(Essay intro) In the modern day, women have the luxury of belonging to themselves but unfortunately this was not always the case. During his life, William Shakespeare created many positive female characters who defied the traditional gender roles and brought attention to the misogynistic patriarchy of Elizabethan England. One of these true feminist icons is ‘Much Ado about Nothing’s. Beatrice. The women in ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ defy traditional gender roles. Beatrice represents a brave and outspoken woman who defies the oppressive, traditional gender roles for the female sex. Her cousin Hero, however, represents those women who were successfully oppressed by the patriarchy and accepted the traditional gender roles without much complaint. The Elizabethan society in which Shakespeare lived during his life held a misogynistic ideology in high esteem. ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ was written in 1598-9, during a time when women were second class citizens compared to males and were considered to be inferior to males in every way. As soon as she was born, a female was her father's property until she was married off by her family when she then became her husband's property. A woman was expected to be seen and not heard, she was to be chaste and submissive. Women were uneducated and undervalued, they were not their own person. This misogynistic attitude is present in ‘Much Ado about Nothing’. In the play, Messina is presented as being a positive and cheerful community and the woman appear to have freedom, however those misogynistic attitudes of the time period are still demonstrated. When Leonato tells his daughter, Hero, “daughter, remember what I told you: if the prince do solicit you in that kind, you know your answer.” Don Pedro is b... ... middle of paper ... ... of defiance are different but they do both show some forms of defiance of the traditional gender roles. Shakespeare was clearly ahead of his time with his view of women. He likely drew inspiration for his female characters from Elizabeth I, the English monarch at the time. Like Beatrice, Elizabeth I was a strong and very independent woman, she was the sole ruler of England during her reign as she never married. Elizabeth I was a strong ruler, defying the traditional gender roles for women, which Shakespeare would have drawn from for his characters. Shakespeare's works were fictional so even though he portrayed women in a positive way, society wished to oppress women and portray the kind of independence that Beatrice shows as being a negative thing. Shakespeare used his characters as a subtle way of empowering women by casting strong women in a positive light.
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.
Much Ado About Nothing. Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. 361-365. Dash, Irene G. "Wooing, Wedding, and Power: Women in Shakespeare Plays."
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.
The theme of honour and fidelity applies to both men and women in Shakespeare’s play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. Honour and fidelity is represented very differently for men and women than it would have been for the people in Elizabethan times. In this first section of the essay, I will be exploring double standards and Shakespeare’s awareness of the double standards between sexes and his feminist approach, the differences of honour and fidelity for men and women, and upper class and lower class comparisons. In order for men to be honourable, they should do great deeds in war, which gives them good recognition. From the very beginning of the play we see evidence of this when Leonato says in Act 1, Scene 1.
Imagine a world where women were completely subservient to men. Imagine what it would be like to live in a society where women were home-schooled, and not allowed to attend any type of university. What would today’s society be like if women lawyers, doctors, actors, and military soldiers were nonexistent? It would be a modern day version of the Elizabethan era in England. This was a time period where women had little rights, but the dramatic arts flourished due to Queen Elizabeth’s appreciation for them. It was during this time period that literary genius William Shakespeare wrote his many plays including The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Living in this time period caused him to look at women in a somewhat submissive way and portray them as so.
Shakespeare illustrates the injustices done to women by demonstrating the treatment Desdemona and Emilia received after having been framed of adultery. Because both women are though of cheating on their husbands, they no longer fit in society’s model of an exemplary wife. Despite having proved their affection for their husbands countless of times, not having a pure image led to Iago and Othello mistreating of the women they once loved. Once both women began to stand up for themselves and challenge the authority of their husbands, the repercussions of their bravery were both women’s death. Which shows, women’s only source of authority was their reputation as a wife. Once they lost that status, they no longer held any form or respect in society or with their husband’s.
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.
