Caste

Free women belong to almost all of the Castes on Gor except the Initiates, Players and Assassins. The books specifically state that women may not belong to the Initiate Caste. Though there is no specific prohibition in the books against women belonging to the Players and Assassins Castes, the evidence supports their exclusion. Both are Castes you must actively petition to join. Mere birth does not grant one membership in those Castes. The books state that generally women do not or may not play Kaissa. The books also state that the Assassin Caste seeks men of a particular caliber. There is no indication that either Caste permits women or has female members.

Free women are either born into their caste, assume the Caste of their Free Companion, or petition to join a Caste. Children take on the Caste of their father. This permits a woman to become a member of the Warrior Caste if her father is a member. Normally, Free Companions share the same caste though it is permitted for people to Free Companion people outside of their Caste. When a woman joins in Free Companionship, she has the option to assume the Caste of her mate. She can choose to retain her Caste. It is unknown if the woman retains the option to change Caste throughout the length of the Free Companionship or if there is a time limit on her choice. Even if she retains her Caste, her children will still assume the Caste of their father. Women can petition to join a Caste and they follow the same rules as a man would in such a petition. The High Council of the city would need to approve of the change as well as the intended new Caste.

When you become a member of a Caste, you will receive all of the normal benefits of that Caste such as Caste Sanctuary and charity. But, you generally cannot work in your Caste until you complete an apprenticeship or accepted training program. You may be permitted to engage in some limited Caste activities without such training but your role would always remain limited. Many women choose not to perform the work of their Caste but there are numerous exceptions. In general, women do not engage in work requiring a lot of physical strength such as working at a forge, woodcutting and such. Woman often work as Scribes and Merchants. There are even female Slavers, some who engage in field captures though the majority just manage Slave Houses within the cities.

Women also engage in work in the Physician's Caste. But, there is a common limitation on such women. They cannot engage in the full practice of medicine until they have first given birth to two children. It is likely their function before birthing the requisite children might be akin to being a nurse. In many cities, at age fifteen, a woman of the Physician's Caste will be given two bracelets to wear. She can remove one bracelet each time she has a child. When she has removed both bracelets, she may then practice medicine as a full Physician. The rationale behind this prerequisite is that professional women tend not to have children. If this were allowed to occur, it would serve over time to diminish the quality and size of the Caste. Thus, the rule helps to preserve the future of the Caste. The welfare of the Caste takes priority over the ambitions and desires of specific individuals. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. Caste is vitally important to Goreans so this logic is accepted as valid and is not questioned.

Women may become members of the Warrior's Caste by birth or Free Companionship. Yet, women are never trained by the Caste to become warriors. There is no instance in any of the novels where a woman was ever trained as a warrior in the Warrior's Caste. The books do not explicitly state that women are never trained as Warriors but the evidence supporting that conclusion is very compelling. A deeper analysis of this issue is the topic of Education Scroll #15, Female Warriors. Probably the most compelling argument is the same logic used by the Physician's Caste. Female Warriors would be less likely to reproduce and their deaths in combat would also serve to decrease the birth rate. Combined, these would tend to destroy the Warrior Caste over time. And this would never be permitted to occur.

Free Companionship

Free Companionship is the Gorean equivalent of marriage and it is common to most of the cities of Gor except for Port Kar. Free Companionship lasts for a single year at a time when it either must be renewed with the wines of love or it will dissolve. The renewal must be performed by the twentieth Ahn, midnight, of the anniversary date. If either party dies or is enslaved, the Free Companionship will also dissolve. It is unknown whether the parties can voluntarily choose to dissolve, like a divorce, the Free Companionship prior to the year's end. As it is a contractual matter, the possibility exists, but the books do not speak on this matter. But, Free Companionship is a very serious matter to Goreans. It is not entered into lightly and seems unlikely that Goreans would see a need to end it earlier than the year's end. There are others who feel differently about Free Companionship. "Some Goreans think of the Free Companionship as being a form of contract slavery." (Blood Brothers of Gor, p.246)

Free Companionships may either be arranged or entered into voluntarily by both parties. If it is an arrangement, there is often a Companionship Price also known as a bride-price. This is the amount of money or goods that the prospective man must pay to the father of the woman he desires to be his Free Companion. The bride-prices of High Caste women are often in gold or tarns. A beautiful women might cost as much as forty tarns while the daughter of an Administrator could go as high as one hundred tarns. The daughter of a Ubar might even cost one thousand tarns. Low Castes also arrange Free Companionships though the bride-price would be much lower. The woman is often not consulted concerning the matter. She must accept what her father arranges for her. Some women might not even see the face of their intended until the Free Companionship ceremony. Many Low Caste women will though know their intended Companion though they will pretend otherwise. It will often be someone of their Caste, someone they might see in the market or on the city streets. The woman might be "…the same girl who slapped him with a fish yesterday and hurled such a stream of invective at him that his ears still smart,…" (Outlaw of Gor, p.68)

The books do not contain a complete Free Companionship ceremony, only small bits of information about its contents. In addition, it is clear that the ceremonies vary city to city. The only common denominator is that the ceremony include the drinking of special wine, the wine of love. In some ceremonies, the couple will interlock their arms as they drink the wine. The wine must often be drunk to conclude the ceremony. In some ceremonies, the woman will wear eight veils, several which will be removed during certain phases of the ceremony. Some cities then have the final veils removed in private by the man while in other cities the final veils are removed in public during the ceremony.

A person is only permitted to have a single Free Companion at a time. There is no limit to the number of subsequent Free Companions you may have. Free women do not change their names in a Free Companionship like Earth women do in a marriage. A Free Companionship generally is supported by a Companion Contract outlining the conditions of the Companionship. The books again do not contain the details of such Contracts. There may be a feast celebration of the Free Companionship. At this event, it is common for the woman to wear a garland of talendars. If the prospective Free Companions are of different cities, the ceremony may be preceded by a Companion or Betrothal Journey, where the woman journey's to the man's city. The wealthier the couple, the more involved this journey will be. Tarnsmen have a custom where the warrior playfully captures his intended woman and binds her across the saddle of his tarn. He then flies away with her, tossing her clothes to the ground below. Some men will even free a slave to make her his Free Companion.

A female Free Companion, especially one of High Caste, will often perform only the type of work they choose to do. They do not commonly work as a domestic servant in their home. There are public slaves who tend to chores such as cooking, cleaning and laundry. Such work is considered beneath most free women, especially those of High Caste or station. This does give free women a lot of free time, especially if they do not work in their Caste and do not have children.