Gender Roles of the 18th Century

France;

• Women had no property rights
• Men had the task of completing activities, outside of the household, in order to earn income. 
• Women were seen as fragile, and remained at the home to care for the children and tend to the upkeep of the home.
• Lower class women stayed in the home and often worked around the farm, milking cows.
• Even women in  privileged positions were often held back from independent action by traditional cultural and social norms of behavior.

England; 

• Under the common law of England, an unmarried woman could own property, make a contract, or sue and be sued. But once she married, the woman, defined as being one with her husband;
• gave up her name
• virtually all her property came under her husband's control.

• Queen Victoria was regarded as being a paragon of virtue, a woman that always carried out her duties without fuss and maintained all the traditional gender roles that a wife and mother were supposed to carry out. 
• Queen Victoria and those around her tended to portray the royal family as a fine example of a traditional family with traditional values not only in Britain but across its vast Empire as well. The British monarchy was all in favor of conserving society just as it was to maintain its prestigious status although it was the elected government that carried out policies intended to conserve or to transform society.

 
A traditional 18th Century English Family

The roles of women changed greatly during the enlightenment.  According to sparknotes.com,  ”The Enlightenment was a sprawling intellectual, philosophical, cultural, and social movement that spread through England, France, Germany, and other parts of Europe during the 1700s.”  At that time, the opportunity for education expanded but decreased in quality.  During the enlightenment, education was shown to be very important.  Women in the high and middle class were offered an education, but it definitely was not as high of an education as a man.  Enlightenment thinkers believed that Science and Philosophy were for men.  So women were given training in areas that were going to help their husbands and families. Things like music, drawing, singing and painting were taught to the women.  Women began working as productive laborers with the family around the age of six or seven.  Most of the time, that meant working light farm labor, in agricultural areas. If the family lived in an urban setting, women could find low-level, low-wage jobs in many industries.  This kind of work, for both men and women, was harsh, cruel and paid less than most jobs.  In general, women's lives were oriented around the running of the household rather than the entire family.  The women's marriage and children were put behind the household.

Sources:
http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm

http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ENLIGHT/WOMEN.HTM

http://www.sparknotes.com/history/european/enlightenment/context.html

http://socyberty.com/history/what-influence-did-changing-gender-roles-throughout-the-18th-19th-century-have-on-the-position-of-women-in-the-practice-of-midwifery-and-gynaecology/#ixzz12urt2Ph0