There are only two female characters in the entire play Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare. These two women, Tamora and Lavinia, seem to be complete opposites. Tamora appears to give up her femininity in the name of revenge and power, while Lavinia’s femininity and value as a woman is taken from her. Tamora has power outside of men, but Lavinia only has power when men aid her. The play portrays Tamora as a sensual strong being, whereas Lavinia encompasses the more traditional virtuous, passive role that a woman would be expected to take. By creating this dichotomy between the two women, the play is able to explore female sexuality and power. When Tamora and Lavinia first appear in the play they seem to be quite similar. Both the women are treated like property to be traded between men. Lavinia is traded between Saturninus and Bassianus and at one point Bassianus says “this made is mine” (1.1.279). In this moment Lavinia is not her own person, but is the property of a man, and she appears to have no will of her own. Slightly later in the same scene, Tamora seems to be in the same position as Lavinia. Saturninus, after losing Lavinia to Bassianus, decides “I choose thee, Tamora, for my bride and will crate thee Empress of Rome” (1.1.322-23). Tamora …show more content…
The power that Lavinia has is not like Tamora’s, which is traditionally masculine. Lavinia’s power is in her femininity. She is able to attract the attention of many men, including Demetrius and Chiron, Tamora’s sons. At one point, Chiron is begging Demetrius to let him have Lavinia saying that he will “plead my passions for Lavinia’s love” (2.1.36). It does not matter to these two men that Lavinia is married; she is still just as attractive to them. Lavinia has the power to attract these men to her by her femininity, but she is not able to ward off their attack because her power is limited to being feminine, not being strong and convincing, like
These women are sexualized, audacious, respectful, and flirtatious. Women in the Elizabethan society were considered the weaker sex and in need of always being protected. Women, however, were allowed many freedoms in Shakespeare writings. The thinking from both plays was that women were not above men but more like sex objects and a necessary part of society. Women have evolved into so much more, however, I would like to think this is from the open-mindedness of how Shakespeare saw each woman.
...’s Lanval and Laustic, were subservient to men in three different ways: by being considered temptresses, by needing men’s protection, and by obeying men’s orders. The lady of Laustic conforms to all these types, and the Queen in Lanval as well, with the exception that as the Queen she has some power. Lanval’s lover breaks some of these trends, but we later learn that she is a lady of Avalon, the mythical land where King Arthur is buried and whence he will come again, and therefore it is not surprising that she does not conform to the standard status of women.
In the novel Othello, written by William Shakespeare, there are a variety of ways in which women are portrayed. There are strong willed women such as Emilia, who stands up to the men, especially to her husband. If he is wrong she would openly admit that he is incorrect. There are also women who are thought to be a possession as well as extremely submissive to their husbands such as Desdemona. She is the type of woman that will obey her husband to the day she dies. Desdemona believes that her husband is always right and he will never do anything that will lead her into the wrong direction. Many of the women in this time thought the same way. They are viewed as house workers, cooks, and teachers to the children. In addition to those qualities women obtain, having no authority in marriages is also added to the list. In this novel, there is judgment against women because they are “unequal” to men. They are not allowed to do the same as men for the reason that they do not possess the same qualities as men. Men were considered to be superior to women. Women were treated as their “slaves.” In contrast, today’s time women now have power. They have the right to vote, run for office, and even work outside their homes. Women now play the part as the male and female figure in the households. They are considered independent women, not relying on a male figure. Even if they are married now, they do not listen to everything that their husbands tell them to do. It states in the Bible that a male figure is the head of the households; however women today have strayed away from that view that they had back then. They want to be the dominate figure. Times have really changed from the past to the present. W...
The plays Antigone and Lysistrata contain aspects that can represent similarities and differences. In these plays, the protagonists are women, Lysistrata, and Antigone, who are both resilient and courageous women who challenge the gender roles of their time. However, one aspect that makes these plays different from each other is the communicated thought of who is exactly is the proper woman. In the time period of when these two plays were written, women basically had no basic rights they were to follow proper concepts expected of a woman of that age. Nevertheless, in these plays when these roles were challenged, one ended tragically while the other ended with expected results and it’s of course, because each of the protagonists took different
Shakespeare's sources for the play are quite clear. He makes it no secret that the rape of Lavinia is analogous to the rape of Philomela in Ovid's Metamorphosis. In this tale, The daughter of the King of Athens, Procne, marries the King of Thrace, Tereus, and the two of them have a son, Itys. After a number of years, Procne desperately wishes to see her sister, Philomela, and sends Tereus back to Athens to bring her to Thrace. When Tereus sees Philomela, he becomes obsessed with her and carries her into the forest, rapes her and cuts out her tongue to prevent her from telling anyone. Upon returning to Thrace, he informs his wife that Philomela is dead. In the meantime, Philomela weaves her story into a cloth and sends it to Procne. Procne becomes so enraged by this knowledge that she and Philomela plot and kill Itys, cook his flesh and serve it to Tereus. He discovers their ploy and tries to kill them, but Philomela is changed into a nightingale, Procne a swallow and Tereus a hoopoe (Bullough, vi. 48-58).
The women’s lack of power is also shown when Calphurnia can’t get Caesar to stay home, and away from the capitol, after having her dream. After hearing Decius’s interpretation of Calphurnia’s dream, Caesar cries out, “How foolish do your fears seem now, Calpurnia! / I am ashamed I did yield to them. / Give me my robe, for I will go.” Caesar would rather believe the lies of a man than the truth of a woman. More often than not, the women in this play could not control any situation or their husbands very well.
