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The tempest feminism ahead of its time
Feminist reading of the Tempest
Feminist reading of the Tempest
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The defeating process of male dominant desire for the femininity The author Shakespeare analyses the overcoming process of male ruling desire for the femininity in The Tempest. In the early modern period, colonization was the significant issues, especially in England and other imperialistic nations. They have been watching over the new world, in order to govern and control it as under their supervision. During the process of colonization, a colony and colonized people, especially women consider to be less important. The colonizers have no fear to feminine subversive power; even desire to maintain their male dominance over them. As the result, Colonialists civilizes the natives by taking advantage of a colony under the misrepresentation of enlightening. …show more content…
Despite the fact that Miranda is an assistant to her father in order to accomplish the restoration of Milan, she resists and subordinates her imperativeness in opposition to the patriarchal supremacy. According to Prospero, he purposely hands over his daughter Miranda to Ferdinand as a gift, which is typical behavior of patriarchal supremacy. However Miranda does not allow herself to have Ferdinand that is certainly against her father intended to choose him as a husband. Even though she is both a reason and a purpose of Prospero's colonial plan, but that is not a problem for her in order to keep her position over male ruling society. Miranda is definitely representative feminine characters in The Tempest, says the following: “At mine unworthiness that dare not offer what I desire to give and much less take what I shall die to want But his is trifling, and all the more it seeks to hide itself, The bigger bulk it shows. Hence, bashful cunning, and prompt me, plain and holy innocence. I am your wife if you will marry me. If not, I’ll die your maid. To be your fellow you may deny me, but I’ll be your servant whether you will or no” (Shakespeare, Act3.
Miranda's schooling in The Tempest shows the audience the conflicting arrangement white women in the Shakespearean drama as well as Shakespearean times are forced to act within. Paul Brown points out that "the discourse of sexuality…offers the crucial nexus for the various domains of colonialist discourse" (208) and the conduct in Prospero manipulates his followers' sexuality is the mainstay of his power. The Miranda-Prospero relationship servers to represent a sort of patriarchy, which is unarguably the system many Renaissance women and women of Shakespeare's time found themselves in. It is thus unsurprising that Prospero controls Miranda and her sexuality as well. The system of patriarchy is demonstratd again and again throughout the play. For example, we see that Prospero's wisdom, magic, and education of Miranda, as well as his civilizing of Caliban demonstrates a system of authoritative love. There is no question that Prospero loves and wishes to protect his daughter; for example, Prospero continuously reiterates how much he cares for Miranda. However, at the same time, he exhibits enough power over her to be considered a patriarch. Prospero's authority over Miranda is so great that she cannot do anything but follow her father's wishes; it almost appears as if she has no choice in the matter for she, like Ariel and Caliban, can also be subject to Prospero's magical control. However, it appears that upon a closer study of this, we see that, patriarchalism makes specific, and often apparently contradictory demands of its "own" women, which can often cause confusion and problems for the woman involved.
The patriarchal Venetian society presented in William Shakespeare's play Othello, expressed deeply on the idealistic values of the Elizabethan England standards of how a woman should be represented in society, seemingly to put women in their place by the men that surrounded them catering to their every want and need without any say in the regards of the situation. Throughout this time men considered women to be possessions, in which they were to remain submissive and obedient to their every command. Also, it is suggested that the only power that women do seem to gain control over men is being viewed as a temptress based solely on their sexual power and how it is considered to be evil which must be resisted by the men in this Elizabethan society.
In creating Miranda, Shakespeare broke the mold of his traditional female role by omitting the appearance of additional female characters (Yancey 1). As Prospero's only daughter and the only female on the island, she leads an extremely sheltered and innocent life at the hands of her father, "Here in this island we arrived, and here Have I, thy schoolmaster, made thee more profit Than other princess can, that have more time For vainer hours, and tutors not so careful" (Shakespeare 1.2.171-174). As a representative of youth and innocence, Miranda faces difficulty in her attempts to understand the past yet remain dutiful to a father she loves despite the oppression handed down to her. She is intelligent and even headstrong, yet remains ignorant to many issues. In Lorie Jerell Leninger's "The Miranda Trap", "Miranda is given to understand that she is the foot in the family organization of which Prospero is the head. Hers is not to re...
In response to Shakespeares’ The Tempest, Césaire, a French poet and politician, creates his own rendition of the play called A Tempest to highlight the issues of racism prevalent during the Negritude movement, an African American movement based in France. In the original text, Prospero’s dominance over Ariel and Caliban illustrated the power of language to establish superiority. Furthermore, Shakespeare promoted English occupation through Prospero to appeal to the audience’s mentality of British superiority over the colonies. British chauvinism manifested in the form of racism in The Tempest and embed itself in English culture. In response to Shakespeare’s play, Césaire attenuates colonization and racism by reinventing The Tempest in a way
...is decisions for her. In this way her sense of joy and wonder is a confirmation of Prospero’s success. She is so happy to be “enslaved” or used as a tool for Prospero to gain power that she does not realize what is being done to her. Her experience is akin to that of colonized peoples during this time. She is the perfect tool for Prospero because she does not have any experiences that occur off of this island, she believes that it is her choice to marry Ferdinand, and she has no real role in power. Prospero, in turn, is the example of the colonizer who must carefully manipulate his slaves to believe that they need to be enslaved; Miranda believes this because Prospero makes an effort to withhold information from her until and allows her to learn said information slowly so that she will react with wonder and therefore be grateful to her manipulator for teaching her.
