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Shakespeare's portrayal of women
Studying gender roles in literature and life
Shakespeare's portrayal of women
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In the play The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, a quintessential pair of teens fall in love, but their fate ends in misfortune. The pair falls in love in a time where women are seen as unimportant and insignificant. In spite of this, Romeo breaks the boundaries of male dominance and shows a more feminine side. Throughout the play, there is an interesting depiction of gender roles that is contrary to the society of the time period. One clear representation of the reverse gender roles displayed throughout the novel is when Juliet proposes the idea of marriage to Romeo. On the balcony, following Romeo’s profession of love, she states, “Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow” (Rom.2.2.146). During the time of Romeo and
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a play commonly viewed and known as a true love story; however, after analyzing several hints portrayed by the protagonists, it is evident that Shakespeare did not intend to make Romeo and Juliet seem like a true love story but a criticism of how superficial society’s view on love is.
Young sons and daughters take center stage in several of William Shakespeare’s plays, including the tragedies of Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet. However, the treatment of the sons in comparison to daughters differs substantially. Although both are constrained by similar forces, these work to very different extents based on their genders. While young men such as Romeo, Hamlet, and Laertes are given relatively free reign to do as and go where they please, Juliet and Ophelia are much more constrained by their parents. The tight control of these parents over their daughters, and their attempts to shape their lives, indirectly cause the young women’s deaths. Shakespeare therefore suggests that young women should be given more freedom, as their male counterparts are. This idea greatly challenges the social
Romeo and Juliet has different roles for different genders. During the Shakespearean period, when Shakespeare writes, most women had to marry when they were teen, when they were in adolescence or even before. However, the men who they were marrying were in their early to late twenties. In the household that the women lived in, the men basically owned them. The women always followed men’s word, which says that the male was the dominant gender of the society. Romeo and Juliet reflects this in a number of ways. Juliet was forced to marry Paris, by the word of her father, who said that if she did not marry Paris, she would go to the streets(Shakespeare, 3.5.154-62). Women were thought to be weaker and less important than men in Romeo and Juliet because men are trying to be the strongest out of everyone, women have a lower social status, and men think they owned women in Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in the 16th century, at a time where the role of the woman was to be subservient to men and act as a wife to their husband and a mother to their children. Women were expected to conform to the expectations of society, and were seen as possessions by their fathers and husbands. Fathers arrange their daughters’ marriages, usually for financial or social gain for the family. In Romeo and Juliet, the unfair treatment of women is conveyed through characters such as Juliet, a young girl who is growing into the expectations of society, and Lady Capulet, who represents a traditional side of love and values social position rather than men themselves. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet centres on the relationship between two young protagonists, but much of what occurs during the play is as a result of the inequality between men and women.
Though the male/female dichotomy is evident in every category of social existence, there is an exceptional awareness of the split and its implications expressed in the Shakespearean canon. For many feminist critics, including Juliet Dusinberre, Shakespeare's works are particularly compelling in that he "saw t...
One of the most prominent issues we face in today’s society is sexism. Even now, in the 21st century, women have to face sexual harassment, unrealistic expectations and sexist language on a daily basis. Of course, this issue was far worse during Shakespeare’s time, despite Queen Elizabeth being in power, women had no rights at the time. They were expected to be obedient, silent and chaste. There was no room for an independent woman, they were socially and economically tied to the male figure in their lives (i.e. their father or husband).
Throughout Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, there is an overlaying presence of the typical roles that men and women were supposed to play. During Elizabethan times there was a major difference between the way men and women were supposed to act. Men typically were supposed to be masculine and powerful, and defend the honor. Women, on the other hand, were supposed to be subservient to their men in their lives and do as ever they wished. In Romeo and Juliet the typical gender roles that men and women were supposed to play had an influence on the fate of their lives.
In every society there are prescribed gender roles and corresponding expectations for both men and women. Men are expected to be aggressive, physically robust and forward while women are expected to be passive, physically weaker than men and reserved. If and when this happens, it can result in confusion and possible negative consequences. This notion is often explored in literature, and one such writer who does so is William Shakespeare. In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Viola, Duke Orsino and Maria seem to demonstrate gender role reversal for the majority of the play, but they eventually revert back to their prescribed roles, which is in keeping with the Carnival theme.
