Chattel or Person

Exploring the place of women in the socio-economic system formulated in the Mishnah, a book of legal rules compiled by Jewish sages in 2nd-century Palestine, this study reveals a fundamental ambiguity in women's role. Both the property and the peers of men, in some circumstances women were considered to possess no rights and in others were judged fit to own property, conduct business, and manage their own personal affairs. Wegner spells out in detail these variations in status, analyzes them, and relates her findings to recent developments in feminist analyses of the status of women in patriarchy.