Women in the Middle Ages faced conflicting ideas about their role and had little autonomy. The church taught that women should obey their husbands but also be pure like Mary, though they were often distrusted as being morally dangerous like Eve. Marriage was usually a family decision based on financial reasons, and the husband was considered the master. A woman's primary duty was producing children, especially sons, but childbirth was dangerous. Peasant women worked long days tending the home and fields while wealthier women took on household management when their lords traveled. A widow had more control if her husband died but often remarried out of practical necessity.