In Act 1 and Act 2 of Romeo and Juliet, the majority of the characters that have the most dramatic impact to the story are male. Since men in Act 1 and Act 2 of Romeo and Juliet started a lot of conflict, the men grasp the attention of the readers. First, Romeo displays that he is a dramatic figure because he experiences many different emotions in a short amount of time. He says, "Did my heart love till now? Foreswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night." (1014). Romeo states he's never loved until looking at Juliet, even though he was recently upset about Roasline. Next, Tybalt proves to be dramatic when he shows that he's fiery and determined. "Patience perforce with willful choler meeting makes my flesh
According to Elizabethan or Shakespeare 's society built upon Renaissance beliefs, it was believed that women do not speak, they do not have a voice because they are taught to respect the beliefs of society more than themselves. Patriarchal rule proved women 's subordination as the natural order because women were thought to be inferior to men in the Elizabethan society. In Shakespeare’s Othello this belief is represented through the three female characters in this play, Othello’s wife Desdemona, Iago’s wife Emilia and Cassio’s mistress Bianca. These women are objectified by the central male characters in Othello. Shakespeare’s anti – feminism is being reflected through the role of women and how they are portrayed in the play.
Early modern England was a highly patriarchal society. One of the many preconceptions of Shakespeare’s audience was ideas about gender. At that time, people valued certain characteristics in women and a completely different set in men. Women experienced suppression and were expected to be obedient. Shakespeare’s society was highly invested in the domination of women. Obedience was not just desirable - it was considered necessary. For the male-dominated society to function, women had to submit to the rules of men. A large component of obedience in women was that they were expected to be seen and not heard. This silence was synonymous with chastity, whereas expression was perceived as a sign of promiscuity. Thus, the audience valued meek, obedient and silent women; anything else threatened their conceptions of proper female behaviour. In his plays, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare challenges the social ideologies by creating a rebellious daughter who refuses to be subservient to her father. The daughter struggles to negotiate a passage into adulthood and marriage with her father’s blessing; while the father struggles to relinquish the young woman to another man – her future husband.
Shakespeare's "Othello" can be deciphered frame a women's activist viewpoint when perusing the play. A women's activist examination of the play "Othello" gives us a chance to see the diverse social values and how ladies were seen in the Elizabethan culture. Othello is a case to show the desires of the Elizabethan culture. As indicated by the Elizabethan culture, ladies were just expected to wed. As their single occupation, marriage was their most imperative thing to be centered around. Ladies should be submissive to their spouses and all men when all is said in done. Ladies were thought to be lesser to men.
The portrayal of gender roles in William Shakespeare’s play Othello, demonstrates the inferior treatment of women and the certain stereotypes of men placed on them by society. Both the male and female characters in the play have these certain gender expectations placed on them. In a society dominated by men, it is understood that the women are to be seen rather than heard. The women are referred to and treated much like property. If indeed they do speak up, they are quickly silenced. One woman’s attempt to be the perfect wife is what ultimately led to her demise. The expectations of men are equally stereotypical. Men are to be leaders and to be in control and dominant especially over the women. The male characters compete for position and use the female characters in the play as leverage to manipulate each other. Shakespeare provides insight in understanding the outcomes of the men and women who are faced with the pressures of trying to live up to society’s expectations, not only in the workplace, but also in the home. The pressure creates jealousy issues amongst the men and they become blind to the voice of reason and are overtaken by jealous rage, leads to the death of many of the characters.
In approximately the 1590’s, William Shakespeare composed Romeo and Juliet, a masterpiece of the very concept of superb writing in early history. This play has not only inspired the minds of young readers all over the world for centuries, but has also set the bar for tragic love stories overall. Therefore, it is no surprise that Romeo and Juliet excels in its depiction of love and infatuation which naturally raises the potential for the lesson of the difference between the two. This is evident by its struggle within the main character’s relationships. These relationships include Romeo and Rosaline, Juliet and Paris, and most distinct, Romeo and Juliet. These relationships are a prime example of life and the lessons within. These observations
When men are approved of they are seen as embracing feminine principles whereas women are denied access to the male and are denigrated when they aspire to male qualities. Marilyn French suggests that Shakespeare divides experience into male (evil) and female (good) principles and his comedies and tragedies are interpreted as ‘either a synthesis of the principles or an examination of the kinds of worlds that result when one or other principle is abused, neglected, devalued or exiled’ .