Matthew Ian Connel
British Literature
Sixth Period
Shakespeare: Patient X for Misogyny in Media
Sexism. It is as prevalent in our culture today as it was in the sixteenth century. It can be seen throughout history in the workplace, politics, and especially in entertainment. Many of the female archetypes that are seen in modern television and film, such as the nagging, abrasive woman, or the melodramatic, clingy woman, originated in Shakespeare’s plays. Shakespeare’s sexism can be seen in many of his most famous works, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Othello, and The Taming of the Shrew.
Before delving into Shakespeare’s works, it is important to establish women’s position in his society. Women of the Elizabethan Era were essentially
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Shakespeare’s plays often depict women as being stubborn, and occasionally clever, but eventually overcome by a man’s superior intellect. One example of this stereotype is Titania and Oberon in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Titania is the queen of the fairies, and she is known for arguing with her husband, Oberon. In the play, the couple is arguing over a young Indian prince who had been given to Titania by his mother. Oberon wants to take the boy to make him a soldier in his army, but Titania wants to keep the boy for herself because of his beauty (Shakespeare A Midsummer). When it becomes clear to Oberon that his wife is not going to willingly give up the young prince, he turns to trickery. Oberon orders Puck, his servant, to use an aphrodisiac on Titania that will cause her to fall in love with the first thing she sees. Oberon then kidnaps the object of her synthetic affection and uses him as a bargaining chip to trade for the Indian prince. Having obtained what he wanted, Oberon removes the spell from Titania with no observable repercussions. Anna in Disney’s Frozen is a prime example of a naïve woman who is outsmarted by a man. Anna is the younger of two orphan princesses to a country known as Arendelle. She has been living mostly alone for three years, which makes her very excited by the prospect of crowds of people coming to her elder sister’s coronation ceremony, especially the prospect of falling in love. Hans, a …show more content…
During Shakespeare’s time, this was more of a fact than a stereotype, which is why it is such a prominent theme in his plays. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hermia wants to marry Lysander, but Hermia’s father wants her to marry Demetrius. Hermia’s father has the legal right to either have his daughter executed or sent to a nunnery if she refuses to marry the man he chooses. The case is brought before the Duke, another man, who gives Hermia until his own wedding to reconsider (Shakespeare A Midsummer). In Hamlet, Hamlet’s mother, the queen, marries her brother-in-law after the death of her husband, because a woman is unable to operate a country on her own. Hamlet bewails this fact in one of the play’s most famous quotes, “Frailty, thy name is woman!” (Shakespeare Hamlet). In Othello, another court case demonstrates men’s position over women. When Iago and Roderigo discover that Othello has married Desdemona, they tell her father that Othello has stolen her, creating the impression that a woman is something that can be stolen. When Desdemona’s father brings the case before the court, Othello explains that he did not steal Desdemona, but instead won her fairly (Shakespeare Othello). This perpetuates the idea that a woman is something to be gained, either through earning or stealing her. Women in The Taming of the Shrew are closer to animals then actual people. Petruchio trains Katherine like a circus animal into being
Today, only 16% of protagonists in movies are female, and the portrayal of these women is
Sexism is an ever changing concept in today’s world. Every day the concept morphs a little bit, changing the entire definition of what is sexist and what is not. In The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare, the male characters lie to and abuse their women in order to have the women marry them. Lucentio come to Padua to study, but when he sees a beautiful girl, he pretends to be a teacher in order to marry Bianca. Petruchio on the other hand forces a woman to marry him and then trains her to follow his every command.
