Women played an important role in 17th-century Eastern Europe; they were mothers, wives and businesswomen. They prepared meals, cleaned houses and taught children. In addition to the domestic roles that women played in society, they also played a role in trade and commerce. Gluckel of Hameln authored one of the first known Jewish memoirs detailing the rise and fall of her own fortune (Schachter.) She had great judgment for business transactions and when she was widowed at age 54, she took over her husband's belongings to ensure his safety. the future of children. In her memoir, Gluckel describes her marriage as a business partnership, boasting that her husband would only turn to her for business advice. Eastern European Jewish women were far more influential than is commonly believed. In addition to being housewives and having the daily responsibility of cleaning the house, they were also businesswomen and religious teachers. Gluckel of Hameln's autobiography was a powerful story that showed the importance of hard work, religion, and family to the ordinary Jew in Christian-dominated Germany. Gluckel of Hamlin was not just an ordinary housewife, considered like other women of the 17th century. century, but she was also a businesswoman, who showed that men did not only control the economy. She was born into a Jewish family in Hamburg, Germany in 1646. Due to religious persecution, her family moved to Hamlin, Germany. She became engaged at age twelve to Hayyim Hamel and married at age 14. Gluckel gave birth to fourteen children, two of whom, a two-week-old son and a three-year-old daughter, died prematurely. Gluckel was an active partner in her husband's business, which involved selling jewelry and stones and making loans and paper ......997. Amazon. Internet. December 4, 2011. Women-Margins-Three-Seventeenth-Century-Lives/dp/0674955218>.Hameln, Gluckel. The Memoirs of Gluckel de Hameln. Trans. Marvin Lowenthal.Np: Schocken Books, 1997. Print.Schachter, Allison. “Jewish women as industrious wage earners.” The JewishBook community online. Jbooks and Web. December 4, 2011. interviews/index/IP_Schachter.htm>. Taitz, Emily and Cheryl Tallan. “Entrepreneurs”. Jewish Women: A Complete Historical Encyclopedia. March 1, 2009. Jewish Women's Archives. December 4, 2011. Turniansky, Chava. “Glueckel of Hameln.” Jewish Women: A Complete Historical Encyclopedia. March 1, 2009. Jewish Women's Archives. September 26, 2011 .