What were the lifes and roles of the 17th century women?
It would vary depending on their social class, but generally most women expected to marry and run a household. This was a very demanding job in the 17th century, as you can see by reading The English Housewife by Gervase Markham, which is a manual for housewives. The first chapter of the book, Of Physical Surgery, gives recipes for over 250 different remedies for ailments that housewives were expected to be able to diagnose and treat. Everything from toothache to consumption. There follows a lengthy chapter on cookery, which was no easy task in those days, with no ovens with regulated temperatures, etc. The next chapter, Of Distillation, contains many recipes for making scented waters, perfumes, and this is followed by a chapter on The Ordering, Preserving and Helping of all ssorts of wines, and first of the choice of sweet wines. Then there is a chapter ‘Of wool, hemp, flaxand cloth, and dyeing of colours, of each several substances, with all the knowledges belonging thereto.’ Housewi
