Evolution of Women’s Roles From the 1500’s to Today

726 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Traditional roles of women in society

Women have always played a role in society, but the real question at hand is how has the role of women been modified since Shakespeare’s time to today. “Men’s role in society was valued much more than woman's role” (Writework 01). Women weren’t as appreciated and thought to be needed in society during Shakespeare’s time. They took care of basic home needs and kids, while the men did everything else that would be classified as ‘more important.’ Women now have evolved and are much more of a necessity and an importance in day to day life. There are several ways that women’s roles have evolved, three specific examples will be given: the importance or unimportance of the role of women in the 1500’s, the changes that have occurred for women in society and their role today - in the 21st century.
Throughout the 1500’s and into the 1600’s, in many different parts of the world, “women were considered subordinate to men” (Women Today 01) and did not have the same rights. Men were in charge of doing laborious jobs and bringing in money for their families, while women had two basic roles: taking care of the home and the kids. Of course, taking care of the home was an enormous responsibility when paired with raising numerous kids - Men often thought that the women had it easy compared to them. At that point in time, female children were taught to be home keepers. They learned the basic chores that they would be responsible for as they got older, and would need to know in order to run a household. While taking care of the home and children was their main duty, they also learned to read the bible. When they would read the bible, they would take the time to read to their children and also teach them how to read (History of Women 01). ...

... middle of paper ...

...ng characters in our world. Although women are still considered subordinate to men in some areas of the world, it is safe to say that that is not accurate in more than half of today’s world’s society.

Works Cited

Citations

Bevington, David, ed.The Complete Works of Shakespeare.4th ed.New York: Longman-Addison Wesley Longman, 1997.
Shakespeare, William.As You Like It.Bevington 288-325.
Much Ado About Nothing.Bevington 216-51.
The Taming of the Shrew.Bevington 108-46. http://www.historyofwomen.org/oppression.html Women in the Middle Ages (Early 1400’s- late 1500’s). (2004, June 07). In WriteWork.com. Retrieved 18:27. March 06. 2014. from http://www.writework.com/essay/women-middle-ages-early-1400s-late-1500s
Women in the U.S. Today.By Sonia Kane and Suzanne McCabe http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4975
http://www.unification.net/misc/21-women.html

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Margery Kempe And Elizabeth I's Letter To Sir Walter Raleigh

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    The English attitudes towards gender are reflected in the literacy works of Margery Kempe and Elizabeth I’s letter to Sir Walter Raleigh. Within these two works, the women, especially, challenge the attitudes towards gender roles. First of all, women were expected to be domesticated, meaning all their duties lied within the home and the marriage. The women were responsible for taking care of the children/family and being obedient to their husband.

    Read More

  • Role of Women Between the 11th and 15th centuries.

    589 Words  | 2 Pages

    The role of women in learning and education underwent a gradual change in the Afro-Eurasian world and the Americas between the 11th and 15th centuries. As societies in Africa, Middle East, India, China, Europe, and America grew more complex they created new rights and new restrictions for women. In all regions of the world but the Middle East, society allowed women to maintain education in order to support themselves and their occupations. Women slaves in the Middle East were, however, prized on their intelligence. In Africa, women were trained in culinary arts. In India, women learned how to read and write with the exception of the sacred verses of the Vedas.

    Read More

  • One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Gender Roles

    828 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although steps have been made towards equality in the aspect of gender, plays such as Hamlet contain views of the past. Hamlet was written in the early 1600’s, which is known as the Renaissance period. In this time period, women were treated differently than they are now. During the

    Read More

  • The Slipping Slope of Sovereignty: Hamlet by William Shakespeare

    1222 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before the Middle Ages, women were societally submissive to male supremacy. As the Middle Ages progressed, one develops a sense that women sought a change in societal order. Upset that they are not able to share their beliefs due to their position, women began to become more vocal. In comparing two great poets Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare, one sees a connection in their most well known works. Chaucer's view on women, demonstrated by the “Wife of Bath’s Tale” and the Wife’s belief that all women desire sovereignty, is welcomed by William Shakespeare but not achievable by Hamlet’s female protagonists, Gertrude and Ophelia.

    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

  • How Does Sylvia Plath Use Gender Stereotypes In The Bell Jar

    1295 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women “were expected to bear children, stay home, cook and clean, and take care of the children” (Cobb 29). They were expected to be weak, timid, domestic, emotional, dependent, and pure. Women were taught to be physically and emotionally inferior in addition morally superior to men. During this time, women were ostracized for expressing characteristics and wants that contradicted those ideals. For women, the areas of influence are home and children, whereas men’s sphere includes work and the outside world” (Brannon 161).

