Connotation Of The Duchess Of Malfi

In Chopin’s short story, she demonstrates how men in the late ninetieth and early twentieth century treated their wives more as possessions than individuals, thus when the protagonist Mrs. Mallard learns her husband Brently Mallard just unexpectedly died, she feels “free, free, free!” (15). Since, Chopin published this short story in 1894; women often got married while they were quite young and typically to men much older. Likewise, divorce was never usually an option for unhappy marriages. Subsequently, Mrs. Mallard appears unhappy in her marriage, after learning about her husband’s death, she pictures how much better her life is going to be, “There would be no powerful will bending hers in that persistence with which men and women believe they have the right to impose a private will upon a

In the early 19th century, women were oppressed, and marriage was a social status, not a choice. Mrs. Mallard was a wife during 19th Century and her home was where she would spend most of her days. She also suffers from a heart condition. She learns of the tragic news on the first floor of her two story home. Her sister Josephine was the one to tell her “ in broken sentences, veiled hints that revealed in half concealing.”(287) The news was revealed as delicate as possible, due to Mrs. Mallard's heart condition. Mrs. Mallard heard the news, she wept, a sense of grief comes upon her. Once she removed herself from her sister Josephine's arms, she went off to her room. It reads, “ When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. No one to follow her”(287). During this time, women were looked down upon if they were not married. Most women were given away by their

The focus of this paper will be to compare and contrast the works of two playwrights. The works that will be considered are Molière’s The Would-Be Gentleman and Beaumarchais’s The Marriage of Figaro. Both considered comedies, Moliere’s is a short play that tells the tale of Monsieur Jourdain, a tradesman who desires to become a gentleman. Beaumarchais’s play, second in the Figaro trilogy, follows the series of event prior to Figaro’s wedding. Figaro and his companions scheme to ensure that his marriage occurs smoothly. Furthermore, the plays are dated 100 years apart from each other, and they deal with the representation of social hierarchy, social mobility, and gender roles in various ways. With that in mind, they become good sources to compare and contrast the changes in society that occurred within those 100 years. This paper will compare both plays to examine how Molière further endorses the social values and ideas of his time, while Beaumarchais’s presents a shift in attitude towards those values and challenges them.

During the eighteenth century, marriage was a representation of not only the unity between man and women but it was also a representation of a woman taking a servile, less meaningful role in the household. Once married, women were expected to be completely submissive to their husbands. This was the norm across Europe and even in enlightened society. These relationships were hierarchical. It was not customary for women to attend schools that educated men the math and sciences. Women holding privileged positons in society traditionally allotted to men were seen as the exception. Yet these exceptions did not generally bother society because they did not lead to certain conclusion that women could do anything. In Gotthold Lessing’s novel “Nathan the Wise” and Francoise de Graffigny’s “Letters from a Peruvian Woman”, both authors upset traditional expectations about what constitutes a novel’s happy ending by refusing to end either of their novels with weddings. In Lessing’s “Nathan the Wise”, the rejection of marriage plot reflects a larger symbolic representation of religious tolerance. While in Graffigny’s novel “Letters from a Peruvian Woman”, the rejection of marriage plots illustrates a woman whose circumstances would make her the exception. Zilia, Graffigny’s main character, was an enlightened woman who chose sovereignty over servitude. Therefore, I would argue that the intentions behind both Lessing and Graffigny’s rejection of the marriage plot was not to serve the same

The short stories, “The Story of An Hour”, by Kate Chopin and “The Jury of Her Peers”, by Susan Glaspell compare two married women who live under the shadow of their husbands. Both of these stories were written in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries during the time when women were treated unequally. Women had limited rights. For example, they could not vote, voice their opinion or work outside the home. Glaspell and Chopin were considered feminist writers who focus their writing on the struggle of women during the time when the Women’s Suffrage Movement was beginning; these short stories reflect women’s struggles under the control of men. Married women were responsible for taking care of the household, children and wifely duties while the husbands were responsible for consistently managing the title of “the breadwinner.” Married women were expected to be discreet and obedient to their husbands, which meant that the wives could not express their opinions because of society’s expectations of women. In the short stories, “The Story of An Hour”, by Kate Chopin and “The Jury of Her Peers”, by Susan Glaspell, Mrs. Mallard and Mrs. Wright share a prominent similarity concerning the loss of their individual identity during marriage and realize that the death of their husbands allow them to regain their self-identity.-

The theme for honour and fidelity apply for both men and women in Shakespeare’s play ‘much ado about nothing’. Honour and fidelity is represented very differently for men and women as 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.

