Reevaluating Gender Stereotypes in Henry VI Part 1

Shakespeare’s characters have never been one-dimensional. And the individuals who appear in Henry VI Part 1 certainly go against the grain. During a time when men were viewed as strong, decisive, and brave, Shakespeare’s Henry VI is weak, uncertain, and effeminate. His wife, Margaret, a woman who is supposed to be weak-willed and subservient to him, has her own abilities and doubts about Henry as a ruler. Talbot represents chivalry, but this play brings about the death of chivalry with the death of the man who embodies it. Shakespeare’s audiences still held chivalry in high regard, and by killing that ideal, Shakespeare defied an established masculine practice. Joan is the most controversial character in this play, defying the most stereotypes about her sex. Joan of Arc is a warrior, and makes English men run in fear when they hear she is riding into battle. The women in this play are the ones who are portrayed as being powerful and in control, while the men are revealed to be uncharacteristically weak and impotent. The characters in Henry VI Part 1 overturn traditional gender roles, and defy the stereotypes of the times, to great effect.

The play opens with the news that Talbot, the hero of England, has been captured by the French, and that Talbot’s foil, Joan of Arc, has extraordinary power bestowed upon her by God. Already, Shakespeare is reversing traditional gender ideas. Talbot is playing the role of kidnapped damsel in distress, while Joan is challenging the ruler of France to a duel to prove her strength. Joan makes an impassioned, audacious speech to Charles that demonstrates her power: My courage try by combat, if thou darest, / And thou shalt find that I exceed my sex. / Resolve on this, thou shalt be fortunate, / If t...

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... She displays wisdom and abilities far beyond Henry’s, and the reader begins to view her as a better leader than the incompetent Henry. In Part 1, only glimpses of that Margaret are seen. She agrees to become Henry’s wife upon the urgings of Suffolk. But it leaves the audience to wonder: does she see the benefits in being Queen of England now, or is she simply doing what she is told? Is her gain of influence as “unwitting” as she makes it out to be? Or is Margaret more in control of her destiny than the reader realizes? Her transformation in the later plays seems to suggest that Margaret knew what she was doing all along, making her much smarter than she is given credit for. The real people in power in this play are the women. The men may be the heads of the kingdom and country, but the women are the necks, and they can turn those heads whichever way they so choose.