Gender, Sex and Subordination in England, 1500-1800

Book excerpt: Fletcher's account draws from a vast range of sources - literary, medical, religious and historical - to investigate the mechanisms through which men and women interpreted and understood their social worlds. He explores the early modern view of the body, of sexual desire and appetites, and of gender difference. He looks at the nature of marital relationships, and shows how subordination was implemented and consolidated through church, school, home and community. And he exposes patriarchy's tragic consequences: smothered opportunity, crushed sexuality, and a pall across many women's lives.