According to historian Susan Stuard, "even under conditions which severely limit their activity, women may enjoy considerable informal freedoms and have a decisive impact upon the society in which they live." Heloise rose to power through the Church, but not all women joined the Church. The women who did not join the Church still found ways to express power and influence. According to historian, David Herlihy, women were in charge of the "inner economy;" this means that women were in charge of everything that had to with the running of the household: cleaning, sewing, gardening, and sometimes caring for the yard animals. While on the surface, that does not seem to be a very powerful position, it had huge benefits. With the sewing and yard