Prior to the Enlightenment, women in Western society lived their lives almost entirely governed by the will of men. Women were expected to live within the domestic sphere; their primary duties were cooking, cleaning, childbearing, and other household responsibilities. This was especially true of the middle and upper classes of society. Though some poorer women were forced to work in the fields or outside the home to provide the family with increased funds, women were largely kept in the house if it could at all be helped.
Furthermore, they were expected to live according to the rules laid out for them by the men in their lives - at first their fathers and later their husbands. This patriarchal society dictated everything about women's lives, from the company they kept to the activities they enjoyed. Women existed largely to keep house and produce children - heirs for the upper class and labor for the lower.
I hope this helps!
