Where Were All the Women?

For the last couple of weeks during class, we’ve been discussing women’s places and roles in society during the seventeenth century. We’ve especially been discussing where all the women were during the Scientific Revolution. Reading the Article “Gender, Science and Modernity in Seventeenth-century England” by Ruth Watts, provided me with a better understanding and explanation for the women’s so called “absence” from this time period. The article speaks of how the Seventeenth century was filled with a “reconstruction of knowledge based on inductive methods, empirical investigation and cooperative research.” (Watts) What launched the apparent absence of women during the Scientific Revolution was The Royal Society, established in 1661, forbidding membership to women. There have been many speculations about the roles of women during this time period, but this article help brings to light the real reasons of where the women were. Women were not provided with as high a degree of education as the men of this century were. They were excluded from formal education from grammar schools and universities. Their roles were considered to have a more domesticated focus than that of the men. Their responsibility was to run the household and look after the children. However, this article establishes a woman’s role in science through culinary and medical practices. Upper and some middle-class women were allowed to take part in the intellectual ferment of the day because of the growth of scientific lectures and the excess printing of the day.
Some women, the ones who were related to those who advocated scientific and educational reform were involved in the changes. Women were also affected by the theories and speculations of magic and occult philosophies. They were seen as witches and beings of magic, who practiced and supported these ideas, and fell under the terrible claws of the witch hunts and witchcraft trials of Europe.
Reading this article and participating in these discussions has made me truly sit down and think about how glad I am to live in a time where women have rights and a defined place in society. I am thankful for the fact that I am allowed to express my ideas, thoughts, and opinions without being forbidden to do so. I appreciate the freedom I have to experience a higher degree of education, to decide my own course in life, and to establish my own place in society and the world. I don’t have to worry about having to live under a husband’s or father’s thumb because in this world, in my life, they have no control over who I am or what I do. I have the right to my freedom and my independence and I am the only person in control of my future and destiny. I’m so thankful to live in a time where my opinions or my ideas and work can contribute or even change the world. I’m so happy to live in a time where, in general, gender is equal and women have a standing of importance.

Another article I found that relates to this idea and question of women during the Scientific Revolution and the seventeenth century was “Partners and Rivals During the Scientific Revolution.” This article can be found at www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/sj/cj/cj5science.html.
This article discusses how men partnered with women during the Scientific Revolution to provide education through the Jesuit schools. This article discusses the background and foundations of the schools and the roles of both women and men in the process and how they could be partners yet rivals during a time of great reform and how this overcame the general attitudes towards women during the time period.