Mighty Women

647 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Shakespeare's love and marriage

“Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men.” Joseph Conrad. Women have to deal with several whining children, distressed husbands(sometimes they don’t always listen to what the wife has to say), mean girls, and life in general. In the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, he demonstrates the importance of Brutus’ wife Portia and Caesar’s wife Calphurnia, both possess a loyal, and caring relationship with their husbands; however, it is shown in different ways.
The concern each of the women show towards their husbands is remarkable. “Is Brutus sick, and is it physical/ To walk unbracèd and stuck up the humors/ Of the dank morning?/ What, is Brutus sick…”(2.1.161-163). Portia simply asks what is bothering her dear husband, Brutus, whom she confides in. Calphurnia sees omens and tells Caesar to be careful. “Caesar, I never stood on ceremonies,/ yet now they frighten me. There is within/ Besides the things that we have heard and seen/ Recents most horrid sights seen by the watch./ A lioness hath whelpèd in the streets/ And graves have yawned and yielded up their dead.../ Oh Caesar! These things are beyond all use,/ And I do fear them” (2.2.13-27). Each spouse shows great concern, but their male counterparts do not seem understand their concern.
“It is not for your health thus to commit/ Your weak condition to the raw, cold morning” (2.1.243-244). Brutus does not want to trouble Portia with his problems so early in the morning; thus leading to Portia’s response.
Nor for yours neither. Y' have ungently, Brutus,/ Stole from my bed. And yesternight, at supper,/ You suddenly arose and walked about,/ Musing and sighing, with your arms across,/ And when I asked you what the ma...

... middle of paper ...

...ce,/ And not my husbands secrets?” (2.1.291-302). In this quote, she shows great loyalty-she even stabbed herself in the thigh! The might and will of Portia towards her husband is amazing!
Through out the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, he demonstrates the importance of Brutus’ wife Portia and Caesar's wife Calphurnia each of which have a loyal but different relationship with their spouses. “Set a huge mountain ‘tween my heart and tongue!/ I have a man’s mind but a woman’s might!/ How hard is it for women to keep counsel!” (2.4.7-9). It doesn’t matter if she is a woman-she is strong regardless.

Works Cited
Conrad, Joseph. "Quotes About Women." Goodreads. GoodReads, 2014. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Crowther, John, ed. “No Fear Julius Caesar.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 22 Mar. 2014.
Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print

Show More
Related

  • Gender Roles In Julius Caesar

    1577 Words  | 4 Pages

    Obviously nobility and honour are a theme of this play and Blits clearly states that the main women of this play such as Portia does not fit into the role of an honorable character, even when she is married to the “Most honourable man in Rome.” According to Blits, “Rome is a man’s world. No one in Caesar has a good word for women.” Once again he is being sexist, not one bit of respect for women but this fits right into the play, the people of Rome seem to be somewhat of a sheep that don’t stand out.

    Read More

  • Compare/Contrast Julius Caesar to Alexander the Great

    1011 Words  | 3 Pages

    Allen, Janet. "Julius Caesar." Holt McDougal Literature. Orlando, FL: Holt McDougal/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. N. pag. Print.

    Read More

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

    2454 Words  | 5 Pages

    Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice exemplifies a principle that is as unfortunately true in our time as it was in his - he who has money also has love, sex, and above all, power. In this case, the use of 'he' is deliberate; 'she,' in the Elizabethan era, rarely had either financial independence or much control over the course of her life. Portia, the deceitful heroine of the play, is a major exception. To put it bluntly, Portia is enormously rich. This unique position allows her to meddle in the affairs of the unsuspecting and somewhat dim male characters, and eventually gives her unprecedented power of self-determination. However, the play is more than a tale of feminine wiles overcoming male dullness of wit. Portia's wealth and intelligence may fuel her successes in marriage and the courtroom, but in each case it is her ability to usurp traditionally masculine roles that guarantees her victory. As Portia exploits the codependence of wealth, masculinity, and public power in her society, she becomes the only woman in the play who consistently controls her own destiny.

    Read More

  • Women In Othello

    1216 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Othello: A Study of Prejudice and Power Imbalance

    928 Words  | 2 Pages

    During this time period, the men would work to support their family. Additionally, the woman would stay at home and care for her husband and children. This society thought of women as weaker than men. They were often treated as possessions of their husbands, “This concurs with Othello 's own insight when he describes murderous jealousy as innate in the husband-wife relationship which posits the wife as the exclusive possession of the husband and is thus at odds with the human condition wherein one can never know another person 's inmost thoughts and desires” (Vanita 342).The language Shakespeare uses in the play supports that men seemed freer than women. When Brabantio speaks of his daughter he describes her as obedient. Likewise, Desdemona obeyed Othello’s orders and stated she is indeed obedient to him. When Othello was convinced Desdemona was cheating on him he proceeded to murder

    Read More

  • Treatment Of Women In Othello

    1665 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the Shakespearean time women were treated as inferiors. The three women in Othello, Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca encountered many degrading and unfortunate situations. They were to be obedient. The women had to comply with the commands, orders, and the instructions of the men. Women were made to believe that they had no rights. The men would publicly humiliate the three women. It was difficult for the women to stand up for themselves due to that time in society. In Shakespeare’s play Othello, he portrayed the three women to be viewed as obedient, loyal, and submissive to their husbands.