    Read More

  • Lady Macbeth: A Dynamic Character

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kemp, Theresa D. Women in the Age of Shakespeare. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2009. Print.

    Read More

  • Diverse Roles of Women in the Renaissance Era

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cloud, Amanda. Gender Roles of Women in the Renaissance. n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2009. < http://www2.cedarcrest.edu/academic/eng/lfletcher/shrew/acloud.htm >.

    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

  • The Role of Women in Richard II

    2164 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout the historical literary periods, many writers underrepresented and undervalued the role of women in society, even more, they did not choose to yield the benefits of the numerous uses of the female character concerning the roles which women could accomplish as plot devices and literary tools. William Shakespeare was one playwright who found several uses for female characters in his works. Despite the fact that in Shakespeare's history play, Richard II, he did not use women in order to implement the facts regarding the historical events. Instead, he focused the use of women roles by making it clear that female characters significantly enriched the literary and theatrical facets of his work. Furthermore in Shakespeare’s history play, King Richard II, many critics have debated the role that women play, especially the queen. One of the arguments is that Shakespeare uses the queen’s role as every women’s role to show domestic life and emotion. Jo McMurtry explains the role of all women in his book, Understanding Shakespeare’s England A Companion for the American Reader, he states, “Women were seen, legally and socially, as wives. Marriage was a permanent state” (5). McMurtry argues that every woman’s role in the Elizabethan society is understood to be a legal permanent state that is socially correct as wives and mothers. Other critics believe that the role of the queen was to soften King Richard II’s personality for the nobles and commoners opinion of him. Shakespeare gives the queen only a few speaking scenes with limited lines in Acts two, four, and five through-out the play. Also, she is mentioned only a few times by several other of the characters of the play and is in multiple scenes wit...

    Read More

  • Women Roles In The 19th Century

    1395 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women roles have changed drastically in the last 50 to 80 years, women no longer have to completely conform to society’s gender roles and now enjoy the idea of being individuals. Along with the evolution of women roles in society, women presence and acceptance have drastically grown in modern literature. In early literature it was common to see women roles as simply caretakers, wives or as background; women roles and ideas were nearly non-existent and was rather seen than heard. The belief that women were more involved in the raising of children and taking care of the household was a great theme in many early literatures; women did not get much credit for being apart of the frontier and expansion of many of the nations success until much later.

    Read More

  • Feminism In Othello Essay

    1641 Words  | 4 Pages

    In his novel, Othello, he uses the courage of the women in his literature to depict how women should be treated, and to contrast from how little respect they once obtained. The society in Shakespeare’s Othello is strongly dominated by men who were the political and military leaders of their homeland during the Elizabethan era. These men are expected to stay loyal to their reputations and to uphold the strong sense of character that earned them their positions in the first place. In contrast, during the Elizabethan period of time women were viewed as weak second-class citizens and inferior to males, with their only job being to serve their men.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Shakespeare A Man Ahead Of His Time

    1592 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the times in which Shakespeare lived, women had certain roles which ensured they were a permanent underclass to men. In Women in Shakespeare’s world by Theresa D. Kemp, Kemp states that “The roles of early modern women included daughters and wives, sisters and mothers; they learned and worked and played but for the most part they were not expected to be school girls (whining or otherwise) As women they were expected to be the slightly beautiful beloved and not the balladeer. Women were not seen as fit to play soldier or the judge. And as keepers of the homes and the households, as in our own time, women withdrawn from a “world too wide” ( 29). This quote from Kemp shows how victorian women were seen a just a pretty face to do as told. They were to be obedient and non opinionated. A woman of that time period was very objectified and used, basically women weren't real people.

    Read More

  • Women's Place In Julius Caesar Research Paper

    325 Words  | 1 Pages

    Throughout many generations, a woman's role in society has continuously been to stay home; cook, clean and to take care of her children. Now that society has become more modernized, women have been allowed to obtain steady jobs and are allowed to compensate other women to accompany their children. Although women have been allowed this, they are still expected to arrive home; cook their families dinner and still clean up after. On the downside as well, women have been easy targets for work discrimination, sexual assault, domestic violence and even just being blamed for something they did not do. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, the author, William Shakespeare, demonstrates a woman's place in society in several ways.

    Read More

  • Changes in the Roles of Women

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    The roles of women changed drastically between 1950’s and 1970’s due to the political, economic, and social issues, but women’s lives also stayed close to the way they had always been. The lives of women changed in a plethora of ways throughout the years. “We believe that women can achieve such equality only by accepting to full the challenges and responsibilities they share with all other people in our society, as part of the decision-making mainstream of American political, economic, and social life” (Statement of Purpose, 1966).

    Read More

More about Evolution of Women’s Roles From the 1500’s to Today

Open Document