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Representation of women in much ado about nothing
Representations of women in much ado about nothing
Gender roles in much ado about nothing essay
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Much Ado About Beatrice: The True Hero of Messina In William Shakespeare's short play Much Ado About Nothing, he focuses on the social standings and the roles of women in 16th Century Europe. The female protagonist of the play, Beatrice, understands the restrictions placed upon her by society and how these restrictions should limit her as a woman, but she inexorably escapes them by refusing to succumb to the unifying hand of marriage. Throughout the play, Shakespeare displays his profound respect for woman as independent individuals who are fully capable of making their own decisions and suffering their own consequences. Through the plot, he proposes the idea that women who deviate away from the passivity that society expects them to perform attain a more active role in the determination of their future. Contrary to the roles of women of the 16th Century, Shakespeare depiction of Beatrice's independence is symbolic of his stance on the progression and transformation of women's reputation in society. Shakespeare undoubtedly creates a coherent distinction between Beatrice and Hero, the two main female characters, in such a way that allows the audience to irrefutably note their differing dispositions. Hero, “a face without a voice” (Cook 8), is characterized by her passivity and inability to assert herself, whereas Beatrice, whose speech “might seem [like] a serious violation of Messina's conventions of gender” (Cook 7), is characterized by her witty and unconventional independence that ultimately delineates the sure separation between her and women of 16th Century Europe. Almost immediately, one can observe Beatrice's acerbic demeanor towards one of the main male characters, Signior Benedick. As the messenger is informing Beatrice... ... middle of paper ... ...itations and expectations that were placed upon women of the 16th Century and uses many characters, such as Beatrice and Hero, as mediums to help present his stance on the advancement of women's roles. Beatrice's refusal to be controlled by men and Hero's subservience carries echoes of modern-day feminism. Comparing this novel to a contemporary society, women have made a substantial amount of progress in terms of gender roles. It is women like Beatrice, and the many others that choose to defy the expectations that are placed upon us by society, that help us progress to a more utopian civilization. This novel can be read by future generations to reflect back on how much we have changed and how much we have progressed, not only as women, but as humans in general. Additionally, this play also serves as one of the world's greatest odes to the single life known to man.
Beatrice's courtship with Benedick greatly contrasts with the courtship of Hero and Claudio. Hero gladly and willingly submitted to marriage, and she accepted the role of the relatively powerless woman. In contrast Beatrice chose her submission after openly criticizing the institution of marriage.
Shakespeare’s introduction of the other couple in question is in stark contrast to the way in which Beatrice and Benedick were introduced. Claudio and Hero are amorously receptive to one and other from the very start. Upon laying eyes on Hero, Claudio remarks of her to Benedict “is she not a modest young lady?” (1.1.125). Clearly, by having Claudio express his fondness of Hero to Benedick, the playwright directly compares the older and more cynical to the more young and naive, allowing the reader to see the contrasting personas of the two men. This is reinforced by Benedick, who after finishing listening to Claudio’s rhetoric on the charms of the young Hero (“in m...
...ndicates a level of justification each felt in their actions. These actions, immortalized in two of the most widely read classics of all time, even today call into question the values each society held so dear, and led the modern reader to explore what honor and traditional gendered values mean both in these societies and our own.
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.
From the bitter Emilia to the pious Isabella, Shakespeare was a champion of crafting women. With a wide range of personalities, professions, and situations, Shakespeare mastered early in his illustrious career the art of creating diverse, dynamic, and multidimensional female characters. When stepping outside the traditional roles for female characters in theater, Shakespeare pushed boundaries by giving his women intelligent wit, innate humor, motives and goals which the Elizabethan and Jacobean audiences could relate directly to their own experiences. More than anything else, Shakespeare created a race of theatrical females who were first and foremost described as complete human women with virtues and vices which were believable and realistic. With these attributes, Shakespeare’s women were able to perceive unequal distributions of power in their worlds, particularly the distribution of power in the romantic relationships which in many cases were chosen for them. Comprehending with a bitter distaste the lack of control they held over their future lives, the women of Shakespeare took matters into their own hands more often than not, utilizing revolutionary or unconventional means to gain dominance in the power dynamics of their relationships. William Shakespeare offered his female characters the abilities and opportunities to recognize their subordinate positions concerning romantic relationships as well as the initiative to attempt a shift in these power dynamics.
William Shakespeare is well known for being a poet, playwright, and actor. Shakespeare's work appears to be very sexist in gender roles. He uses gender roles in his 'Romeo & Juliet' play. Juliet being the main and most important female role in this play; is supposed to be noble and respectful, but instead she goes against her father’s wishes and acts more educated than she really is. Romeo being the main male role in this play is supposed to be focused and noble, but instead he is passionate in love and isn't very wise with decisions but in comparison to Paris, who is very masculine, focused and noble shows a real renaissance male. This paper will demonstrate how Shakespeare uses gender role reversement ; by having feminism and masculinity, arrangement of marriages, and compare and contrast of different characters to prove the model of genders in Elizabethan England.
