What were some of the reasons a woman might join a convent during the seventeenth century?

Women joined convents for a variety of reasons. Although a dowry was paid to the church it was not as expensive as a wedding dowry, so many families sent their daughters to convents to escape dowry expenses. Women had fewer choices than in the twenty-first century—marriage or convent life.

Explanation:

Women joined convents for a variety of reasons. Although a dowry was paid to the church it was not as expensive as a wedding dowry, so many families sent their daughters to convents to escape dowry expenses. Women had fewer choices than in the twenty-first century—marriage or convent life.