Foreign visitors were surprised that women in England had greater
freedom than anywhere else in Europe. Although they had to obey their husbands,
they had self-confidence and were not kept hidden in their homes as women were
in Spain and other countries. They were allowed free and easy ways with
strangers. As one foreigner delightedly noticed, "You are received with a
kiss by all, when you leave you are sent with a kiss. You return and kisses are
repeated."
However, there was a dark side to
married life. Most women bore between eight and fifteen children, and many
women died in childbirth. Those who did not saw half their children die at a young
age. No one dared hope for a long married life because the dangers to life were
too great. For this reason, and because marriage was often an economic
arrangement, deep emotional ties often seem to have been absent. When a wife
died, a husband looked for another.
Both rich and poor lived in small family groups. Brothers and sisters
usually did not live with each other or with their parents once they had grown
up. They tried to find a place of their own. Over half the population was under
twenty-five, while few were over sixty. Queen Elizabeth reached the age of
seventy, but this was unusual. People expected to work hard and to die young.
Poor children started work at the age of six or seven.
