History of inheirtance

Note: I will be using England's history mostly with a small mention of France's history of inheritance.

Prior to 1066 in Anglo Saxon countires women who were strong leaders, like Alfred the Great's older daughter Æthelflæd - could inherited property from the husband or parents.  Æthelflæd inheirted Mercia from her husband, Æthelred in 911 on Æthelred's death till  Æthelflæd's death in 918. On that day their daughter, Ælfwynn until AElfwynn's unlce took Mercia away from her also in 918. 

This changed at the Battle of Hasting when William the Conquer (also known as the "William the Bastard" or William I)  when William introduced the law of  Primogeniture-That means when the eldest surviving male heir gets the throne. So with at least six exceptions, that's why we have had so many kings since William I. With the Exceptions of Queen Mary I (also Mary Tudor/"Bloody Mary"), Elizabeth I (also known as Elizabeth Tudor/"The Virgin Queen"), Queen Mary II (Mary Stuart, who co-ruled with her husband, William III until her death,) her sister Queen Anne (Anne Stuart), and the current queen, Queen Elizabeth II.  The royal British family  have gotten rid of allowing males to jump over females for the throne..but what's left of the nobility hasn't yet. This is kind of why in Pride and Prejudice, that Mrs.Bennett wanted her daughters to get married off well..-but that's tied into down below.

In France under Salic Law, the throne can't pass to a male this is what lead to the famous battle scene from Shakespeare's Henry V (Henry the 5th).  Yes their is one exception to the Salic law not allowing women to inherited property. Eleanor of Aquitaine who married not one but TWO kings. The first of was the French King Louis VII and the second one was the Britsh King Henry II. 

This idea is kind of what created the problem that is in China and India today-the lack of egible women for egilbe men to marry-that they  have kind of gone back (in some sense) to the days of kidnapping brides. The reason? Girls are very rare in China and India because of a higher preference of boys to girls that if a woman is pregnant, they sometimes..abort a girl fetus in those countries. The reason for the abortion? In those countries when a girl gets married she goes lives with her husband and her husband's parents. Not to mention the cost of getting married. Even though a dowry is illegal in those countries (India especially) they still happen and the list of stuff that could be 'demanded' is quite long, anything from a fridge to a Visa if the family has relatives in North America. A son's job in those countries is to look after the aging parents.

In Jane Austen's time if a property (like Mr. Bennet's) was tailored to male heirs only. That means if the daughters weren't married by the time he died, Mrs Bennet and any not-married daughters would most likely be homeless. So that she would most likely look for help/assistance from her married daughters and her sons-in-law (Mr.Darcy/Mr.Bingley).

Why do the step-mom take 'charge' of their step-children?

You might have notice that in stories like Cinderella, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel that their stepchildren are directly the step-mom's responsibility? The reason? Until the recently women were confined to the home and their jobs were depending on the class: cook, clean, ,maybe help on the farm with planting,and harvesting, rear the children-and that means the 2nd (or 3rd) husband's children too beside one's own, and if one was rich, oversee the household servants. The only job that was important to a man in these time  was to bring home money for food hence the term "breadwinner". The dads if alive  didn't have any control over the house at all it was the woman's domain, Sure he could OWN the house but that was it basically-unless their was no wife. The earlist version of a mortal step-mother being evil would probably be the Greek myth that is behind   the Fleece that Jason and the Argonauts go search for.  Of course there is a immortal step-mom in Greek mythology-the Goddess of Marriage and the Queen of the Gods (and also sister to Zeus, Posiden, Hades, Demeter and Hestia)-Hera. Even if she was nasty to only one of her half-mortal step-children-Hercules.