Domestic Secrets

Women and Property in Sweden, 1600-1857

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Law, Property, History, Scandinavia
Cover of the book Domestic Secrets by Maria Ågren, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Maria Ågren ISBN: 9780807898451
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: December 1, 2009
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Maria Ågren
ISBN: 9780807898451
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: December 1, 2009
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

Between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, women's role in the Swedish economy was renegotiated and reconceptualized. Maria Agren chronicles changes in married women's property rights, revealing the story of Swedish women's property as not just a simple narrative of the erosion of legal rights, but a more complex tale of unintended consequences.

A public sphere of influence--including the wife's family and the local community--held sway over spousal property rights throughout most of the seventeenth century, Agren argues. Around 1700, a campaign to codify spousal property rights as an arcanum domesticum, or domestic secret, aimed to increase efficiency in legal decision making. New regulatory changes indeed reduced familial interference, but they also made families less likely to give land to women.

The advent of the print medium ushered property issues back into the public sphere, this time on a national scale, Agren explains. Mass politicization increased sympathy for women, and public debate popularized more progressive ideas about the economic contributions of women to marriage, leading to mid-nineteenth-century legal reforms that were more favorable to women. Agren's work enhances our understanding of how societies have conceived of women's contributions to the fundamental institutions of marriage and the family, using as an example a country with far-reaching influence during and after the Enlightenment.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, women's role in the Swedish economy was renegotiated and reconceptualized. Maria Agren chronicles changes in married women's property rights, revealing the story of Swedish women's property as not just a simple narrative of the erosion of legal rights, but a more complex tale of unintended consequences.

A public sphere of influence--including the wife's family and the local community--held sway over spousal property rights throughout most of the seventeenth century, Agren argues. Around 1700, a campaign to codify spousal property rights as an arcanum domesticum, or domestic secret, aimed to increase efficiency in legal decision making. New regulatory changes indeed reduced familial interference, but they also made families less likely to give land to women.

The advent of the print medium ushered property issues back into the public sphere, this time on a national scale, Agren explains. Mass politicization increased sympathy for women, and public debate popularized more progressive ideas about the economic contributions of women to marriage, leading to mid-nineteenth-century legal reforms that were more favorable to women. Agren's work enhances our understanding of how societies have conceived of women's contributions to the fundamental institutions of marriage and the family, using as an example a country with far-reaching influence during and after the Enlightenment.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book How Local Politics Shape Federal Policy by Maria Ågren
Cover of the book Chicken by Maria Ågren
Cover of the book Hurtin' Words by Maria Ågren
Cover of the book Lincoln’s Proclamation by Maria Ågren
Cover of the book Latino City by Maria Ågren
Cover of the book The Third Day at Gettysburg and Beyond by Maria Ågren
Cover of the book Reliving the Past by Maria Ågren
Cover of the book Race as Region, Region as Race: How Black and White Southerners Understand Their Regional Identities by Maria Ågren
Cover of the book Tar Heel Laughter by Maria Ågren
Cover of the book Civic Myths by Maria Ågren
Cover of the book Making Something Happen by Maria Ågren
Cover of the book Relative Intimacy by Maria Ågren
Cover of the book Dramatist in America by Maria Ågren
Cover of the book Bittersweet Legacy by Maria Ågren
Cover of the book Feeding a Hungry Planet by Maria Ågren
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy