Merchant Of Venice Character Analysis

The basis of Shakespeare’s plays appears to focus mainly around the dominant male character and his conflicts, which tend to deal with a woman. There are only three women in the play Othello; Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca. The way in which these women behave and present themselves strongly reflects the ideological expectations of women within Shakespeare’s imagined Venetian society as well as the Elizabethan society in which he lived. This patriarchal Venetian society presented in the play depicts women as possessions of men who should remain submissive and meek at all times. The women are expected to unselfishly and unreservedly devote their lives to serve their fathers until they are of age to do so, their husbands. All three women love

Gender stereotypes are not a modern notion and as such expectations and limitations have always existed for both men and women. Fortunately women, who have formerly beared great burdens of discrimination, now have very liberated roles in society as a result of slowly shifting attitudes and values. Shakespeare was integral in challenging the subservient role expected of women in the 16th century. Throughout the play, ‘The Merchant of Venice’, women are expressed as powerful characters who behave, speak and live in a way that breaks away from the conformist role of females during the 16th century. Therefore, the submissive stereotype expected of women in Shakespearean time is confronted and defied through

In the beginning of the play, Portia is presented as a stereotypical woman of the time. In the sixteenth century it was customary that the father choose a husband for their daughters, which reigns true to Portia. Though her father is dead, she still has to follow his will and is forced to let him choose her husband. The first time Portia is presented to the audience is in Act 1. Scene 2, when she has a lengthy speech to her lady's maid Nerissa. In this speech she repents about her lack of choice, in which she repeats the word choose several times. The repetition of the word choose represents her lack of choice of who she marries or rejects. She says she would never refuse her father's will, proving her conforming to the societal norms. She is clearly lamenting her fate and sees her future as dark and painful. Shakespeare clearly wrote this scene as a way to show the audience how women of the time had to suffer because of their gender, and the oppression they faced. He wanted to bring awareness to this subject that most people didn’t think twice about. The women during this time had little to no choice in their futures, and who they were to marry. In addition women during the sixteenth century had to give all their money and assets to their husband. When Portia marries Bassanio she willingly gives all of her wealth to him, this is shown when Portia says, “This house, these servants and this same myself / Are yours, my lord: I give them with this ring.” (3.2.174-175). Before she met Bassanio she was in control of her

There are many ways in which the play, 'Much Ado About Nothing ', by Shakespeare could be interpreted and read. This ambiguity is present in all of Shakespeare 's works yet one interpretation is prominent in 'Much Ado About Nothing ' particularly. The feminist contention that the treatment of women in this play reflects deep insecurities in men about the potential threat of the female to undermine patriarchal order, such as that of Messina 's society, highlights Shakespeare 's tendency to override the freedom of female characters. Of course, it is only in recent years that the play has been read from a feminist viewpoint and the shift of social focus during the years since it was written has also offered a vast range of interests, so

In William Shakespeare’s tragic drama “Othello”, Shakespeare puts emphasis on the role of the female characters and their influence on the male protagonists. Othello’s love and jealousy regarding his wife made this play a tragedy. There are only three women in the play Othello; Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca. The way in which these women behave and present themselves strongly reflects the ideological expectations of women within Shakespeare’s imagined Venetian society as well as the Elizabethan society in which he lived. This patriarchal Venetian society presented in the play depicts women as possessions of men who should remain submissive and meek at all times. They lived in a society in which a woman was either a whore, or a good, angelic

In William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, gender roles are explored, culminating in two distinct scenes of cross-dressing. The men of Elizabethan society enjoy a prominent status based solely on gender, to which women are clearly outsiders. This is particularly evident in Jessica’s newfound freedom when dressed as a pageboy in Act 2 and Portia’s and Nerissa’s immediate elevation in social standing when they take on male personas in Act 4. Through these two instances of cross-dressing, Shakespeare presents class not in terms of socioeconomic status but in the benefits of being male. Although the three women all partake in cross-dressing as a means of undermining patriarchal constraint, the consequences vary as there are several

Literary works during the time of Shakespeare were dominated by men: the protagonist roles were almost always occupied by someone of the male gender. That being the case, many people forget how important the roles of women are in many of Shakespeare’s plays, such as Macbeth. Macbeth tells the story of a Scottish war hero named Macbeth, and his gruesome journey to becoming the king. Along the way, the audience meets multiple female characters who each play a different role in the story. The specific characteristics in both of the women that will be analyzed have been greatly influenced by the inequality of power between the male and female genders.

