Redirection

Friday, May 23, 2025

No, Proverbs 31 Woman Didn't Have A Career

 Those who claim it either have malicious intentions or demonstrate utter ignorance of the Ancient world.

Women were pretty much segregated in most of the pre-Christian societies. In Athene, for instance, women from good families weren't expected to leave their homes unless accompanied by a male relative. Poor women leaving their homes by necessity was seen as a problem. Yet, it doesn't mean they were unimportant. It means that they had their own female sphere of influence as described here:


Women were responsible for ensuring that food was prepared, supplies were maintained, and that servants or slaves efficiently carried out their tasks.

 

In wealthier households, although slaves performed much of the manual labor, the mistress of the house still managed and supervised their work.

 

As a result, the smooth functioning of the home depended on the woman’s ability to manage resources and labor effectively. 

Weaving also held a central place in the daily routine of Athenian women, who were expected to produce clothing and textiles for their household. 

 

Women spent long hours at the loom, weaving garments for their family members, a practice seen as a reflection of their diligence and moral virtue.

 

Additionally, the production of cloth had economic value, as surplus textiles could be sold or used in trade.

 

As a result, weaving became one of the few ways in which women directly contributed to the economic stability of their families. 

However, despite their confinement to the private sphere, Athenian women influenced public life indirectly through their roles in managing the household and raising future citizens.

 

By raising sons who would later serve in the Assembly and perform military duties, women contributed to the political future of the city.


That is exactly what the Proverbs 31 passage describes. And btw, speaking about "selling". Most of the trade at this period was natural exchange, money was hardly used. Textiles would often be exchanged for luxury goods. 

And now about that field (no, the lady wasn't a real estate agent):

In wealthier families, wives often had additional responsibilities, including overseeing agricultural production and handling the household’s finances.

 I doubt those who tell women to get a job outside home because "Proverbs 31 lady did" would really enjoy living in that type of society (as opposed to a feminist caricature of it):

 

Public spaces, particularly those connected to politics and intellectual life, were reserved for men.

 

As a result, women rarely appeared in public, except during religious festivals or funerary rites, which allowed them to step briefly outside their prescribed private roles.

  By managing your household well and taking wise financial decisions (a penny saved is a penny earned) you are following in the footsteps of the Proverbs 31 lady much better than by mixing with strange men in the modern workplace or even working from home for a different boss than your own husband.

 

7 comments:

  1. I just love, love love the idea of women being private, when men are public figures. It makes sense on so many ways.

    And before modern sanitation and products, most women were propably so happy to stay at home 5 days a month... I have actually read some feminists claiming that "if men had periods everybody would have 5 days paid leave from work every month". Well, yes, we used to have that, we actually had 30 days off every month, so how well did you do with this emancipation again?

    Being pregnant, breastfeeding, everything is so much better when you are not supposed to leave your own home.

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    1. Well said, Blanka. I agree💐

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    2. Thanks Blanka, very well said.
      I, too, love being at home. I love the idea of gender separated celebrating for example in weddings (no mixed dance etc)

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  2. The idea behind these rules was actually quite sensible and reasonable. Men rule the world outside, women rule the world inside (home). Each has their own sphere of influence. And I would say that home is just as important if not more;)

    I think Western type feminism wouldn't be possible if s8xes didn't start to mix freely (at least in the royal court) somewhere around years 12-13 hundred. And if men didn't take away such traditional female occupations as midwifery and healing with the hospital system and even before when the village wise women were routinely accused of witchcraft to make way for male doctors.

    The problem with feminist solutions though is that they try to integrate women into masculine type systems while pushing men to do housework, which only brings more confusion and further reduces fertility (probably by design).

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  3. Miriams idea of gender separated celebration is interesting. My first thought was "I would so hate it", because I actually prefer male company over female. To be honest, I quite strongly dislike other women. But then again, would I hate my peers if we lived like God wanted us to live? My both grandmothers were quite traditional and they didn't have this whatever-it-is I can't cope with modern women.

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    1. Oh, it is not my idea, that's what Orthodox Jews do. Also, in Orthodox synagogues men and women sit separately, women on a balcony, or if it's a smaller one separated with a curtain or a glass wall that is etched or something so you cannot see through etc (not a separate room, but separated in a same room)

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  4. It's also what Muslims do. When they celebrate a wedding they will have two separate halls, one for women one for men. So that women who cover don't have to wear the headcovering all the time. Also when it's summer and they go picnicking women will sit together in a circle and men will sit a bit further. Sometimes young couples will stay together and older people will segregate.

    It pretty much used to be the same way in the West, too. I think it was the French royal court where they started changing this tradition. That's also where courtly love comes from.

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