Shakespeare represents Beatrice as a very feisty, cynical and sharp woman during the play. We can especially see this when she uses her wit to shock the messenger saying, in act one scene one, that ‘he is no less than a stuffed man.’ This is exceedingly disrespectful to fashion such a rude comment about a man who is just about to arrive back from war. One thing Shakespeare clearly shows us is that Beatrice would not be the ideal woman for most men. To emphasize this he contrasts Beatrice with a weak and quiet character such as Hero who acts upon every mans instruction, we can see this when Beatrice says to Leonato that its her ‘cousins duty’ to say ‘father as it please you.’ Shakespeare makes such a clear contrast between the two women to the extent that Beatrice steals most of Hero’s attention from the other male characters in the play. Furthermore he shows us how Beatrice is perhaps a threat to the patriarchal society at the time, we can see this on page fifty-nine where she implys that it is her duty to please herself, whether or not her father consents. This is unlike Hero, who cannot do anything unless a man is fighting her corner, however Beatrice is willing to
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.
Throughout the history of the world, honor has been an important part of life. In literature, as well, honor plays an important role in many plots and the development of almost any character. Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing is no exception. In this comedy about love and marriage, honor is revealed as the primary reason for many of the actions taken by several different characters. When Claudio breaks off his wedding with Hero, he does it because he believes she is not chastised as she claims to be and in being such, she would dishonor him as well as her father if the marriage were to proceed as planned. The play is an accurate depiction of the honor code and the different standards for men and women of the time in regards to honor and chastity.
In order for us to deal with how a consideration of femininity can effect our understanding of a literary text, we must also be able to grasp the notion of `feminism' and `Feminist Literary Theory'. A dictionary definition of `feminism' is: `the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of the equality of the sexes.' Although this leans towards feminism in the historical sense of the word, it still provides the grounds, or foundations, from which feminist literary theories were created. Feminists argue against the stereotyping and social construction of female norms, seeing them as created by men in order to establish their own sense of power. It is thought that while males suggest that gender is sex and not actually a construct, the female role will become much more passive, stereotyped and controlled.
I shall endeavour to explore and analyse how women are presented in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”, Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress” and Duffy’s “Human Interest”.
At the start of the play Hero is presented as a typical woman of the time, modest and demure – she says little. In fact, Shakespeare’s first words describing Hero, ‘Is she not a modest young lady’ announce her essential qualities of modesty and decorum. In this period, these were vital qualities to have in a wife and Hero possessed them, unlike Beatrice. By contrast, Shakespeare portrays Beatrice as an untypical woman, being outspoken, independent, witty and unconventional – she is always participating in the conversation even with the men (especially Benedick), which Hero never does.
“So it is naturally with the male and the female; the one is superior, the other inferior; the one governs, the other is governed; and the same rule must necessarily hold good with respect to all mankind.” This quote, spoken by the famous Aristotle, proves to be timeless. The words express knowledge concerning gender that proves to be centuries ahead of its time. Aristotle however, may not have even realized the amount of truth expressed in these few, simple words. Men are commonly thought of as the dominant of the two sexes, but as we have seen through many of the literary works studied, this is most certainly not the case. In dealing with books such as Macbeth written by William Shakespeare and The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammet, it becomes clear that this quote holds true in a much different way than originally intended. In both of these novels the women involved are anything but the innocent bystanders, but rather the manipulator and catalyst behind the scenes. Out of these two books, two strong and memorable female personas arise, that of Lady Macbeth, as well as that of Brigid O’Shaughnessy. Through both Macbeth as well as The Maltese Falcon women are portrayed in a rather manipulating manner, symbolic of both evil as well as deception.
William Shakespeare’s The Tempest provides dialogue that portrays the social expectations and stereotypes imposed upon women in Elizabethan times. Even though the play has only one primary female character, Miranda, the play also includes another women; Sycorax, although she does not play as large a roll. During many scenes, the play illustrates the characteristics that represent the ideal woman within Elizabethan society. These characteristics support the fact that men considered women as a mere object that they had the luxury of owning and were nowhere near equal to them. Feminists can interpret the play as a depiction of the sexist treatment of women and would disagree with many of the characteristics and expectations that make Miranda the ideal woman. From this perspective, The Tempest can be used to objectify the common expectations and treatment of women within the 16th and 17th Centuries and compare and contrast to those of today.
...ergren, Paula S. “The Woman’s Part: Female Sexuality as Power in Shakespeare’s Plays.” The Woman’s Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Ed. Carolyn Ruth Swift Lenz, Gayle Greene and Carol Thomas Neely. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1980.