The Role of Women as Shown through Marriage Law - Essay Example

The role of women as shown through marriage law In working to understand the role of women in a historical context, it is often helpful to take a look at the marriage and inheritance laws provided in the surviving records of the differing societies. By understanding these laws, one can begin to formulate a picture of the average esteem with which women were treated within that society and therefore, assimilate a picture of the female role within that group. Examples of societies in which women were held in high esteem would have numerous laws and other records indicating various rights have been provided for women such as the right to divorce, consent to marriage, inherit or own family property. Societies in which women were subjugated will typically show numerous laws protecting the rights and advantages of men, but will prevent women from gaining any power of their own. In these types of societies, women are forced to depend upon the men in their lives to provide them with the basic necessities for life because they are unable to own anything, inherit anything or make any of their own decisions. Although it is easy to assume that women have always suffered a subjugated role in all societies from the beginning of civilization, surviving records from several ancient societies reveal that women are only just now surpassing the freedoms afforded them centuries ago. Although the women of ancient Sumeria didn’t have quite the same freedoms experienced by women of the modern world, a look back through the laws of Assyria and the Old Testament reveal a gradual tightening of restrictions placed on women in reaction to either political or theological threats, eventually leading to near drudgery status for most women through history’s most imbalanced periods. One of the earliest systems of laws recorded is the codified legal system of King Hammurabi (1795-1750 B.C.), the ruler of the earliest known major city, but information gathered indicates that this code is only a reorganization or refinement of an existing system (Babylonian Law, 2005). Marriage laws within this code are very specific regarding the rights of the woman being almost equal to the rights of the man. For example, the bride’s family had to agree to the marriage by accepting the bride-price from the groom’s family. That the girl was a valued member of society is indicated in that this bride-price, along with a dowry provided by her family, went with her into her new marriage and remained her property for life. Underscoring the value of the bride to her family is the idea that the bride is always a member of her father’s house, regardless of to whom or how long she has been married. The code of King Hammurabi also provided for near equal chance to divorce. When the man opted to divorce the woman, she retained custody of any children and he had to pay the ancient day equivalent of child support. She could retain property held by her family, could inherit property from her husband and could even co-habit with another man without penalty if she had been left without maintenance during the involuntary absence of her husband as long as she returned to her husband upon his return (Babylonian Law, 2005). The records that have survived even indicate tavern-keepers were generally women and laws had been written requiring them to send anyone conducting “treasonable activity” or behaving in a disorderly manner to the palace (Babylonian Law, 2005). However, even in Sumeria, things weren’t quite equal. If the woman was proven to be a bad woman, she could be legally drowned or be demoted within her own house to the position of a slave with access to food and clothing only. Assyrian law, based on the same code governing Sumeria, reflects a slow imbalance building between the rights of men as compared to the rights of women. The close relationship between the two codes can be seen in the translation of a marriage contract dating to the 19th century B.C. In this document, the stipulations are set forth as to how a wife will provide a husband with a child, even if it requires the purchase of a slave woman to accomplish, but also states the wife retains the right to sell the slave after a child has been provided. It also requires the man to give the wife a bride-price if he chooses to divorce her. The wife also has the right to divorce her husband after paying the same price to him (Finkelstein, 1995). This particular contract shows a striking resemblance to Babylonian code, but did not necessarily reflect the average. Other records indicate Assyrian law allowed a husband to divorce his wife with no provocation or payment of bride-price and could even kill or maim her for adultery. In addition, women were required to wear a veil when outside the house and were not permitted to hold positions as women had been in Babylon (Beck, 1998). There is also a significant change in the rights of the widowed woman. While earlier Hammurabi code provided that the wife took the husband’s place in the home in the event of his death and was automatically allocated an heir’s share of the family property (Finkelstein, 1995), Assyrian law specifically requires the filing of a will by the husband in order for the wife to have any claims upon his property following his death (Beck, 1998). The Old Testament further tightened the control of both men and women by introducing the concept that offences were sins affecting the individual’s relationship with God. However, like the Assyrian laws, it contains numerous echoes of the older codes. For instance, marriages were still asked for and agreed to by the offering and acceptance of a bride-price and monogamy was implied in all marriages. The punishment for a woman committing adultery was likewise death for both male and female participant unless the husband wished to spare his wife, in which case he’d also have to spare her lover. In Old Testament law, though, there is no punishment advised for the male adulterer (Wenham, 1978), implying a strong division of standards. Although the law makes provisions for divorced women, no specific mention is made as to how she goes about obtaining a legal divorce as it had been in the Sumerian record. In deciding upon marriage, it was no longer considered necessary to have her consent. “[T]he gift or woman in the case was not currently thought of as having a personal existence at her own disposal. She was simply a passive unit in the family under the protection and supreme control of father or brothers. In marriage, she was practically the chattel, the purchased possession and personal property of her husband, who was her baal or master” (Marriage, n.d.). By comparing marriage laws of the ancient world, one can begin to trace a consistent yet subtle tightening of restrictions upon women. As the militaristic Assyrians grew out of the Babylonian codes, the laws protecting women’s rights were slowly superceded by the need to defend the tribe from any alien incursion. This protective urge proved to be well-grounded when the Hebrews arrived some time later, associating legal offenses not just with the state, but as sins against God himself. As women were, by now, already regarded as incapable of defending their own virtue without veil or chaperones, this need to protect society from the evils of feminine wiles eventually grew into the obsession of the Medieval Christians. The loss of most human rights constricted the ability of most women to play an active role in their societies until relatively recently. Works Cited "BABYLONIAN LAW." (2004). LoveToKnow 1911 Online Encyclopedia [online]. Available from [21 December, 2005]. Beck, Sebastian. (1998). Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian Empires. Ancient Wisdom and Folly. Available from < http://www.san.beck.org/EC6-Assyria.html>. [21 December, 2005]. Finkelstein, J. (1995). Marriage and Divorce Documents from the Ancient Near East [online]. Available from < http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/humm/Topics/Contracts/marri02.html#AMC1> [21 December, 2005]. “Marriage.” (n.d.). International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Bibletools. Available from < http://bibletools.org//index.cfm/fuseaction/Def.show/RTD/ISBE/ID/5814> [21 December, 2005]. Wenham, Gordon. (1978). Law and the Legal System in the Old Testament. Law, Morality and the Bible. Ed. Bruce Kaye and Gordon Wenham. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. Available from < http://www.the-highway.com/law2a_Wenham.html> [21 December, 2005]. Read More