Going back a few weeks to learning about women in New France… I didn’t realize that women had as much freedom as they did. That may sound silly, but I guess the stereotype was to think that they were pretty repressed. This came to be untrue. When these women became widows, they took over the family business and had quite the influence in trade. This was interesting because you don’t hear lots about this. While some outlooks were pretty positive about New France and their role in trade, it was still depressing. These women were lined up and picked out for marriage like picking the best fruit in a pile in a grocery store. To think this was a “normal” way of life is disturbing and scary. The thought of some of the marriages and dangerous situations some of them were probably in is heartbreaking. All in all though, it is interesting to learn that they had a predominate role in trade at one point. I feel a bit of pride in that as a woman today.