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Shakespeare during elizabethan era gender roles
Gender roles in William Shakespeare
Shakespeare's thoughts about gender roles in his plays
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"Much Ado about Nothing" reflects gender expectations of the time period in plenty of ways. In this play every woman had to be pure for the man that chooses to marry them or who their father chooses for them to marry. For the guys in the play it was all about either not wanting love or about marrying the girl they love. Also it was like the upper class marries upper class and lower class marries lower class. In this time period it was also like the women needed a man to take care of them because the people thought women were weaker than men.
"Much Ado about Nothing" also goes against gender expectations for this time period in a few ways. This comedy goes against gender expectations in one the way they talk. Beatrice and Benedick hated each
William Shakespeare said: “Women may fall when there's no strength in men” (Romeo and Juliet). Throughout history gender role have been a big, whether someone is a feminist or someone believes there is no equality between males and females; everyone has different opinions when it comes to the matter of gender roles. The same thing can be said about William Shakespeare who was a feminist (Shakespeare of Stratford). This ideology can be seen in his play Much Ado about Nothing. In this comedy Shakespeare focuses on two pairs of lovers named Claudio and Hero who are set to be married in a week but before their marriage day, they plan to conspire with Don Pedro, the prince of Aragon to trick their friends Beatrice and Benedick to admit their love for each other. Don John, the brother of Don Pedro, meanwhile plots to prevent marriage of Claudio and Hero by accusing Hero of being unfaithful. Don John initially succeeds in his plan as Hero is accused and ashamed at the marriage ceremony, but at the end Claudio and Hero are united and marry each other. Also, Beatrice and Benedick finally declare their love for each and dance at the end of the play. Shakespeare uses a lot of sources for this comedy and one of them is “Orlando Furioso” written in 1591, which gave Shakespeare the idea of Hero and Claudio’s marriage and Don John’s plot to prevent it. Another source Shakespeare used to write the play is the courtier written in 1588, which gave him the idea of the romance between Beatrice and Benedick. And also “La Prima de la Novelle” written in 1554 by Matteo Bandello gave Shakespeare the idea of putting the setting in Messina, Italy (Shakespeare in quarto). Because Shakespeare was a feminist, some of the women appear as supporting and central...
In the first essay, written by Jean Howard, the main idea or thesis seems to focus on the antitheatrical aspects of the play. The actual thesis would be Shakespeare employs antitheatrical discourse in a way that advantages certain social groups without calling attention to the fact that it does that. Howard takes a Marxist approach to the play. She looks at how the conflict intertwines itself and makes a constant reference to the social aspects of each of the characters in the play. Howard starts by giving general ideas where she gives a brief summary of the main plot of the story that involves Don John, Don Pedro, and Claudio. She reads the play in relationship to antitheatrical tracts. This makes the political dimensions more apparent in the work. The play itself speaks to several different senses of social class. Although Much Ado about Nothing is a play, it mirrors the world as it was. It deals with the power being put in the hands of the "status quo" and it makes mention of the social order, especially the fear of women who want the same power as men.
William Shakespeare often described the women in his plays as being strong, confident individuals, much different from the stereotypical roles of the time period in which he lived. In Much Ado about Nothing, the main character____(look up) ---{describe role}. Similarly, in Macbeth, {discuss role of Lady Macbeth} The women of Othello also displayed characteristics of strong, modern women. ....
Since the beginning of time women have been viewed as weak and inferior to men. It wasn't until 1839 that women could even own property, before that a father would give the land to his sons and just skip over their daughters (Mcgree and Moore). The reasons a father would skip his daughters' inheritance was because women were thought to be unable to handle the responsibilities of holding land or any job. Shakespeare plays on these stereotypes of women by placing Emilia, Desdemona, and Bianca in Othello. These three women portray the expectations placed upon women during the Elizabethan era. Othello displays different examples of the expectations of the Elizabethan patriarchal society and the suppression of females. Although Shakespeare isn't
A product of their time: Sexual Equality in Much Ado about Nothing Written in a time of patriarchal societies, with a distinct hierarchy of sexes, it was no surprise that even the strongest willed women eventually conformed to the norms of the 16th century. Behind all the comedy, laughter and wordplay, Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing began to explore the much more controversial topic of Sexual Equality in the Elizabethan Era. As we continue reading the comedy, we begin to see how the play sought to challenge and deafest the norms of gender roles through Shakespeare’s strategic selection of the female characters.
The age of Shakespeare was characterized by an overwhelming tendency for women to be looked down upon as the inferior gender. Women of the time were expected to be submissive, dutiful, obedient, and predominantly silent. The idea of an independent, out-spoken woman would have challenged all of the societal values of the time. Shakespeare, however, challenged the traditional patriarchal values of his time by introducing powerful and highly influential female characters in some of his most memorable plays.
