The Elizabethan period was a time of considerable change, particularly for women.

  The
presence of a female queen, as well as the rapid expansion of globalization, broadened
women's horizons and placed a greater emphasis on their decisions. Of course, by today's
standards, Elizabethan society's treatment of women was barbarous, but the improvements
were massive at the time. In 1604, a law was passed allowing men and women to marry
without the permission of their parents. Still, such engagements were unwise because the
financial support of one's parents was crucial to the prosperity of a newly formed family.

A small percentage of women were wealthy at that period. Property was to be passed down
to the eldest son under inheritance regulations. It didn't matter how many daughters a
family had; regardless of age, the son inherited the land. A family could have a 25-year-old
daughter and an infant son, but the boy would get the property. In the event of a complete
lack of male successors, the eldest daughter would be the one to inherit (though she could
never, under any circumstances, inherit a title). Daughters were only eligible to inherit 20
percent to 25 percent of the time under these criteria. Despite this, only approximately 5%
of the elite's daughters inherited in the 17th century. Tim Stretton, Women Waging Law in
Elizabethan England, the discrepancy in data can be explained by the fact that, while women
could inherit in some situations, it was frowned upon and avoided at all costs. Look no
further than King Henry VIII, who canceled one marriage (causing great civil turmoil)) and
ended a second with a brief sharp shock before finding a wife who could bear him a son,
despite the fact that doing so killed her. The men who provided for them were, on the
whole, women's only source of income. A woman's father sheltered and financially
supported her during her youth and adolescence. When she reached adulthood, that
obligation was transferred to her husband, who assumed a similar financial position.
Spinsterhood was unheard of; women who did not marry plunged into poverty and were
accused of being witches. The only practical option for a woman who did not wish to marry
was to join the nuns' sisterhood. On her wedding night, a woman's "maidenhood" was seen
as extremely important. Regardless of the religious aspects of premarital sex, a woman
becoming "dishonored" before marrying a man brought shame to both her and her father.
As previously stated, a father's responsibility to his daughter was to govern her. She needed
to preserve her honor as well as her riches. Her father was the one who "sullied" her honor
before her wedding.  If her honor was “besmirched” before her wedding, her father was
the one held responsible and the crime was associated with incest.

Women were not permitted to receive an education in the modern sense. The idea that only
males were allowed to attend grammar school is false; some girls were accepted to school
as early as the mid-1500s, but they were not permitted to attend university or engage in
professional fields. A woman’s proper education consisted in learning sewing, painting,
dancing, and playing musical instruments were all part of education. Her main source of
income was keeping house and looking and sounding pleasant. Interestingly, Women, on
the other hand, were the biggest fans of literature reading for the sake of enjoyment.
Because it was considered emasculating for males to read anything other than books on
law, medicine, or tithes, women purchased and read upwards of 80% of all books
throughout the Elizabethan period.

Undoubtedly, a woman's existence in Elizabethan era was difficult. Law-enforced religious

fanaticism shaped dutiful wife and mother are two roles that women had taken on. Their
lives were dull and hard, with each childbirth aging them. They were born before their time,
which resulted in their death at a young age. It's for this reason. Shakespeare's
representations of women as smart, for example, It's incredible to see such rebellious,
three-dimensional personalities were highly regarded.