...These characters all show traits of wittiness, determination and strength. The traits Queen Elizabeth expressed as she ruled England, a single woman taking on a man’s job. Shakespeare included these characters in his play because he knew the Queen would enjoy seeing characters that portrayed her; it showed a sign a respect towards her. The Queen supported the theatre and Shakespeare in his work. Shakespeare thanks her by giving her females characters leads in his play with characteristics of her reflected in them. Queen Elizabeth ruled throughout Shakespeare’s life so it would influence him in his writings. She showed him through her rulings that she was a feminist. She did whatever it took to get what she wanted and to rule her country, she showed fierceness and compassion. Shakespeare took these characteristics and portrayed them in his female characters.
William Shakespeare has many interesting female characters throughout all of his different types of works. Some of his women are leading ladies while others are just supporting characters that help move the story along. No matter the depth of the characters’ role, each lady gives some type of unthinkable personality trait that would be unique to women during Shakespeare’s time. Macbeth, Othello, and King Lear all have female characters that portray women who wouldn’t be seen during the time of William Shakespeare’s writing. It took creativity and skill for Shakespeare to get his characters around the censor who would check the plays. His female characters are strong, but not overtly so. He gives them characteristics of his time, but also gives them new traits one wouldn’t normally see in the women of his time.
William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer of all time as well as the greatest dramatist. Shakespeare lived in Stratford-on-Avon and he dedicated most of his life to writing plays and poems. Shakespeare’s plays are well known and they have many of the same reoccurring and similar, underlying themes. One very interesting thing about Shakespeare is the way he approaches the women characters in his plays and how he treats them. In the Shakespearian plays, Macbeth, Hamlet, The Tempest, King Lear, Much Ado about Nothing, Othello, and A Midsummers Night Dream, the women characters are treated very similar, but also differently as well.
William Shakespeare quotes, "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." in Hamlet. During the Elizabethan era women were considered weak and had no say in their life. They could not have a profession except being a young mothers, and being ruled around by their fathers or their husbands. In the play Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare, a feminist, idealizes women in many different roles. There are two main females in the play, Hero and Beatrice, who are complete opposites of each other, and their servants who play a minor role are Ursula and Margaret.
Wayne, Valerie. “Historical Differences: Misogyny and Othello.” The Matter of Difference: Materialist Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Ed Valerie Wayne. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1991.
Shapiro, for example, goes so far as to claim that Shakespeare was 'the noblest feminist of them all.' Though Shakespeare pays more attention to the roles that men play in society and many of the female characters are constricted in their experiences. They do not have the same ability to be as fully human as the men. They do not learn by their experiences, except Paulina who is eventually chastised and pa... ... middle of paper ... ...
In Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, the female protagonists of the play, Beatrice and Hero, and Blanche and Stella, are submitted to battles against misogyny. Unlike the stereotypically submissive Elizabethan woman, Beatrice is ready to be ‘a man’ (Act 4.1.315) for the sake of her wronged cousin Hero and duel against ‘Count Comfit’ (Act 4.1.314). Blanche, while fighting against Stanley as ‘he advances’ (Scene Three, page 41) towards, and hurt, Stella, became relatable to a modern day audience when fighting against Domestic Violence. These women challenge the status quo of their eras, whether it is effective or not.
In today’s society, women are empowered, independent, and have freedom on their parts to live their life freely. This is definitely a positive aspect of the modern day society, however, this may not be how it always was. Travelling back in time, to the Red Hook community of Brooklyn, circa 1950s, we are able to see the societal expectations of a women at the time through Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge. The two female characters, Catherine and Beatrice, play crucial roles in the play and are essential to the tragic storyline of Eddie and his downfall. However, Arthur Miller has skillfully been able to show the lives and societal expectations of the women at the time, and to portray how women should not be treated. Both Catherine and Beatrice face different particular issues, but in the end are treated similarly as women. First, we shall look at Catherine and Beatrice and their individual parts in the story. After this, the portrayal of women and femininity in Red Hook at that time will be explored in reference to Catherine and Beatrice.