    Read More

  • Women´s Portrayal in Shakespeare´s Othello

    1426 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    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

  • Much Ado About Nothing - A Feminist Perspective of Hero

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the plays female sexuality is not expressed variously through courtship, pregnancy, childbearing, and remarriage, as it is in the period.  Instead it is narrowly defined and contained by the conventions of Petrarchan love and cuckoldry.  The first idealizes women as a catalyst to male virtue, insisting on their absolute purity.  The second fears and mistrusts them for their (usually fantasized) infidelity, an infidelity that requires their actual or temporary elimination from the world of men, which then re-forms [sic] itself around the certainty of men’s shared victimization (Neely 127).

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Julius Caesar

    831 Words  | 2 Pages

    From the expansion days of Ancient Rome to the fall of the Roman Empire, women have always succumbed to living subjacent to the status of their omnipotent and dominant male figures. After leaving her childhood home and the rule of her father, a young Roman girl would then be coerced into the dominion of her husband, often taking a plethora of roles, ranging from lover, caretaker, and best friend. It is often lightheartedly stated that, “Behind every great man is an even greater woman,” and William Shakespeare exemplifies this concept beautifully in Julius Caesar, in which he effectively used the spouses of the two main characters to add more depth, drama, and literary elements to the play, bringing it to life. Although the only two female characters in Julius Caesar, Portia and Calpurnia do not play a pivotal role in the overall plot of the story, their presence is vital in illuminating and developing the characters of their husbands, Brutus and Caesar. What they reveal about their husbands leads the reader to infer that Portia is the more admirable and redeeming character.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In The Merchant Of Venice

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 16th century, women and men were defined as having specific and contrasting roles within society. Men were defined as being powerful and dominant while women were defined as being submissive and meek. These ideals can be seen across cultures and throughout time. With these definitions of gender roles in place, the text suggests that gender is a social construct therefore qualities of femininity and masculinity are subjective. This is shown when Portia cross dresses as the lawyer Balthazar (IV) and when the truths of the rings are discovered by the two women (V). The strong female characters in the play exemplify that women are not confined to their social construct as they manipulate the male characters. During the 16th century only

    Read More

  • Elements that Make a Tragic Hero in Shakespeare's Works

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    Brutus feels a great friendship with Caesar, but he is afraid that Caesar will turn away from Rome and his people once in power. "I know no personal cause to spurn at him… how that might change his nature…" (II.I) He has great respect for his friend Caesar even though he knows he must put him to d...

    Read More

  • Shakespeare’s Representation of Women in The Merchant Of Venice

    1029 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the play Shakespeare develops Portia’s character from what seems like a subservient woman, who is forced into a marriage, to an independent woman who is considered equal by her husband. The arranged marriage shows that Portia was given no freedom by her. dominant dead father, which may be why Portia seems to be horrible. comments about all the suitors that come to try to complete the life – changing the task of the. At the beginning of the play Portia has no control over her financial.

    Read More

  • Women in Elizabethan England and Shakespeare's Miranda in The Tempest

    3452 Words  | 7 Pages

    Treatment of women has evolved much since Elizabethan England. As a preface to the dissection of The Tempest – in particular, the character of Miranda, Shakespeare’s role for women as a whole must be addressed. According to Carolyn Ruth Swift Lenz’s introduction of Woman’s Part, “patriarchal order takes different forms and is portrayed with varying degrees of emphasis throughout the Shakespearean canon” (5). In the midst of this patriarchy, where do women stand? What social assumptions guided the pen of the great English poet and playwright as he wrote The Tempest? Lenz discusses that “In the comedies women are most often nurturing and powerful; as their values educate the men, mutuality between the sexes may be achieved” (6). However, “in tragedy…their roles are at once more varied, more constricted, and more precarious…they are condemned for acting, accused of being deceitful even when they are not” (6). Why the canyon between the two? How does Shakespeare reconcile women in what The Norton Shakespeare terms a romance play?

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's Portrayal of Female Characters in The Merchant of Venice and Henry V

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shakespeare's presentation and portrayal of his female characters in The Merchant of Venice and Henry V follows a typical pattern that is present in all of the Shakespearean plays that I have read so far. When looking closely at the fate of his female characters, this pattern becomes even more evident for it repeats itself no matter how different the plays are. For instance, Henry V and The Merchant of Venice are different in every respect. The female characters not only come from different backgrounds, they also have very different personalities. However, as different as these plays and their characters are, the female characters end up suffering the same fate. It doesn't seem to matter whether they are born into a life of peasantry, nobility, or come from royalty, for they ultimately will end up being no better than a piece of land, or cattle, or some possession that a man can own and do with as he pleases. Scholars have been debating for centuries now as to whether Shakespeare's women reflect his society's attitudes or that of his own.

    Read More

More about Mighty Women

Open Document