The 1500’s play focuses more on marriage, as like teenage dating in this modern era, for the play’s intended audience, it was marriage that the Elizabethan era society was preoccupied on, and was something they felt they “had to do”. The difference between relationships and marriage is shown

(Not sure which question is right) “Tis Pity She’s a Whore” and “The Duchess of Malfi” are tragic plays, showcasing the double standards society holds against women. “Tis Pity She’s a Whore” presents the women in the Jacobean era faced with inequality whereas “The Duchess of Malfi” displays the struggles for power women had to confront living in the renaissance era. I will be comparing the contrasting consequences on both men and women and disclose how unfairly

During this time many women were forced into marriage, resulting in a great unhappiness. Both Kate Chopin and Guy de Maupassant state this lack of joy that was often experienced everyday by women. “It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long” (Chopin 68). If was as if Mrs. Mallard was sickened by the idea that her life and the way it was, would continue forever. Maupassant portrays Mathilde’s frustration in her marriage with the frequent use of the word “suffered” in relationship to her higher class wants and desires. “She suffered ceaselessly, feeling herself born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries. She suffered from the poverty of her dwelling, from the wretched look of the walls, from the worn-out chairs, from the ugliness of the curtains” (Maupassant 59).

This is a tragedy about the failure to obtain agency; in this work, everyone is fighting for control. The Duchess’ brothers, Ferdinand and the Cardinal, desire to control their lives through a variety of means—money, power, lust, and more importantly, the Duchess. They forbid her to marry so that they make keep their inheritance between them two and gain more money and agency. They ultimately die for their unreasonable thirst for control. The Duchess’ desires, in comparison, are seemingly simpler. All she wants is a measure of control over her own life and a family of her choosing. However, in a She defies the threats of her brothers, rebelling against male authority by entering, as the Cardinal said “into some prison” by marrying regardless. The irony both exists and does not exist at the same time. The Duchess finally manages to gain the agency she desires but, as the resulting consequences unfold, she also manages to gain entry into a “prison” where she must face consequences that she cannot

away the remainder of their lives under their husband’s thumb. In Chopin’s time period, women

To begin, a crucial conversation shapes the course of the play in a subtle but immense way. In Act 1, scene 3, The Cardinal and Ferdinand insist that The Duchess does not remarry after the death of her husband. However, they are not aware that the Duchess is planning on marrying Antonio, her old steward. The following citation shows Ferdinand’s thought of those who remarry. “Marry! They are most luxurious/will wed twice.” (John Webster, Act 1, scene 3, line 6-7) His comment uses the word “Luxurious” which means lecherous. Ferdinand is saying that widows that remarry are driven by an excessive desire for sexual relations and nothing more. After both brothers have spoken of their thoughts on the matter, The Duchess assures

From the times of the Romans, to the present 21st century, the role of women have changed drastically. While most embrace the new freedoms and rights they have, some choose to live in a more traditional sense. Similarly, in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, these two types of women are explored not in length, but in depth. The characters in question, Portia and Calphurnia, are important in highlighting the traits of their husbands, showing the stark contrast between the two as well as themselves. Whereas Portia and Calphurnia are different as Portia’s concerns are listened to and is in a loving relationship, while Calphurnia’s apprehension is brushed aside and is not treated as an equal, they are also similar as they both their warnings were not heeded.

The story Don Juan written in the 1600’s by Moliere is a comical controversial drama typical of Moliere’s plays. Although Don Juan lived criticized for “free thought and atheism . . . And an unbeliever overturning the foundation of religion” the play has performed for over 200 years now recognized as one of Moliere’s masterpieces. (91 Moliere). Don Juan’s is a historical womanizer who rebels against God and morality. So it appears a womanizer exists every generation. The character Don Juan mocks relationships also the sanctity of marriage. Additionally, Don Juan enjoys breaking up relationships for conquest and sport. Thus, Don Juan remains unconcerned his valet Sganarelle served him as a silent accomplice against his will. However, Sganarelle does express Don Juan’s behavior with Gusman squire to Elvira. Furthermore, Sganarelle says “A wedding doesn’t mean a thing to him. It’s the only sort of trap he sets for ensnaring women: he weds them left, right, and centre . . . I’d rather serve the devil himself than Don Juan” (96-97 Moliere).

A revenge tragedy is one in which the tragedy is brought about by the pursuit and accomplishment of revenge. In other words, its blood asking for blood. The revenge tragedy was very popular during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods, and it owned its popularity largely to the influence of Seneca, the ancient Roman dramatist. Revenge tragedy is different from other tragedies in the sense that the whole part of the tragedy will be based on revenge. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, though Macduff kills Macbeth to avenge the killing of his family, the play can’t be called a revenge tragedy as Macbeth himself is responsible for his own tragic end. The Duchess of Malfi by the English dramatist John