Difference between revisions of "Week 3 Questions/Comments-327 11"
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In Abigail Bailey’s memoirs, “An Abominable Wickedness,” she describes how her husband had begun an incestuous relationship with one of their daughters. This particular account illuminates the lack of power of women during this time period in two distinct ways. First, Abigail Bailey was only able to have her husband arrested with the help of her brothers. It is astounding that women lacked rights to the extent that the law would ignore the fact that her husband was abusing their daughter, simply because a woman reported it. Secondly, the daughter who was being abused denied the opportunity to testify against her father. While her reasoning for this is unclear, it is possible that she was so afraid of the power the male authority of the household had over her that she refused to testify. | In Abigail Bailey’s memoirs, “An Abominable Wickedness,” she describes how her husband had begun an incestuous relationship with one of their daughters. This particular account illuminates the lack of power of women during this time period in two distinct ways. First, Abigail Bailey was only able to have her husband arrested with the help of her brothers. It is astounding that women lacked rights to the extent that the law would ignore the fact that her husband was abusing their daughter, simply because a woman reported it. Secondly, the daughter who was being abused denied the opportunity to testify against her father. While her reasoning for this is unclear, it is possible that she was so afraid of the power the male authority of the household had over her that she refused to testify. | ||
--Clare O. | --Clare O. | ||
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| + | This essay was the most compelling for me to read. It disgusts me that a father would abuse his child and engage in an incestuous relationship with them, but it further disgusts me that during this era there was almost nothing the mother could do about it. As a woman,and as a "feme covert" she lacked the basic rights and power she needed to put a stop to the behavior,(because of course this placed her in the same category with children, idiots and criminals) and although she was allowed to divorce her husband (amazingly) there was no way for him to be punished for his crimes because the daughter he was abusing refused to testify. I agree with Clare that she was most likely afraid of the outcome, and if the outcome of the trial didn't do as she planned, she would suffer even more after the fact. --Lindsey S. | ||