The way women were treated, as animals, forced to obey and listen to every command their husbands had to say, and how their weddings were treated like business transactions. Women were treated terribly in the Elizabethan times. In the play it shows how badly and terrible there were treated, many of them do. This also shows his the personalities of character changes at different times and environments, becoming more obeying or disobeying a master, but everything has gotten better since then, and one may agree that how women are treated now is immensely better than the way they were treated before.
Throughout Shakespeare’s play, Othello, women are portrayed to obey the expectations of society.
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare focuses on the enormous gap between the power of men and where women stand. Women were expected to be obedient and dependent on men, innocent, and were also expected to be good wives. Shakespeare wanted women to see how the roles are changing for the better. In this play, there is difference between the traditional roles of women back then, and the ones that stand out from the rest. He depicts this through two characters. In the opening scene, where characters and their personalities, and roles are established; Hero has only one line, which is seven words. Even said that, these lines are just a comment on Beatrice. Hero is the daughter and the property of her father, Leonato. Her helplessness comes from her being overprotected by her father, and the need to obey him. Beatrice, by contrast, does not have a father, she lives on her witty personality and her intelligence. Beatrice has a dream to spend her life “where the bachelors sit, and there live we, as merry as the day is long” (2.1.40-46) When Leonato tells Hero, “Daughter, remember what I told you: if the prince do solicit you in that kind, you know your answer,” (2.1.60-63) she just stands there, silently obeying her father. Hero’s looks are her only advantage as a women, as they are what attracts Claudio. He falls in love with her at first sight in the first act, based only on her appearance.
Society And Its View On Women As Seen In Hamlet It is not doubtful that women are treated badly around the world, especially in western societies. As a result, Shakespeare reflects upon this issue in his plays to show how women were treated in Elizabethan society, for people at that time used to look at women inferior to men. They despised them and prevented them from their absolute rights. In " Feminist Criticism: Female Characters in Shakespeare’s Plays Othello and Hamlet ", Sara Ekici discusses that women in Elizabethan age played limited roles in the society; they were weaker than men, and they did not have choices because they were controlled by their fathers when they were single, and controlled by husbands when they were married. Therefore, Shakespeare reflects upon how society deals with women in Hamlet.
During the Elizabethan Age, women were expected to follow a strict code of conduct. In the article “Feminine Identities in A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” George Steppat writes, “Women in the Elizabethan period … were subservient to men and they had no will and choice of their own. They remained completely dependent on their male relatives, believing that they were inferior to them” (Steppat). Subsequently, the female characters portrayed in Shakespeare’s plays conform to the rigid guidelines set for women of his time. In his play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, men’s dominance over women is especially prevalent. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare uses Hippolyta, Hermia, Helena and Titania's relationships to express the social dominance
Shakespeare's "Othello" can be deciphered frame a women's activist viewpoint when perusing the play. A women's activist examination of the play "Othello" gives us a chance to see the diverse social values and how ladies were seen in the Elizabethan culture. Othello is a case to show the desires of the Elizabethan culture. As indicated by the Elizabethan culture, ladies were just expected to wed. As their single occupation, marriage was their most imperative thing to be centered around. Ladies should be submissive to their spouses and all men when all is said in done. Ladies were thought to be lesser to men.
In Elizabethan England, a woman’s character was frequently attributed to societal expectations of their gender. William Shakespeare’s Othello presents women, namely Desdemona and Emilia, as women who were not limited by their gender. As someone who lived in Elizabethan England, Shakespeare could have easily portrayed the men and women as stereotypical members of that society. That would mean that the women would be depicted as inferior to men, expected to obey the will of the men in their lives, and act delicate and submissive whereas the men’s role was to hold power and authority over women. Shakespeare kept the mold of the men virtually the same but created women who would additionally possess strength and self-respect. By being more than
... the consequences of such changing times—especially the women, who hoped to continue pretending that they were happy with their lives, and that they were truly loved. The play was an eye opener to most of that era. Through the quote “You don’t understand the conditions of the world in which you live” (Ibsen, 77) we can see that women were thought to be naive and inexperienced while the men where knowledgeable and worldly.
Throughout human history, there have been an endless amount of conflicts regarding gender roles where women are now fighting for their rights and becoming more powerful than ever before. In his play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare portrays several characters conforming to traditional customs and gender roles however, in this play some women portray behaviours that go against these norms and societal ideas at the time. Through Helena’s desperation, Hermia’s recklessness and Hippolyta’s hypocritical behaviour, as they go against society’s standards, Shakespeare’s view on women are depicted. In this day and age, women do have their own rights and are obliged to go to work- they are no longer treated as possession like the were during the