Episode 9: From Wives to Subjects – Women in the Middle Ages

In this episode, we explore Chapter 4 of the History section (pages 133–156), where Simone de Beauvoir analyzes the status of women in the Middle Ages. She examines how feudal structures, religious morality, and patriarchal institutions continued to confine women to subordinate roles—primarily as wives, mothers, or cloistered nuns. While noblewomen had occasional influence and mysticism offered rare spiritual authority, most women remained excluded from power, education, and autonomy. Beauvoir also explores how romantic ideals coexisted with legal and social inequality. Join us as we uncover the contradictions and constraints that shaped women’s lives in medieval Europe.