Prospero, father of Miranda and the rightful Duke of Milan, has kept his daughter blind to the origins of themselves and the world off of the island. Prospero controls every aspect of his daughter’s life to fulfill the the hunger of power after losing control in Milan. In the 2010 film, The Tempest, Prospera, the mother of Miranda, shelters her daughter out of love and protection.
William Shakespeare’s last, and highly revered, play The Tempest is seen as not only one of his greatest works but the Bard’s farewell to the stage all together. In his work not only does Shakespeare criticize the notion of a utopian society but parallels that with the repercussions of the latter dystopian society as well. It can be seen in the play that there is a constant theme of struggle between what is considered the “real world” and an ever-emerging “new world” as it is portrayed on the island. The two conflicting worlds create a sense of imbalance throughout the work as a distinct “ruler” is unclear to the viewer, who’s island is it? And what do they hope to gain? In William Shakespeare’s The Tempest not only is the notion of modern society questioned through situation, but also examined through form and the construction in the play that mirror the shortcomings that it embodies.
The role of the women in Othello has exceptionally changed from 1603 to today. Women now have more rights than what they were offered in the 1600s. During the duration of this play, the prominent group of people are the men. The men believe they own women as their property, even the father’s own them. Women not supposed to cheat on men but men may have an unlimited number of mistresses and wives. The women in the play, Desdemona, Bianca, and Emilia, have known of this treatment and even talk of such. But, the women are still faithful and loyal to their husband, and if they were to be disloyal, there would be serious consequences. There are many examples of the specific gender roles throughout this play that describe the treatment women received during the 1600s and so on. Women are submissive and are often referred to as possessions in the play. Shakespeare has given each of these characters a role to play as a victim, as in a woman, or a dominant male.
In this scene that occurs in act III scene III of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Ariel presents himself to Alonso, Antonio, Sebastian, and Gonzalo for the first time as a frightening harpy, a creature with a bird’s wings and claws and a woman’s face. The mere sight of him would have been terrifying, but the words of his speech are even more so. Ariel reveals himself to be an omniscient instrument in Prospero’s plan for revenge, and an all-powerful, untrustworthy opponent of the group, and in support of Prospero’s plan for revenge. William Shakespeare uses several writing techniques such as personification, alliteration, and diction to emphasize the development of Ariel’s character, as well as further develop the theme of power in the play.
“When you initially forgive, it is like letting go of a hot iron. There is initial pain and the scars will show, but you can start living again.” –Stephen Richards
William Shakespeare’s The Tempest provides dialogue that portrays the social expectations and stereotypes imposed upon women in Elizabethan times. Even though the play has only one primary female character, Miranda, the play also includes another women; Sycorax, although she does not play as large a roll. During many scenes, the play illustrates the characteristics that represent the ideal woman within Elizabethan society. These characteristics support the fact that men considered women as a mere object that they had the luxury of owning and were nowhere near equal to them. Feminists can interpret the play as a depiction of the sexist treatment of women and would disagree with many of the characteristics and expectations that make Miranda the ideal woman. From this perspective, The Tempest can be used to objectify the common expectations and treatment of women within the 16th and 17th Centuries and compare and contrast to those of today.
I chose the lyrics from Carlos Santana, Black Magic Woman. These lyrics reflect the true nature of powers that woman possess over men. “Yes you got your spell on me baby turning my heart into stone I need you so bad - magic woman I can’t leave you alone." The entire scene of act four of The Tempest written by William Shakespeare is about Prospero wanting self-discipline and chastity for Ferdinand and Miranda. Ferdinand is willing to give up everything to stay on the island forever with Miranda; obviously Ferdinand loves and wants to marry Miranda. Just like Cupid and Venus has cast spells onto others; Ferdinand is so taken by Miranda, an example of this is seen when Ferdinand says,
In the 1600s, married women were expected to do anything for their husbands. Husbands were urged to be good heads of their families and to treat their wives with kindness and consideration. The woman were considered to be the 'weaker vessel ' and thought to be spiritually weaker than men and in need of masculine guidance. During this time, women were treated as inferior being who were meant to look after the house and were to children . Women were treated with little dignity. In “The Tempest,” William Shakespeare was able to show the oppression of women throughout the play. Scenes with Prospero and Miranda have shown significant hidden evidence to prove that the colonial era was a time of female oppression. Shakespeare uses Prospero as an
Secondly, Miranda also serves as the ultimate fantasy for any male who (like Ferdinand) is a bachelor. She is extremely beautiful, she is intelligent, and she has never been touched (or even seen) by another male. Shakespeare makes Miranda even more desirable by including the fact that she has never seen or even talked to another man (with the obvoius exception of Prospero). Miranda personifies the ultimate source of good in the play, and provides the ultimate foil for the evil character of Caliban. When Ferdinand is forced to chop wood by Prospero, Miranda offers to do it for him. Finding a woman this humble in the world of Shakespeare is almost impossible. One does not have to look farther than her last line in the play to realize her purpose in the plot. Miranda states "O wonder! / How many goodly creatures there are here! / How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world / That has such people in't" (Tempest,5.1,185-7) Through this passage and many of her others Miranda shows a positive attitude which is almost uncanny when compared to the other characters.
A Tempest is an effective response to Shakespeare’s The Tempest because he interprets it from the perspective of the colonized and raises a conflict with Shakespeare as an icon of the literary canon. In The Tempest by William Shakespeare one might argue that colonialism is a reoccurring theme throughout the play because of the slave-master relationship between Ariel and Caliban and Prospero. It is also noticeable through the major and minor changes in status among the temporary inhabitants of the island like Trinculo and Stephano (Brower 463). These relationships support the theme that power is not reciprocal and that in a society someone will be exploited.