Comparing Women In Twelfth Night, And The Merchant Of Venice

This essay will discuss how Shakespeare depicts women in his works including Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet and The Merchant of Venice. As Shakespeare produced his work during the Renaissance period, this essay will also talk about how Shakespeare’s plays were written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and how Shakespeare’s work may have paralleled the same view that society had of women and their role. Writing techniques used by Shakespeare such as the use of language in dialogue and cross-dressing will be considered in this essay, to show how women were perceived in his work and the controversy it caused to the society.
Shakespeare was known to have a good relationship with Queen Elizabeth I who was on the throne during his time and also back when Shakespeare was born in 1564. She supported theatre work and also had her own acting company that she named ‘The Queen’s Men’. During this time, puritans were determined to close down theatres. “Puritans regarded theatres as abominable haunts of vice and corruption which a well-regulated state would

completely suppress.” (Bawcutt 22) Since Elizabeth as the Queen was huge supporter of theatre production, it was because of her support and influence that Elizabethan theatres had lived on for another generation.
It was during the 1590s, when court performances by several acting companies became more common. Shakespeare's company was luckily selected from the others. Queen Elizabeth I soon became Shakespeare’s patron and took in his genius. For this reason it is considered that Queen Elizabeth I had a huge influence on the female protagonists Shakespeare created for his plays. Her influential speech to the troops of Tilbury in 1588 was found in a letter from Leonel Sharp where she proclaimed, “I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king.” (Abrams et al. 763). This is the perfect example of what women’s representation was in the Renaissance period. Women were seen as “weak” which can be seen in Juliet Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. However, through cross dressing, Shakespeare did also create female protagonists like Viola/Cesario and Portia with “the heart and stomach of a king.” This proves that Shakespeare indeed depicted women as weaker in his work however he was also inspired by Queen Elizabeth’s influence.
Cross dressing is a prevalent theme in a few of Shakespeare’s plays. Although it can be argued that it was contradictory, it certainly played an important part in Renaissance period. In a few of Shakespeare’s comedies, he challenged society’s views by giving his heroine’s the ultimate power, to become men in disguise by cross-dressing. This caused controversy for obvious reasons. In Shakespeare’s plays usually men played the female characters as well as the male. And so for women to deceive men by disguising themselves as men was inconceivable for society as a whole. Even if it was just for the play, it was a subject that brought confusion and absurdness to the people.
“By impersonating a male doctor of law, she (Portia) has proved to be the best man in the room, smarter and more resourceful” (Russin 31:). In The Merchant of Venice, Portia disguises herself as a male doctor of law to enter a courtroom. For this reason she can be seen as the hero in this case as she evidently saves Antonio from Shylock even if it was only for Bassanio. As of her disguise she managed to overpower Bassanio, Antonio and Shylock. Because of her actual status as an upper class individual, it was clear that she would know the mannerism however she managed to fool everyone that she was educated as a doctor of law when she was not at all.
Shakespeare in his work often brought shock to the readers and audience due to its scandalous content and storylines. In The Merchant of Venice, it is fair to say Shakespeare flourished the reality of women. In contradictory to the society, he presented both Portia and Jessica as confident and independent females who were also very daring. As both female protagonists entered the courtroom in disguise as a doctor of law and a clerk, it caused a great deal of confusion to the audience. During the Renaissance period, men dressed as women on stage due to society’s wishes where women were not allowed on stage. In that case, men dressed as women who were in disguise as men. As cross dressing was a new concept in the Renaissance period, it would have caused confusion for the viewers because they would not have been able to tell the difference at first. By creating characters like so, Shakespeare was giving his female protagonists power that women in reality, could only dream about. When Portia entered the courtroom, Shakespeare gave her the ability to control the entire situation. She had Antonio and Shylock’s fate in her hands. The shock is apparent as women barely had a say or any right to argue back. So for Shakespeare to nonchalantly hand over authority to a female seemed preposterous. His actions here were opposite to his usual views on women which often were in parallel with society’s views.
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, “instructs its audience that daughters who submit, who know their place, will ultimately fare better than daughters who rebel” (Wayne 75). Even if Portia did show rebellion by entering the courtroom, she carried it out by cross dressing as a doctor. As Portia, she originally remained grounded though vocal and expressive. Because she carried out her task under disguise and not as Portia, she would still come across as a female who knew her place as a women. However in Romeo and Juliet, tragedy is the result of rebellion. Unlike Portia, Juliet is blinded by love, and turns to rebellion. Her and Romeo’s unruly behaviour results in both of their deaths. “Inevitably young girls were subject to the greatest pressures; as they grew older they were apt to develop not only minds of their own but also as the means to exercise their will hence the advice of Sir John Oglander to ‘marry thy daughters betimes, lest they marry themselves.’ ” (Wells and Orlin 118). Female were expected to be grounded within their marriage to one and not feel temptation for another. Juliet was arranged to be married to Count Paris however she rebelled by falling in love with Romeo and agreeing to marry him instead of her parent’s choice.
Juliet tells Romeo in Act 2 scene 2, “What is in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other word could smell as sweet.” (2.2. 43-44). She is declaring that a name is artificial so it does not define who they are. Her feelings for him have nothing to do with his name. This statement is considered to be one of the most famous quotes written by Shakespeare. Even if women were given barely any significance in the renaissance period, Shakespeare makes a momentous statement using a women’s voice. Shakespeare created a rebel in Juliet to teach an important lesson to the society who did not accept her opinion, not forgetting she was only a young adolescent at the time too.
Portia is depicted as, “the fulfilment of their affections and desires. She is characterised by wealth, beauty and virtue.” (Moody 24). Bassanio gives an enhanced description of Portia saying, “Her sunny locks hang on her temples like a golden fleece.” (1.1.171-172). Shakespeare’s use of simile shows how Bassanio is comparing Portia’s appearance to wealth. He cannot help but compare his impression of Portia as a striking female to wealth and value, almost as if that what her only value is, money. This does not go unnoticed as he compares Portia’s hair to a golden fleece. His discourse suggests that his pursuit for Portia was more about money rather than love. By doing so he has reduced her status from an heiress to almost nothing. This parallels the opinion men had on women overall during the Elizabethan era.
Though Bassanio’s portrayal of Portia can be seen as objectifying, it is not as offensive as Sampson’s in Romeo and Juliet. In the opening scene, Sampson says to Gregory, “and therefore women being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall: therefore I will push Montague men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall.” (1.1.16-17). The sexist remark is a clear example of how women were portrayed in the Elizabethan era. Men made offensive remarks like so, and furthermore they acted upon it as women were considered to be weaker.
Jean Howard argued that, “Cross dressing was a site of social struggle, a practice condemned by the patriarchal society because it threatened male power by blurring gender distinctions.” (39) However in Twelfth Night, Viola’s purpose behind cross dressing as Cesario was for escapism, yet throughout the play she is caught up in confusion based on her feelings for Orsino.

