Conventional Women In Shakespearean Times

The conventional women in Shakespearean times is described as a woman who does what is socially and politically acceptable for them. Women were considered the weaker sex and in need of being protected by a male. They were expected to have children, listen to their husbands, and be seen and not heard. Most women were denied the chance to get a higher education beyond the basics. Even during the Elizabethan Age, where women were getting ground on the social status, were still considered “soft” and inferior to men. In Shakespeare’s plays there is a trend in which female characters are showing to have a great deal of power and influence but in subversive ways that challenge conventional gender roles. The male characters fail to notice or acknowledge

The women are presented as people on the sidelines that are only allowed to grieve, complain, or bury the dead. Richard views women as tools, as shown by his various asides to the audience when he announces his plots, where the marrying of Anne only moves in his elaborate game of wanting to be king. The women are victims of the men’s decisions, and though their vulnerability allows their manipulation. Anne, the first woman we are introduced to is grief stricken by her husband's death in combat. Shakespeare expands this theme in scenes such as Act 2, scene 2 when both Elizabeth and the Duchess express the losses of their loved ones. Act 4, scene 1 showed Elizabeth looking upon the Tower knowing she will never see her sons again. In this scene, the Duchess shows her despair when saying, "I to my grave, where peace and rest lie with me. Eighty odd years of sorrow have I seen, and each hour's joy wrack'd with a week of ten," (Shakespeare). Through their passive acceptance, as in Anne's acceptance of Richard's proposal and Elizabeth’s acceptance of her son’s deaths show helpless women who can only show their grief through empty words. In Act 4, scene 4, Margaret, the duchess teaches Elizabeth how to curse. Cursing being the only outlet that is given for the women in this