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William Shakespeare's portrayal of women
Shakespeare's attitudes toward women
Women in the Renaissance
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Empowerment of Women in Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, and The Taming of the Shrew
In Shakespeare’s comedies, many – possibly even most - of the female characters are portrayed as being manipulated, if not controlled outright, by the men in their lives: fathers, uncles, suitors, husbands. And yet, there are women inhabiting Shakespeare’s comedic world who seem to enjoy a greater degree of autonomy and personal power than one would expect in a patriarchal society. Superficially, therefore, Shakespeare’s comedies appear to send mixed signals regarding the notion of female empowerment. Some women are strong and independent, others are completely submissive, and the behavior of either seems to be influenced more by theme or plot than by any qualities within the characters themselves.
A closer look, though, should make it evident that this is not the case; as in many of Shakespeare’s plays, appearances can be deceiving. In some cases, the exterior behavior is a deliberate façade to mask the character’s real feelings; in others, it is an acculturated veneer that is burned away as a result of the play’s events. Despite their outward appearances, though, most of these comedic women belong to one of two opposing archetypes. An examination of these archetypes allows the reader to see past such deceptions to the real personality beneath.
The “Daughter” and “Niece” Archetypes
Within Shakespeare’s comedies, many of the female characters are portrayed as submissive and easily controlled. Like dutiful daughters, these women submit to patriarchal repression with little complaint.
Perhaps the best example of a “daughter” character in Shakespearean comedy is the role of Hero in Much Ado About Nothing. Hero is completely under the control of her father Leonato, especially with regard to courtship. When, in Act Two, Leonato believes that Don Pedro may seek Hero’s hand in marriage, he orders Hero to welcome the prince’s advances despite the difference in their ages: “Daughter, remember what I told you. If the Prince do solicit you in that kind, you know your answer” (II.i.61-3). Thus we see that Leonato controls not only Hero’s actions, but even her words as well.
In fact, Hero is so thoroughly repressed by the male-dominated society in which she lives that she submits not only to her father’s will, but to that of nearly every other man in the play. She is easily wooed and won by Don Pedro posing as Claudio (II.
Many people agree that Sony’s Playstation 4 is better than Microsoft’s Xbox One and vice versa. I have been gaming since I was seven years old and still am today. The first gaming console I ever had was the original Xbox. Throughout the years though, technology has improved vastly. The last generation of game consoles gave the industry a much needed boost and gave the consumer another commodity. With the eighth generation of consoles just arriving, a lot of people are wondering which console to buy. There is, however, more than just the choice of games. There’s differences in processors, graphics cards, hard drives, design, operating systems, ports, versatility, stability, controllers, and, of course, the games.
Pitt, Angela. "Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies." Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint of Shakespeare's Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.
Sentence bargaining sometimes occurs in high profile cases where the prosecutor does not want to reduce the charges against the defendant, usually for fear of how the newspapers will react. A sentence bargain may allow the prosecutor to obtain a conviction to the most serious charge, while assuring the defendant of an a...
Plea bargains are highly prevalent in the popular television series Law and Order. If a random episode is chosen, there is a high chance that lawyers in the show have offered a plea bargain. While many people would believe that media skews the public’s understanding of how often plea bargains occur, however, this is actually an appropriate representation. According to Heumann, approximately 10% of criminal cases actually continue on to trial (Heumann, 1975). Similarly, as stated by Menkel-Meadow, plea bargains are the reason why there may be congestion in the courts, but a low number of criminals are actually jailed (Menkel-Meadow, 2005).
Imagine getting a ticket and deciding not to pay the fine by the deadline. The court will issue a notice for you to pay for it or you will be charged for misdemeanor. You have the option to go to court and if you can’t afford a private lawyer, then the court will assign you a public defender, or a lawyer appointed by the court of no cost to you.Your right to have a lawyer and a fair trial is protected by the Sixth Amendment. These clauses are enforced by Gideon v. Wainwright, where the Supreme Court ruled that a criminal defendant has the right to have legal counsel if they could not afford one (“Facts and Case Summary – Gideon v. Wainwright”).
