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Women were not allowed to act. Young men played the parts of women.Acting Troupes were exclusively men. The female parts were played by men, usually men whos voices had yet to break.
Writers help the urban poor by writing about their lives and their difficulties in populated cities and poor hygiene conditions. Which brought the attention of the upper class and the government to reform and improve the lives of the working class.
There was the compass and the astrolabe
Headstrong in both this context and in general means that someone is "willful" although it usually has the connotation of being slightly negative in many ways.