnt subjects like laundry, cookery, needlework and housewifery skills. Rich women did work, but ran their home bossing their servants around, after 1870 some women became teachers and after the typewriter was invented some became secretaries or clerks. At this time all women had to retire when they were married. A rich womens servants did all a her domestic tasks at home. So all she needed to do at home was look good and attractive and boss servants about.
School wasnt made compulsory until 1870 until then poor people didnt go to school because they couldnt afford it. Poor women had to work as well as bringing up her children, they had to work in coal mines and factories for long hours earning little money, up until 1870 young children would be expected to work too. Women In The 20th CenturyIn the 20th when the 1st world war started women could leave their underpaid jobs and could get jobs at a factory because all the men had gone off to fight for the war so the women worked in the factories making ammo for the war. In 1914 14,000 men worked at the Woolwich Arsenal munitions factory, in 1916 when the war started 100,000 people worked there. After the war had finished the women were a bit disappointed because they had to go back to their old jobs and they didnt earn as much money and they were used to earning more money, but when the typewriter was invented jobs as secretaries were available which women could take and some women became teachers. Women were now aloud to vote and the first female MP came.
Girls were taught the same subjects as boys except girls were taught other subjects like Housewifery, laundry and childcare. The women started to wear different clothes, they wouldnt wear corsets any more, the would just wear tight cloths and shorter dresses so they could dance easier because they danced differently, they swung about more and moved there legs more. My ConclussionI think the role of women changed quite a lot, because its all lead to the world how it is today which is nothing like it was then. If the people did half of what we did today then the people wouldnt of found it very polite.
I think all the changes that happened in the 20th century were good because women were treated more equally like men.