Imagine being a woman in sixteenth century Europe. Females were raised to believe that they were subservient and that men knew better on any subject. Basically, women had no rights. They were considered property, first “owned” by their fathers and then control was “transferred” to the husband chosen for them. Marriage was not about love, but in most cases, it was a business deal that was mutually beneficial to both families – an interesting fact is that like young women, most young men had no choice in the selection of their future betrothed. These traditions and the gender roles assumed by men and women at that time had an impact on Shakespeare’s writing and performances and a great example of this is evident in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Stereotypes are commonly held beliefs that most are all individuals sharing a given trait also should or do share other attributes to be associated with aspects such as race, religion, and physical qualities. In Shakespeare’s “Othello” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, he uses stereotypes to embody the characteristics of the stereotypical female according to society’s liking. The women in both “Othello” and “A Midsummer NIght’s Dream” are loyal and faithful. Women are bound by respect and loyalty to the men they love. Shakespeare has drawn a line concerning gender roles and the consequences of violating these positions (Bevington, 2014). Women seem to be victimized by society’s influence as they yield to these stereotypes that shape the
Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello is an unfortunate example of gender bias, of sexism which takes advantage of women. The three women characters in the drama are all, in their own ways, victims of men’s skewed attitudes regarding women. Let us delve into this topic in this essay.
Women have always been the backbone of human civilization, whether it be in ancient times or even in the modern era. However, they are oppressed and not given the same fundamental, human rights as men, like access to education, leaving this discrimination and sexism to span over prolonged periods of time. Specifically, sexism is seen during the Elizabethan Era of history when William Shakespeare writes his prominent dramatic piece, Macbeth. In Shakespeare’s tragedy, the prevalent theme of sexism is depicted in the play when Lady Macbeth, a character of strength and ambition, is shown as manipulative and inevitably weak when Shakespeare portrays her eventual downfall and suicide. Throughout the world today, the many different forms of sexism
"The Taming of the Shrew" is a great example of Shakespear's use of women. Shakespeare indeed does transcend the stereotypes of his own time.
Neely, Carol Thomas. "Shakespeare's Women: Historical Facts and Dramatic Representations." In Holland, Norman N., Sidney Homan, and Bernard J. Paris, eds. Shakespeare's Personality. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.
The portrayal of gender roles in William Shakespeare’s play Othello, demonstrates the inferior treatment of women and the certain stereotypes of men placed on them by society. Both the male and female characters in the play have these certain gender expectations placed on them. In a society dominated by men, it is understood that the women are to be seen rather than heard. The women are referred to and treated much like property. If indeed they do speak up, they are quickly silenced. One woman’s attempt to be the perfect wife is what ultimately led to her demise. The expectations of men are equally stereotypical. Men are to be leaders and to be in control and dominant especially over the women. The male characters compete for position and use the female characters in the play as leverage to manipulate each other. Shakespeare provides insight in understanding the outcomes of the men and women who are faced with the pressures of trying to live up to society’s expectations, not only in the workplace, but also in the home. The pressure creates jealousy issues amongst the men and they become blind to the voice of reason and are overtaken by jealous rage, leads to the death of many of the characters.
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.
In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello there are numerous instances of obvious sexism aimed at the three women in the drama -- Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca – and aimed at womankind generally. Let us delve into this subject in this paper.
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...
Shakespeare has written some of the most outstanding pieces of literature throughout history that have lasted through out the ages. But, critics often criticize Shakespeare as being sexist towards women in his work. He often portrays them as weak minded, evil, or as sexual objects. Ophelia, Queen Gertrude, Lady Macbeth, and Juliet Capulet are just a few female heroines that are accused of being feeble or heinous. Shakespeare's Othello represents Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca as weak characters that do not become triumphant by the end of the play.
In his novel Othello, William Shakespeare reveals Desdemona and Emilia’s courage through situations involving conflict to portray the ability for women to stand up for themselves as he exhibits his idea of feminism through their actions. The courageous attitudes of these women and their passionate voice grew stronger throughout the play as they eventually died, staying true to their beliefs. This transformation parallels the rights of women over history, as the female population progressed very slowly towards a more equal position in society. With Shakespeare being an advocate for women’s unheard voices during the Elizabethan period, he is able to use Desdemona and Emilia’s characteristics to contrast what the world was like during that era, and how he viewed and wished the world would function.
Neely, Carol Thomas. “Shakespeare’s Women: Historical Facts and Dramatic Representations.” Shakespeare’s Personality. Ed. Norman N. Holland, Sidney Homan, and Bernard J. Paris. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989. 116-134.