Elizabethan Gender Inequality

679 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gender roles during the Elizabethan Era

Gender Inequality may not be as apparent today in our more developed countries, but during the Elizabethan Era, gender inequality was standard and even encouraged. One of the many forms of women inequality during this era was forced marriage. Females involuntarily married men they did not accept and married at ages they did not agree with. The male population enforced these practices, making them traditional. So how did the balance between men and women become what it is today? One cause can be traced back to Shakespeare, a man who was and is widely revered as the greatest writer in the English language. With the comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare supports women's growing independence by creating strong-willed female characters that defy male authority and gender …show more content…

Unfortunately, fathers “disposing” their unmarried daughters was a very common occurrence during Shakespeare’s time. Egeus has grown up in a time that taught him to belittle women, to the point where he think of his own daughter as property. This could actually be seen as Shakespeare antagonizing men. He made them look like tyrants who try to control women using any means necessary. Even Theseus, the reputable duke, supported her father and encouraged her to follow his decisions as she would their god: “What say you, Hermia? be advised fair maid. / To you, your father should be as a god, / One that composed your beauties, yea, and one to whom you are but as a form in wax / By him imprinted and within his power to leave the figure or disfigure it” (1.1.47-51). Instead of their god forming Hermia, Theseus tells her that her father shaped her. Giving her her beauty that attracted both Lysander and Demetrius, and that just as he made her, he could break her. This shows just how far men, at least at this time, went to assert their dominance over women. As their argument continues, Theseus offers a third decision: “Either to die the death, or to abjure / Forever the

Show More
Related

  • The Taming of the Shrew and Henry V by Shakespeare

    2326 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Shakespearean time and even up to the turn of the 20th Century men were expected to be the sole provider of the family, entailing them to be either well educated or hard working. They were also expected to be good with the handling of finances and property. It was also acceptable for them to be barbaric, boisterous and socially well connected. This has given the men of this time an overwhelming sense of power, respect and freedom; rights which were not given to women at this time. Far from what was socially acceptable in regards to men, the gender identity of women was of a somewhat weaker nature. Women during Shakespearean time were regarded as docile, quiet and non-opinionated. Their socially acceptable role in many cases was to be domestic, entailing them to spend countless hours in the home, tending to basic familial needs, such as cooking and cleaning. This position prevented many women to receive an education or to socialize outside of the home. As a result of their inferior social status, they were expected to be submissive and to cater to her husband’s needs at all times. Women in Shakespearean time were also treated as property, either by their husbands or fathers, which diminished any sense of self-worth they may have possessed. This gender ideology ultimately paralyzed women, as the majority were helpless to alter their social standing or designated familial role.

    Read More

  • Comparing Women As Propriety In The Merchant Of Venice and The Taming Of the Shrew

    2877 Words  | 6 Pages

    "We may say that the dominant ideas in most societies are the ideas of the dominant sex, associated and mingled with those of dominant class." (Chedgzoy, pg.50) During the Elizabethan time men dominated society. Historically speaking males have always held more power then females in most cultures. Although a few cultures were Matriarchal societies. Yet even in these cultures women were not the superior power but were valued as equal to men. Most of the matriarchal societies viewed women as the embodiment of the goddess. Women have never been the sole dominant sex in a society. The fall of the Matriarchal societies occurred mostly from the organization of Christianity. The Christian ideals taught that women were not intended to have influential roles in society. In the Elizabethan era women were in a weak social position. In addition when Shakespeare writes about women he encompasses the complex issues that socially surround females. Shakespeare allows the audience to observe issues that effect their own factual society acted out on stage. At this time the society was definitely patriarchal, where women were viewed as inferior. In addition women had little to no power over there own lives. Fathers viewed their daughters as their propriety. Which left daughters in a powerless position. The power that women did have was their personal sexuality, virginity was prized and seen as a jewel. Once daughters were married their husbands also valued them as propriety. "Marriages were still arranged, as they had been in the Middle Ages, to further the interests of land-owning families. On marriage all the girl's legal rights ceas...

    Read More

  • Examing the Interracial Marriage of Othello and Desdemona

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    Centuries ago in Elizabethan England there were many traditions about marriage and the treatment of women. One strong tradition of these times was the practice of marriage between races. Interracial marriages were considered extremely taboo. (High Beam). In this era marriages were arranged by the parents with strong help from the local church. The individuals had little choice as to who they would marry. (Elizabethan England Life). Yet another example of these traditions was the respectable treatment of women. While the husband was in charge of his wife, as was the father, the husband were expected to treat the women right (Elizbethi). In spurning all of these traditions, Shakespeare demonstrates a view of marriage far different from that of Elizabethan England, in doing this he is trying to plant new ideas in the people who read or view the play.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing"

    1497 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, gender role in Elizabethan era is very complex with respect to women’s role. Men are the masters of the home and society; they preside over every aspect of life. They are however, expected to take care of their family and also be actively involved in politics, war, and they inherit their father’s properties. Women role varied a according to their social status. All women were raised to be subservient to men. Unlike upper class women, lower class women were denied any kind of education. And all women are expected to get married and bear children. The qualities Shakespeare gave Beatrice are very significant because it contrasts traditional Elizabethan theater. Gender role has evolved over time, especially women’s role and it will continue to evolve as long as there are women like Beatrice around.

    Read More

  • Portia's Power in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

    2454 Words  | 5 Pages

    Before we move to the main argument, there is a question to be answered: what did it mean to be masculine or feminine in the Elizabethan era? Russ McDonald's The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare is an excellent source in making this distinction. According to McDonald, women were expected to concern themselves with marriage and motherhood only, and to submit themselves to their fathers and then their husbands in all ways. Considered "weaker vessels," women were not held to have either "strength or constancy of mind." Subordination, submission, and skill in caregiving were valued in women, and they we...

