Marriage, Wealth, and the Household

I have heard many people say, “So-and-so became wealthier through marriage. He was poor, but because he married a rich woman, he is now wealthy and lives in luxury.” What are you saying, man? You want to profit from a woman, and you are not ashamed or embarrassed? Do you not wish to sink into the ground when you seek profit in such a way? Are these the words of a man?

A wife has one responsibility: to preserve what the household gathers, maintain its resources, and care for the home. God gave her for this reason as well, so that in these matters, along with everything else, she might help us.

Our life is ordinarily made up of two spheres, public and private affairs. God divided these: He assigned to the woman the oversight of the household and to men the affairs of the city—the marketplace, courts, councils, military commands, and the rest. A woman cannot throw a spear or shoot an arrow; but she can take the spindle, weave at the loom, and arrange the affairs of the home well. She cannot present an opinion in the city council; but she can give counsel in the house, and often she understands household matters better than her husband does.

She cannot administer public affairs, but she can raise children well, the chief treasure of the household. She can notice wrongdoing among female servants, care for the chastity of those serving, give her husband freedom from these concerns, and relieve him from every such household care: storerooms, wool-working, preparation of meals, proper clothing, and all the other matters that it would neither suit a man nor be easy for him to manage, however much he might try.