Agency of sons, mothers and fathers

Family response to son’s fornication in seventeenth-century Sweden

Authors

• Mari Välimäki Turun yliopisto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37449/ennenjanyt.88656

Keywords:

Agency, Premarital relationships, 17th century, Youth, Men, Women

Abstract

In this article, I study how family members in seventeenth-century Sweden responded when a son had committed a crime of indecency. The studied cases show that the agency of sons, mothers and fathers depended on their gender, their age and their position within a family but also on their estate and position within the estate. The agency and argumentation of sons was built on the patriarchal understanding of obedience to their elders, to God and to parents. Youth as a phase of life created the framework for the agency of these men, which they made use of the best way they could.

The actions of parents concerning their sons’ premarital affairs were conditional to both gender and to their estate. Wives of clergy and higher bourgeoisie operated actively outside the legal courts, when the matter was brought to the court of law, their husbands took charge in dealing with the issue. It was typical in the actions of men to comply with the patriarchal hierarchy and to operate within its limits. At the same time, the women of the lower bourgeoisie operated actively in both the legal court and outside it too. Thus, we should analyse family dynamics and the agencies of different family members intersectionally by considering person’s age, marital status, position in a household, and estate.