    Read More

  • Romeo And Juliet: Gender Roles In The Elizabethan Era

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pleasing their husbands, parents, and families were all things women should aspire to do. At the beginning of the play, Juliet follows gender conventions. She always obeyed her parents and did what they wanted her to do. After Juliet meets Romeo, things change dramatically. Juliet breaks gender conventions by denying her parents request for her to marry her suitor Paris, something that was unheard of in Elizabethan times. It is said that “Marriages were usually arranged by the families of the bride and the groom in order for both sides to benefit from one another” (Women's Rights in Romeo and Juliet 1). When Juliet's father finds out she does not want to marry Paris, her father says “Hang thee, young baggage, disobedient wretch!

    Read More

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream - Battle of the Sexes

    576 Words  | 2 Pages

    Similar to other works by Shakespeare, such as The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream embellishes the pressures that arise between genders dealing with complicated family and romantic situations. The plot includes a duke who is going to marry a woman he conquered in battle, the king and queen of the fairies embroiled in a fight so fierce that it unbalances the natural world, and a daughter fighting with her father for her right to marry the man she chooses. The girl’s father selects Demetrius to marry his daughter, but she is in love with another man, Lysander, who loves her in return, and her friend Helena is in love Demetrius, but he wants nothing to do with her. Considering the fact that males were dominant during that era, whereas, men chased women, and women remained submissive, Shakespeare dallies with those traditional roles and there are several possible reasons why. Perhaps he made women a stronger force in his plays because he wanted to give his audience a break fr...

    Read More

  • Macbeth Sexism Essay

    1394 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women have always been the backbone of human civilization, whether it be in ancient times or even in the modern era. However, they are oppressed and not given the same fundamental, human rights as men, like access to education, leaving this discrimination and sexism to span over prolonged periods of time. Specifically, sexism is seen during the Elizabethan Era of history when William Shakespeare writes his prominent dramatic piece, Macbeth. In Shakespeare’s tragedy, the prevalent theme of sexism is depicted in the play when Lady Macbeth, a character of strength and ambition, is shown as manipulative and inevitably weak when Shakespeare portrays her eventual downfall and suicide. Throughout the world today, the many different forms of sexism

    Read More

  • Love and Marriage an Affliction or an Alliance: Deceit and Betrayal in Shakespeare’s Richard III

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the Middle Ages and Renaissance period marriage and love were idealized, divine and celebrated. Weddings were large events that included the entire families of both the groom and the bride. Reality was different; women were viewed as being fickle, inferior to men and a possession of men. Women had very little, if any, choice in who they would marry. Marriages were arranged so that both families would benefit in gaining wealth or power. Even though the ruler of England for over 4 decades was female, women were still not respected. Women were kept at home and not allowed to take place in public events. In Shakespeare’s Richard III, male and female relationships are displayed as deeply cynical and are based on lies, lust and political gain.

    Read More

  • Power Of Women In Othello

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A Midsummer Night’s Dream - The Feminist Subtext

    1900 Words  | 4 Pages

    In order to accurately describe the role of women in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, one must first explore the female characters in the text. Shakespeare's works had few females because women were not allowed to act in London in the late 1500s and early 1600s. Disregarding the standards imposed on women of his time, Shakespeare created many female characters that were strong-willed, intelligent, and daring. Hermia of A Midsummer Night's Dream is one such character. She disobeys her father, her king, and the Athenian law so that she might marry the love of her life. She discards all the luxuries of her familiar and comfortable existence for the uncertainties of a distant land in exchange for the freedom to love Lysander. The only complaint against Hermia by feminist critics stems from her willingness to defy one set of confinements derived and maintained by men-her father, the king, and the male authors of Athenian law-to become the subordinate of yet another man. However, even though she rebels away from the limitations she ultimately runs towards, she is much more indep...

    Read More

  • Sexism In Shakespeare

    1404 Words  | 3 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Patriarchy In Elizabethan Times

    698 Words  | 2 Pages

    What is patriarchy, you ask? It affected many women in the 1300s and still does today. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet takes place in Elizabethan times, where patriarchy is inevitable. Patriarchy is usually where the father or eldest male in the family has power over the household. Women were largely excluded from any major decisions and they did as they were told.

    Read More

  • What Is Gender Equality In Shakespeare

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    "A woman is human. She is not better, wiser, stronger, more intelligent, more creative, or more responsible than a man. Likewise, she is never less. Equality is a given. A woman is human.” Vera Nazarian said. Nowadays, gender equality becomes a popular topic; however, the rootstock of inequality between men and women took root since several years ago even in fiction. Shakespeare’s sister, by the name of Judith, is a fictional character that created by Virginia Woolf. Did Shakespeare have a sister? We do not know; however, if she did exist, she would be unnoticed. She definitely existed in fiction that Virginia Woolf describes a story about Shakespeare and what if he had a sister. What kind of life would she have? Would she get high level of education as same as her brother? Would she be a playwright like her brother if they had same talent? Virginia Woolf imagined Judith in “Shakespeare’s Sister” which is a story about how women are treated and what types of opportunities they have in the Elizabethan Age compared to men.

    Read More

  • How Does Chaucer Use Satire In The Wife Of Bath's Tale

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    Chaucer makes this evident in “The Wife of Bath's Tale” which bring’s a new perspective on how women and men truly did not have equality during the time of the renaissance. The men choose to give the women some freedom but the men still had the final say which was feud because women still wanted to be the breadwinner and be the head honcho no matter

    Read More

More about Elizabethan Gender Inequality

Open Document