Notecards
Williamsburg, VA, Historical Interpreter. Interview. 21 Oct. 2016.
Women had lots of standards that they had to meet, and things they were supposed to do. First of all, it was looked down upon for a women to be vocal about anything. They were supposed to be more of a seen not heard figure. That's why when Grace Sherwood was vocal about women's rights, everyone thought that something was wrong. I think that since all of the other women tried so hard to be quiet and obedient, Grace Sherwood stood out. She fought for women's right to vote, and women privileges.
I believe a woman's say in society has something to do with class. Grace was a very poor women, so people thought that she shouldn't have any power in society. There were other women who were wives and daughters of powerful men, and spoke up about women's rights. Instead of being looked down upon, their ideas were heard. The women who had a higher class were also smarter. Rich men were married to very intelligent women, and in order to be intelligent, you need to have a higher class. You mostly needed to have a higher class because people care more about educating you if you're rich, because they believe you will make a difference in society. If you’re a poor person without kids, people don’t care as much about educating you because your a women with no money. In my last note card, I mentioned that there was more of a push to educate mothers because they are the ones who teach their sons. Since Grace had kids, she still got a decent education, and was still very smart. .
I think that’s one of the reasons why her ideas weren’t very heard. People thought that since she wasn’t rich, she wasn’t educated very much because no one felt there was a need to do so. Another reason why Grace’s ideas probably were not heard was because what she was fighting for was obscure in everyone’s minds. People thought women just weren’t supposed to have power in society, so why would they listen to her? It connects to when Nicholas Copernicus thought that we lived in a heliocentric universe instead of a geocentric one. No one believed him because it went against what the Pope said, and that it went against what everyone believed for many years. It is very similar to what happened with Grace Sherwood.
I think class has a lot to do with your power as a woman, which goes back to your ability to be a good lady. If you're a good lady, you will get a good husband and be rich. This comes back to women relying on men. These rich women rely on their husbands for money, and for the way they’re perceived in society. Rich women needed to be perceived in society in a good way because a woman's actions reflect a man’s wealth in a way, because the richest men have the women who are good in society.
I think one of the reasons why the rich women had more say than Grace was because they were directly connected to very powerful men. One theory I have is that when these men heard their wives ideas, they thought about them and decided that these ideas may work. I also think these women were probably also very intelligent, and very good at all of the "important" skills that a lady must have such as sewing and manners. If these men declined their wives protests, their wives would not be happy, and may continue to protest, and question the man's authority. Since good wives (which I'm assuming they were if they were married to rich men) are very hard to find, it was very important to keep that women as your spouse.
I think witchcraft was just a way for men to overpower women. Women were usually the ones to be accused of witchcraft, and men were always the lawyers prosecuting the so called witches. It seems that witchcraft was a way to blame women for people's problems. If something goes wrong, witches would be blamed. Who would you accuse of being a witch? The one who stands out the most. I believe the actual reason why Grace Sherwood was put on trial for witch was because men saw her as a threat. They saw that she fought for women's rights, and thought that she challenged their authority. It sounds a little bit like an element of The Giver. The Elders, (The men) saw Jonas (Grace Sherwood) as a threat, therefore isolating him to the point where he couldn't make a difference. It's a little bit different, but the ideas are the same.
The tests for being a witch were also insane. They did useless tests, that did nothing but rely on God to prove that a women’s a witch. They also relied on God when Halley’s Comet was sighted, which wasn’t the best idea because it turned out Halley’s Comet didn’t signify bad things to come. Christianity was very pro men, so it doesn’t surprise me that The Bible stated witchcraft. I think one of the reasons why they relied on God was because they didn’t understand witches. They couldn’t understand why women spoke out, and relied on witchcraft and religious tests. One of the religious tests that was conducted was to throw a women in brackish water, and see if they would sink or float. If they floated, they were considered a witch. This test seems very crazy, since if water is very brackish, you will most definitely float. Overall, it was just a way the men made colonists believe that certain women were witches. Overall, the idea of witchcraft was a way the men isolated women who were threatening their power.
Created: 10/25/2016 10:40 AM