In Roman society, a woman's place was in the home. She was under the control of her husband. Her job was to have children who, amongst the rich, would inherit the property of the family. The ideal Roman woman was hard- working and obedient to her husband. The role of the mother was to pass on the same ideas to her daughters and younger women. The main job of the mother was to run the household. In richer families, she gave orders to slaves who did the work, the only traditional work that richer women did was spinning or weaving. Poorer women worked in the markets, the shops and the baths. Daughters of the richer families went to primary where they learned to read and write using wooden tablets coated with wax. Their education ended at primary school, in contrast to the boys who went to secondary school. Instead, the girls stayed at home to prepare for marriage. Girls were allowed to marry at twelve years of age. They provided a dowry for their new husbands. The dowry could be money or property. Since the dowry had to be returned in the case of a divorce, this gave women some influence over their husbands. Roman women were encouraged to have large families because many children died at birth or at young age. Childbirth was also dangerous for mothers, and many died in their thirties.