Gender Roles In The Elizabethan Era

Queen Elizabeth came to be known as one of the greatest rulers of the English empire. Under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a more efficient government was created. The church was unified, the English empire was expanded, and language, literature, and theater flourished to a greatness that would be impossible for almost any other period of English history, or any other European empire, for that matter, to match. Although there was a great rise in literature,it was theater that catapulted to greatness during Elizabeth's reign. Out of Elizabeth's era came Elizabethan theater. Elizabethan theater has such a variety of topics, that would make it virtually impossible to talk about in ten pages.

The Elizabethan Era was a time where everything flourished. After the Black Plague, England entered a time called the Renaissance. Family life during the time was simple and on a routine. Each day seemed more and more liked the day before. Each member of the family had a different impact on the community and society. Ordinary life in England consisted of being with family, working everyday, going to school, and eating food.

Elizabeth I (known simply as "Elizabeth" until the accession of Elizabeth II; 7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called "The Virgin Queen", "Gloriana" or "Good Queen Bess", Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. The daughter of Henry VIII, she was born a princess, but her mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed two and a half years after her birth.[1]

Elizabeth responded authoritatively to the differing opinions of her people. In Jacques Bochetel de La Forest’s report on Elizabeth’s response (Doc. 6), Elizabeth makes her claim as a strong, and independent woman. She explains to the parliament that without her, no actions or measures can be taken, and she dismissed them angrily. Moreover, Elizabeth’s speech to

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.

Due to her greatly influential decisions, “the latter half of the sixteenth century in England was known as the Elizabethan Age” as quoted from A1. During her reign, she improved many of the government functions by adding trusted advisors, and made strict decisions that helped the workforce run more efficiently. William Cecil was one of Elizabeth’s closest advisors due to

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

Title goes here Gender roles in modern day society are not the same as gender roles in the Elizabethan Era. During the Elizabethan Era, only men were allowed to hold swords. Females, on the other hand, were not allowed to take up arms: instead, they spent their lives caring for children and accepting the life of a housewife. William Shakespeare alternates the gender roles between Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth continuously throughout the play. It was illegitimate for a women to see blood or a dead being.

With England coming out of the Middle Ages, the early Modern Age was presented as a revival for the country. With a woman now on the throne the ability to play on the idea of gender was a necessity, and it created an influence on society as a whole. Like many aspects of the period, the presentation of gender and sexuality began to change with the rest of England’s Early Modern era. Conversely, gender play, and even cross-dressing, in this time period was presented as an alternative was looked upon as a disruption society and must be contained. Therefore, the structure for gender roles was concrete and strict, for its intention was used to keep the social order to remain in balanced and keep the general public to function as they should have.

Elizabethan England was one of the greatest times in human history. Elizabethan England is around the 16th century during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign and is often called the golden age of England. Despite having a female ruler, during this time period women were treated as second class citizens. Times have changed vastly since then and the lives of women living in the modern day are very different than women’s lives were then.

Women did not have a successful run on the throne until her and currently, England has yet, another successful woman in power in Elizabeth II. Through her strengths as a person and as a leader, Elizabeth I set the tone for what a Queen should be and how they should act. Not only this, but she also worked hard to get the trust of the English people and it seemed to have stuck for if it had not, it is possible that a female would currently not be in power and if she were, she might not have the respect that the current Queen does. Another clear group of people that Elizabeth I has pertinence to today is that of religious groups. Once Elizabeth was on the throne she allowed people to worship how they pleased for she understood that essentially

Women of today are still not considered equal to men in several aspects, but compared to just a few decades ago, women are living the good life. Women from ancient time to now have not had the same privileges as men have. Women’s roles have changed significantly from the Elizabethan era to now, yet alone from ancient times, transitioning from property to property owners and from uneducated to educators was a big change for the social placement of women. A 13th-century Christian theologian, Thomas Aquinas said that woman was "created to be man's helpmeet, but her unique role is in conception . . .

Elizabeth I is one of the most portrayed monarchs in television, theatre and films, and polls have named her “the best known and most admired English monarch” . However, academic opinions fluctuate greatly1. The state of England the moment Elizabeth ascended to the throne was far from ideal, she had to face the consequences of her half-brother and half-sister’s reigns and arguably did so. She reigned for 45 years, in times plagued by risk of invasion, inflation, rebellions, economic depression and religious discord among other difficulties. Her death was lamented by some and met with relieve by others.

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.

Queen Elizabeth I was the most extraordinary leader in English history. She was born on September 7, 1533 at Greenwich Palace. Her birth was not celebrated; instead it was a bitter failure to her father King Henry VIII, who was expecting the birth of a son. Her mother was executed for treason not long after her birth (Jokinen 1). After Henry VIII’s third spouse Jane Seymour died; however, Elizabeth was set back in the order of succession after Edward and Mary by act of parliament.