Gender Roles In The Elizabethan Era

During the Renaissance time period, each man and woman needed to strive to meet the “ideal” image that was expected by society. If this image was not met, the person would be judged by society. Both males and females had different goals that they needed to meet in education, as well as in their lives. While there was an “ideal” image, some people disagreed with them. There was always a distinct role for both women and men, but within those roles, there could be controversy. The most controversy could occur over the education that the males and females were getting, there were clear roles and ideals for men and women in the beginning of the Renaissance time period, but as time went on, people became more skeptical of the

Women were so tired of being treated unequal to men and started to look for change. They rose above society to make a point that women deserve an education so they can better themselves. “By 1886, there were 192 women's assemblies, and an additional number of women joined formerly all-male assemblies” (Manning 2013). By the end of the 1800’s, the number of women that were done being mistreated started to rise rapidly. Women continued to take over men’s “jobs” because they were just as capable. It was unusual for women to try to attend colleges, but they gradually started to apply. “Although few persons obtained a college education then, by 1880 women constituted one of every three students enrolled at institutions of higher learning, and many remained single. Of eight thousand female college graduates in 1880, only five thousand were married” (Sklar 1998). Marriage seemed to be one of the main factors that restricted many women into getting a college degree. Women during that time were better off because they did not have to worry about men’s daily opinions of them and how they should act and

The Renaissance was a time of enlightenment and discovery around the world. There were many advancements in culture, art, and science. An interesting area to look at for this period would be the advancements made based on gender. Historically, women do not always have a significant impact on their culture, and they do not always have the same standing as their male counterparts. Margaret L. King and Joan Kelly-Gadol delve deeper into the issue of gender advancements during the Renaissance when they analyze the issue of whether women and men benefitted equally during this period.

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to three, quoted by the famous playwright William Shakespeare. Never has this been so true in the two films Taming of the shrew and 10 things I hate about you. Femininity has changed dramatically between the elizabethan era and today's era this change is displayed greatly in both tammy of the shrew and 10 things i hate about you. Today the women of the world are not known to up hold the man to be the lord of the house and to obey by his word but to show respect to the man of the house as the man is to show the same amount of respect or even more to the women of the house. In today's world both the man and women are both as equal in the way that they share the

Women during this time were meant to raise the children and take care of their household. They were not allowed to become very educated, unlike the boys who were able to attend school. Women only needed to become somewhat educated so that they were able to teach their children. Women had

During the Elizabethan era, gender roles were clearly defined with men as the dominant gender. Shakespeare challenges these social norms with the true definition of feminism being conveyed in The Merchant of Venice. The characterisation of Portia, the heiress of Belmont, challenges traditional gender roles of an obedient daughter and the clever male figure. Portia is bound by a clause in her dead father's will that forces her to marry whichever suitor chooses the right casket. While Portia obeys her fathers wishes it is clear that she is upset with the plan stating "Is it not hard, Nerissa, that I cannot choose one nor refuse none?"

Defining what a female was supposed to be and do was an act of Renaissance culture. For most of Renaissance society, women represented the following virtues which, importantly, having their meaning in relation to the male; obedience, silence, sexual chastity, piety, humility, constancy, and patience. The most important being sexual chastity and piety.

In the sixteenth century the role of women in society was very limited. Women were generally stereotyped as housewives and mothers. They were to be married, living their life providing for her husband and children. The patriarchal values of the Elizabethan times regarded women as the weaker sex.’ Men were considered the dominant gender and were treated with the utmost respect by females. Women were mainly restricted within the confines of their homes and were not allowed to go school or to university, but they could be educated at home by private tutors. Men were said to be the ones to provide for their families financially. Women were often seen as not intelligent. Property could not be titled in the name of a female within the family. Legally everything the female had belonged to her husband. Poor and middle class wives were kept very busy but rich women were not idle either. In a big house they had to organize and supervise the servants.

     Throughout history, men and women have been assigned specific roles to which society prescribes standards and qualifications. There are certain tasks that have been traditionally completed only by men, and others that have been assigned to women; most of which are separated by the realm of the domestic sphere. During the period of the Renaissance, men and women were assigned very different roles within society. The value, social expectations, legal status, and rights of citizenship differed greatly between the sexes as well as among the classes. Many of these gender roles can be identified through careful readings of the literature produced throughout the Renaissance.

The Renaissance was a time of rebirth of old traditions, and in old traditions women’s role in society was very minimal. During times of the Renaissance women’s roles were often more suppressed than it once had been before. Many times women were looked off primarily her looks and social status. Another contributing factor of women’s role was how well she would be acquired to married life. Women were so suppressed in the Renaissance that many women joined convents to be able to have the ability to learn like the men were able to. Changes and continuities of women’s public roles during the Renaissance included social status, acquirement to marriage, and reduction of rights for women.

Before going into examination of representations, it is indispensable to discuss how gender roles were constructed in Italy during the Renaissance period. The fulfilment of a woman’s role was, on the most basic level, marriage.

The Elizabethan Era is said to have been one of the most interesting periods in the History of England. The Era being named after Queen Elizabeth the I, also called the Virgin Queen is not only famous for its monarchy and explorers but it was also the era of the appearance of the very first theatres in England ( Alchin,1). The Elizabethan theatre was a booming business for England, and the people loved it. However, there was one thing that the theatre was missing, women. Queen Elizabeth the I saw to the prohibition of female actresses on stage. Being an actress was not considered a reliable profession and it was immoral, therefore young boys played the roles of women ( Alchin, 1). Court Masques were a special form of entertainment

The most an ordinary young Elizabethan woman, could hope for was to pick up basic reading, and writing, skills at the local village school. After that, she waved to her brothers as they went off to grammar school every morning, if the family could spare them. For one thing, most women were denied the chance to be schooled beyond the basics. An abundance of forces conspired to keep women in their place, although many new grammar schools were being founded, as Elizabethans embraced Renaissance learning. Furthermore, most of them had Male Only signs on the door; the few that did accept girls usually gave them a softer, easier course to study. What was unusual for the grammar schools was unthinkable for the universities of Oxford, and Cambridge; in fact these two institutions didn’t offer degrees to women, which were equivalent to those degrees they gave to men, until the twentieth century. While the role of women in the Renaissance is mention highly, men are neglected in analytical views of the culture. However, the male gender role is very interesting

Shakespeare and the members of the Elizabethan era would be appalled at the freedoms women experience today.  The docility of Elizabethan women is almost a forgotten way of life. What we see throughout Shakespeare’s plays is an insight into the female character as perceived by Elizabethan culture.  Shakespeare’s female characters reflect the Elizabethan era’s image of women; they were to be virtuous and obedient and those that were not were portrayed as undesirable and even evil.

William Shakespeare is a rich and suggestive author in terms of alerting students to issues in women's studies and gender ideology. Although Shakespeare reflects and at times supports the English Renaissance stereotypes of women and men and their various roles and responsibilities in society, he is also a writer who questions, challenges, and modifies those representations. In his own time, Shakespeare seems to have been raising questions about the standard images of males and females, about what the characteristics of each gender are, about what is defined as masculine and feminine, about how each gender possesses both masculine and feminine qualities and behaviors, about the nature and power of a hegemonic patriarchy, and about the roles women and men should play in acting out the stories of their lives. Since feminist criticism today focuses on many of these same issues, we will focus mainly on Shakespeare’s patriarchal stereotype for women.