For this reason she wants get away from her disguise so she can reveal her feelings for Orsino as Viola. Viola “finds her male disguise a constant source of embarrassment, involving her in difficulties and opening up possibilities that, if she had worn a female dress, would not exist” (Chernaik 46). Portia on the other hand takes advantage of her power by bringing Shylock down further by declaring, “Tarry a little, there is something else. This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood. The words expressly are "a pound of flesh."

(4.1.304-307).
Portia then continues by gaining control over and setting terms on her relationship with Bassanio towards the end of the play. Earlier on in the play, she proposes her love to Bassanio in Act 3 scene 2 in a speech that demonstrates the distinction between gender roles in the Elizabethan era from lines 149 to 171. Although she later in the courtroom scene, emasculates all men present by cross dressing, she objectifies herself when proposing her love to Bassanio in her speech. She refers herself to an object when she calls herself a “gentle spirit” that “commits itself to yours to be directed as from her lord, her governor, her king.” (3.2.64-65). Karen Newman took interest in the recurring use of “now” in the same speech in lines 67 and 69. She says that the frequent use of “now” shows “temporal shifts” and “a moment of conversion” (Newman 38:) She believes that the “now” in line 167 is “referring to the present moment of commitment to Bassanio” however “the ‘but now’ refers back in time, emphasising Portia’s prior role as ‘lord’ of Belmont.” (Newman 38:) By doing so she gives away her role as lord by proclaiming, “I give them with this ring” (3.2.171). Newman continues to say that Portia gifts Bassanio “more than he can ever reciprocate, first to him, then to Antonio, and finally to Venice itself in her actions in the trial which allow the city to preserve both its law and its precious Christian citizen.” This goes back to an earlier point made in this essay that, Portia contributes a great deal to the men in The Merchant of Venice considering she is a women. This suggests that she did not conform to the social gender hierarchy reflected in the time of Shakespeare. She accomplished this by creating her own power under the guise of a man.
In Twelfth Night when Orsino requests Cesario to woo on his behalf, he states that Cesario is much like a female, “and all is semblative a woman’s part.” (1.4.34). Stephen Greenblatt talking about this extract in the chapter ‘Fiction and Friction’ goes on to suggest that, “Orsino nicely captures the gender confusion in an unintentionally ironic description of his young page." (91). This entails that Orsino absent-mindedly reveals Cesario’s characteristics as androgynous. Even though Viola is trying to maintain her disguise she cannot hideaway from her feminine features. Shakespeare could have been implying that even if his heroines had gained some power, they were never going to be able to achieve greatly under the gaze of men.