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Between the late 16th century and the mid 17th century, Europe had undergone transitional changes. From the beginning of criticisms of the Catholic Church to the rise of the Enlightenment, Europe was rejecting hierarchical systems. Men and women were fed up with the hypocrisy of the church, which was using religion as a tool to control society. Women played an important role in society as their duties were primarily in the household. Men believed that women were unfit for leadership, however women were often labeled temptresses because of manipulative techniques that caused men to sin. Thus, women were only educated in household-work, which made them ignorant and submissive. As Shakespeare’s The Tempest (1611) was performed, women were firstly taking their first steps toward equality; fifty years later, Moliere’s Tartuffe (1664-1669) acted out as strength to the women’s movement. The perceptions about women changed within those years; in The Tempest the female character (Miranda) is portrayed as innocent and obedient, but in Tartuffe, the female characters (Dorine, Mariane, and Elmire) are depicted as shrewd and vocal.
Since Shakespeare’s play was written in the early 17th century, before woman took complete creditability, the character Miranda is presented as a woman who is ignorant of the cruelty in the world, a traditional 17th century woman. In other words, ignorance is bliss for her as she needs her father (Prospero), a man, to protect her from when Caliban, a slave, tries to forcefully possess her; “thou didst seek to violate/ The honor of my child” (626). As men consider women to be temptresses, the character Miranda has not even had sexual relations with her lover, Ferdinand; “thou dost break her virgin-knot before all ...
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... that refusal made you smart, / It’s little that you know of [a] woman’s heart, / Or what that heart is trying to convey / When it resists in such a feeble way” says Elmire (239). The only way for Elmire to prove Tartuffe's hypocrisy is through sex, unlike in the Tempest where Caliban tries to forcefully seduce Miranda.
Lastly, the women of the early 17th century to late 17th century differ greatly as it is seen in Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest, and Moliere’s Tartuffe; Miranda is characterized as an individual who is dutiful to her father, yet has the strength to revolt against him at any time, meanwhile, Dorine, Mariane, and Elmire are presented as intelligent and blunt as to any other man in the late 17th century.
Works Cited
Damrosch, David, and David L. Pike, eds. The Longman Anthology of World Literature.
Pearson
Education, 2009. Print
In addition, this relationship illustrates the "cuckold" fear that is very pertinent during Shakespeare's time. Claudio is easily wooed into believing Don John's fabrication about Hero's infidelity. Since women were considered possessions, this infidelity is the ultimate betrayal and a mortal wound to Claudio's self esteem. In reality, Hero had remained the chaste and virtuous model of the Elizabethan woman. Source: Hays, Janice. "Those "soft and delicate desires": Much Ado and the Distrust of Women". Lenz, Carolyn Ruth Swift, Greene, Gayle, and Neely, Carol Thomas Ed., The Woman's Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. University of Illinois Press: Chicago, 1980.
The female characters in Molière’s Tartuffe display feminist behaviors years before the feminist movement emerged historically. Many of their actions, words and behaviors are completely out of character for women of their time. Moliere makes a strong statement with this play by presenting female characters that go against convention. The gender inequality when the Enlightenment began was extreme. The women in this play try to fight against this inequality and in the end it is the patriarch of the family that is fooled by Tartuffe yet most of the female characters remain un-fooled throughout the play. Two of the female characters in this play, Doreen and Elmire play significantly different roles in the home. They have different personalities, different household duties and drastically different social standing. As different as these women are, they both show signs of early feminism. To various degrees they fight for want they believe is right. Dorine speaks her mind openly and does not hold anything back. Elmire is sneakier and uses her sexuality to get what she wants.
Kemp, Theresa D. Women in the Age of Shakespeare. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2009. Print.
The definition of Renaissance women is fundamentally important in William Shakespeare's play Othello. One of the major causes of Othello's tragedy is his belief that Desdemona is not chaste. According to the men of the Renaissance, chastity, silence, and obedience are three attributes that define Renaissance women. Although Othello takes place during the Renaissance, the women in the play, Bianca, Desdemona and Emilia, defy traditional norms by lacking at least one of the major attributes defining women; Bianca's lack of chastity is clearly displayed when she unlawfully sleeps with Cassio; Desdemona's lack of silence is clearly displayed when she constantly urges Othello to give Cassio's position back. However, in the last two acts, Emilia displays the strongest challenge to the definition of Renaissance women as silent, chaste, and obedient, mainly to defend Desdemona.
In the Renaissance era, freedom of speech was not identified throughout the people and society. This gave men the authority to be superior to women, which was unjust. “ The ideal women was rarely seen and never heard in public: women were expected to be housewives and take care of everything to do with the house.” (Cloud). Women had no opinion or say in absolutely anything. It was uncommon to see women talk or gossip with each other because men did not tolerate it. Women had no right to speak freely or express how they felt. Women had no say or opinion; the masculine sex had power over everything and anything. Most men treated women extremely awful, in other words, they were treated as slaves in their society and relationships. During the Renaissance women wished for equality between genders but the church and society furiously disagreed because they insisted on viewing women as the lower sex. Women did not agree with that because they felt it was unreasonable but there was nothin...
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...
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.
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.
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.
Tartuffe's strong desire to have Elmire is only introduce in Act 3, and soon overshadowed by his plans to take Orgon's Estate. Despite this, it is a pivotal scene that reveals the true nature of his character. Up until this point, he is seen as a hypocrite strictly because he is controlling. The reader can only draw conclusions about Tartuffe based on what other characters say about him. It is not until his scene with Elmire that a true judgment can be made about him. This is where his hypocrisy is revealed. He professes his love to Elmire in a way that makes him look absolutely ridiculous. He relays that he is quite passionate in his sexual desire for Elmire. He says that he first found these feelings to be sinful and was afraid of them, but now he sees his passion as truth and beauty. She reacts quite surprised, saying “But I'm surprised you want the things you want. It seems your heart could use a talking to – It's living in the chest of someone who proclaims to be pious” (Tartuffe, act 3.3, lines 91-93.) Elmire relays what the reader is thinking at this point. No truly righteous man would be trying to seduce his master's wife.
During both periods, the men were the leaders and the females were their inferiors. Prospero and Miranda, the father and daughter in William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, are an example of a relationship between a father and daughter in Elizabethan England, however they were slightly different from the norm of their period. Prospero had to do everything for Miranda since she had no known mother and they were on a deserted island, she was unable to go to a household of a relative, which was a commonplace during this time. Prospero is in complete control of Miranda. He raises her in his image and as nearly all fathers of his day demand respect.
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.
Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. 366-398. Neely, Carol Thomas. “Shakespeare’s Women: Historical Facts and Dramatic Representations.”
The play, The Merchant of Venice drastically altered the perception of women during the time as Shakespeare makes women during the Italian Renaissance appear independent and intellectual, such as the beautiful Portia and the young Jessica. This play shows that women are not only beautiful people to look at but also powerful and intelligent individuals. The characteristics of the women in this play show the possibilities of equality between men and