During the Elizabethan era women had a status of subordination towards men. They had a role to marry and oblige to their husband’s wishes. Shakespearean literature, especially illustrates how a woman is psychologically and physically lesser to their male counterpart. The play, Othello, uses that aspect in many different ways. From a Feminist lens others are able to vividly examine how women were subjected to blatant inferiority. Being displayed as tools for men to abuse, women were characterized as possessions and submissive; only during the last portion of the play did the power of women take heed.
Tom is portrayed as being aggressive and self confident. When he is with his mistress Myrtle, he shows his physical control over her, “Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand.” (Fitzgerald 39). His actions show how he is proud of his dominance over females. Laertes is characterized as being confident and strong. However, when Laertes learns his sister has died, he states, “Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia, And therefore I forbid my tears…When these are gone, The woman will be out.” (Shakespeare 4.7. 182-183, 185-186). Laertes considers crying to be the responsibility of a woman, as he states when he stops crying, the woman will be out of him. He is ashamed of being emotional as he believes it is feminine. Rather than being accepting to femininity, Laertes is mortified. In addition to, Tom would never act feminine. Both characters depict femininity to be a sign of weakness, so throughout the texts both strive to be the stereotypical
“If there were some women quite unlike her who made herself available to everyone, who always had some man that she had openly designated as her lover…who even kept young men and made up for their fathers stinginess by paying for them” (Pro Caelio 38, pg 144). Clodia was known throughout Rome for having many sexual relationships outside of wedlock with countless men of Rome. She is even considered by many to be the famed Lesbia, the lover of the famed Roman neoteric poet Catullus. Cicero is setting the stage for his denouncement of Clodia by styling her as a women that is a direct contrast to what a Roman women should be. We are given countless examples of the perfect Roman women: Rhea Sylvia, Lucretia, and Virginia to name a few. While not directly referred to by Cicero the stories of these women would be common knowledge in Rome and the fact that Clodia’s life style contrasts these aforementioned women would be obvious. Cicero then goes even further and accuses Clodia of being not simply a prostitute but a crude person, someone with overt and offensive sexual desires : “her embraces, her kisses, her beach parties, her boating parties, and her dinner parties all declare her to be not simply a prostitute but a lewd and lascivious prostitute at that” (Pro Caelio 49, pg 148). This is Cicero attempting to
"Laertes is a mirror to Hamlet. Shakespeare has made them similar in many aspects to provide a greater base for comparison when avenging their respective fathers' deaths" (Nardo, 90). Both Hamlet and Laertes love Ophelia in different ways. Hamlet wishes Ophelia to become his wife, Laertes loves Ophelia as a sister. Hamlet is a scholar at Wittenberg; Laertes is also a scholar at France. Both were brought up under this royal family of Denmark. And both are admired for their swordsmenship. But most important of all, both of them loved and respected their fathers greatly, and showed great devotion when plotting to avenge their fathers' deaths.
Laertes is a mirror to Hamlet. Shakespeare has made them similar in many aspects to provide a greater base for comparison when avenging their respective father's deaths. Hamlet and Laertes love Ophelia. Hamlet wishes Ophelia to be his wife, Laertes loves Ophelia as a sister. Hamlet is a scholar at Wittenberg, and Laertes at France. Both are admired for their swordsmenship. Both men loved and respected their fathers, and display deviousness when plotting to avenge their father's deaths.
Imagine being born into a world where your social status is dependent on your gender, where women are considered inferior to men. This idea is exposed in two Ancient Greece plays “Antigone” by Sophocles and “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes. In both plays most women are considered inferior and do not go against rules established by men. However, there are some women who do not let men restrain them from expressing their feelings. Therefore, the women in Ancient Greece were considered inferior to men, however, they were gallant.
In Shakespeare’s dramatic works there is no room for the heroic or the strong woman, and therefore many of his plays can be perceived as being antifeminist. Often he portrays women as weak, mad, sexual, and as even witches. Hamlet is no exception. The only women in the play, Ophelia and Queen Gertrude, are given confined and limited roles. These roles are from a male-dominated viewpoint and only add focus to the male characters instead of incorporating the insight and the impact of the women as well.
The play Othello is presented as a male-dominated society where women are only recognized as property; objects to own and to bear children. Women in the Elizabethan society and in Shakespeare society were not seen as equal to men and were expected to be loyal to their husbands, be respectful, and to not go against their husbands judgements or actions. Shakespeare presents Desdemona, Emilia , and Bianca as women in the Elizabethan time where they were judged based on their class, mortality, and intelligence. Shakespeare makes his female characters act the way they would be expected to act in an Elizabethan society. The role of these women in Othello is crucial because they show how women were treated and how unhealthy their relationships between men really were in both Elizabethan and Shakespeare's society.
From the expansion days of Ancient Rome to the fall of the Roman Empire, women have always succumbed to living subjacent to the status of their omnipotent and dominant male figures. After leaving her childhood home and the rule of her father, a young Roman girl would then be coerced into the dominion of her husband, often taking a plethora of roles, ranging from lover, caretaker, and best friend. It is often lightheartedly stated that, “Behind every great man is an even greater woman,” and William Shakespeare exemplifies this concept beautifully in Julius Caesar, in which he effectively used the spouses of the two main characters to add more depth, drama, and literary elements to the play, bringing it to life. Although the only two female characters in Julius Caesar, Portia and Calpurnia do not play a pivotal role in the overall plot of the story, their presence is vital in illuminating and developing the characters of their husbands, Brutus and Caesar. What they reveal about their husbands leads the reader to infer that Portia is the more admirable and redeeming character.