Being a citizen of the United States comes with advantages that no other country can match. We are granted rights and privileges just for being born within our borders. Others can also gain these rights by adopting our way of life and swearing to uphold its values. Being a citizen or not, we are expected to obey laws that the U.S. Government has put in place to maintain order and balance. When we don’t obey these laws the government has the right to punish us. Luckily for us, our Bill of Rights has even granted us rights until proven guilty. It gives us rights to a fair and speedy trial as well as the right to representation during trial. So many rights and procedures have come about since the birth of our nation. We are constantly making new rules to help uphold the old rules and deciding if the old rules still apply. One practice that has been used during trial has no mention in the Bill of Rights, but has been held as constitutional is plea-bargaining.
The Elizabethan society in which Shakespeare lived during his life held a misogynistic ideology in high esteem. ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ was written in 1598-9, during a time when women were second class citizens compared to males and were considered to be inferior to males in every way. As soon as she was born, a female was her father's property until she was married off by her family when she then became her husband's property. A woman was expected to be seen and not heard, she was to be chaste and submissive. Women were uneducated and undervalued, they were not their own person.
Plea-bargaining constitutes one of the staples of the American Criminal Justice system. The practice entails an agreement between the prosecutor and the defendant in criminal cases where for the most part the defendant forgoes his trial by pleading guilty to his respective charges. By pleading guilty, the defendant receives a less severe charge compared to the original. The plea by the defendant saves an enormous amount of time for both parties since they do not allocate resources in order to prepare for trial. Similarly, the availability of money is also a factor of the plea-bargaining practice because instead the defendants can save a substantial amount of money the trial might cost. Theoretically, with the majority of criminal cases using
Pitt, Angela. “Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies.” Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.
Neely, Carol Thomas. "Shakespeare's Women: Historical Facts and Dramatic Representations." In Holland, Norman N., Sidney Homan, and Bernard J. Paris, eds. Shakespeare's Personality. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.
Much Ado About Nothing is traditionally known as a comedy, but gender is an obvious theme in this play. To me this play challenges the gender inequality of this time period through its main female roles. Beatrice is a challenge to the traditional woman of the Elizabethan era, who is represented by Hero. Beatrice is seen as a sharp, outspoken, independent woman, while Hero is a quiet, polite and obedient woman. The stark differences between these characters shines a light onto the gender inequality of Shakespeare time. This paper will argue that Beatrice and her cousin Hero are used to show the gender inequality of the the Elizabethan era.
The portrayal of gender roles in William Shakespeare’s play Othello, demonstrates the inferior treatment of women and the certain stereotypes of men placed on them by society. Both the male and female characters in the play have these certain gender expectations placed on them. In a society dominated by men, it is understood that the women are to be seen rather than heard. The women are referred to and treated much like property. If indeed they do speak up, they are quickly silenced. One woman’s attempt to be the perfect wife is what ultimately led to her demise. The expectations of men are equally stereotypical. Men are to be leaders and to be in control and dominant especially over the women. The male characters compete for position and use the female characters in the play as leverage to manipulate each other. Shakespeare provides insight in understanding the outcomes of the men and women who are faced with the pressures of trying to live up to society’s expectations, not only in the workplace, but also in the home. The pressure creates jealousy issues amongst the men and they become blind to the voice of reason and are overtaken by jealous rage, leads to the death of many of the characters.
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.
Pitt, Angela. “Women in Shakespeare’s Tragedies.” Readings on The Tragedies. Ed. Clarice Swisher. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1996. Reprint from Shakespeare’s Women. N.p.: n.p., 1981.
Neely, Carol Thomas. “Shakespeare’s Women: Historical Facts and Dramatic Representations.” Shakespeare’s Personality. Ed. Norman N. Holland, Sidney Homan, and Bernard J. Paris. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989. 116-134.