The feminist critical perspective examines the roles that women play in literary works and their true significance to the text. Their roles are usually decided on by the society or time period in which the story is set. In "The Merchant of Venice," females were suppressed by the societal ideals of Shakespeare's Elizabethan era, which is portrayed through the characters of Portia and Jessica, who could not establish their own powerful identities because they were women. Portia and Jessica are the main female characters in the play. If they had been given a chance to show their skills, they undoubtedly would've been extremely strong women. However, they had to mask their abilities in order to appeal to their male counterparts. Their

In order to understand the agency of women in these plays, it is also important to consider the social context in which the plays were written. Although the reign of Queen Elizabeth I provided the opportunity for the increase of women’s rights, there was still much progress to be made. In fact, women were often very reliant on the means of either their fathers or their husbands. Although women did have access to education, it was not education as we understand it

In the play Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare, the women take on various roles in this Venetian society. The roles include committing fraud, playing the part of the victim, and playing the part of the hero. In this Venetian society in the 1600s, the women served major purposes and were vital to keep the towns running. However, the women also faced being victimized and stereotyped in this man-run society. Women were inferior to men, treated unequally, and women were also viewed as sexual objects rather than human-beings. The play demonstrates how women were wrongfully treated in this Venetian society and how women are expected to be subordinate to men. In the end, a play seemingly riddled with negativity and degradation of women becomes a piece of work that shows the courageousness and truthfulness that the women in the play possess. With women playing a large role in the play, Othello can be differently interpreted from a feminist perspective.

Throughout the novel, Haywood creates a band between desire and language, and when sexual satisfaction is inappropriate, written satisfaction is substituted. For example, as a virtuous and ruined woman, Amena may not be permitted to have intercourse with D’elmont, however she uses letters as a substitute. Haywood deliberately stages the relationship between language and passion through confinement. For many of Haywood’s heroines; however, confinement does not guarantee the imprisoning of female desire as in private spaces of confinement, the women continue to express both language and desire. Language is used as the precursor of and a substitute for passion; language and passion seem to stimulate one another. Also, Haywood’s heroines find, in containment, a range of emotions and behaviors that are unavailable to them in public domains, where the demands of femininity oppress the expression of passion more strictly than in private. Haywood uses confinement and the promiscuity of confined language to show that women do take control of the seductive narrative. In addition, confined spaces are where women can body forth desire through language; for example, Amena openly writes that “…these consecrated wall, nor iron gates keep out, sleeping, or waking you are ever with me, you mingle with my most solemn devotions; and while I pray to Heaven that I may think on

In many Renaissance texts, gender roles as well as other patterns exist as common themes. Out of the texts from this period, William Shakespeare’s offer some of the most multifarious, drastic roles and depictions of men and women regarding

From 1589 to 1613 William Shakespeare produced some of the most original, thought-provoking and emotionally compelling plays, sonnets, and poetry. Two of his finest pieces of work, Othello and The Merchant of Venice feature dynamic characters, and insights into the chivalry and the xenophobic disposition of the English people at the time. Throughout these two stories, three primary female characters emerge, Desdemona from Othello, and Portia and Jessica from The Merchant of Venice. The female leads in each of these stories share many things in common such as their devotion to their mate and gracefulness, but the fate each woman ends up

In this play, it is noted that nearly every mouth is in motion at one point or another, be they man or woman. For this essay, I will focus on Cary’s expressions of feminism, as it is presented in The Tragedy; abstract, revealed in not only the dialogue, but in the motions of the dialogue, or even through the lack of speech altogether.

With Shakespeare being born in the sixteenth century, there were still three centuries to go before women started the feminist’s movement. However, with his storyline in both The Merchant of the Venice and Twelfth night, the females leads disguised themselves as males to accomplish what needs to be done. Both plays, shows the heroine choices which challenges the characters they interact with. These endearing characters shows similar and different traits. The focus of these plays was based on Portia’s and Viola’s ambition which showed Shakespeare’s respect for women.