tutors inside their homes. They also were not allowed to become lawyers, doctors, or the like. Only maids, cooks or other “around the house” jobs. This is a summary of the average Patriarchal society. In the play, Merchant of Venice written by Shakespeare, the women defy these stereotypes of a Patriachal society in multiple scenerios. Firstly, there was a Jew named Jessica that lived with her father. Despite the norm, she fell in love with a Christian and dressed up as a boy so she could run
In the society of Venice, the social system called patriarchy is quite ordinary. The feminist literary criticism attempts to analyze patriarchies, where men hold the majority of power, while women are denied access of it. In the sought after play called, The Merchant Of Venice, by William Shakespeare, women are treated unequally to men. Furthermore, women are not allowed to choose their own husbands as well as given a chance to solve legal disputes. As proven in the play, the patriarchal society
Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice 'I am a Jew' a famous saying from Shylock in 'Merchant of Venice' that clarifies the merchant brotherhood of a wealthy city. 'Merchant of Venice' contains rascals and heroes. The audiences will soon realise that Shylock, the Jewish money lender, is shown as a villain within the wealthy city. Is this really what Shakespeare had intended? This testimony given proposes that Shylock is more of a deceitful character
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
Shirley Nelson Garner, in order for the world of men and patriarchal society and hierarchies to be secure and be well, the homoerotic relationships and relationships between women have to be subdued. Although A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedy, we can observe through important scenes what Shakespeare may imply when it comes to social issues, race, class, and or gender; in this case is the overpowering of women by men. Merchant in Venice is another play in which Shakespeare uses his characters
This paper examines The Merchant of Venice from a social viewpoint. It explores the types of social control on the two daughters, Portia and Jessica, and studies the ways of their resistance. In the play,the male-dominated society controls the two daughters through the rules and traditions of theVenetiansociety, and the daughters resist theserules and traditions through writing, cross-dressing, sexuality, and elopement. Therefore, through analyzing the two female characters in this play, this paper
Venice in 1604 was a patriarchal, wealthy, socially ranked, and religious society. Patriarchy and gender roles in the 17th century included women being in charge of the household and men involving themselves in politics. Men controlled what the women of the family could and could not do. Women were in charge of domesticating the household and focusing on representing their husband’s wealth in a positive way. Women in Venice were not educated and the literate women that were educated were “suspected
William Shakespeare is often praised as the best playwright but does his works fall victim of the patriarchal influence? In one of Shakespeare’s famous works The Merchant of Venice, there is sexism prevalent throughout these characters actions and interactions. Shakespeare’s writing may have been influenced by his era with sexism influencing scenes like the trial and the lottery of the caskets. The first thing one should consider while analyzing Shakespeare’s writing is the social norms of his
Set in 16th century Venice, The Merchant of Venice is a comedic play written by William Shakespeare, following the lives of Antonio and Bassanio, two best friends. When Bassanio meets Portia, a beautiful and wealthy heiress, he borrows money from Antonio in attempt to woo her. As this plot unravels, we discover that Bassanio is not the only one after Portia, and is in fact against many other rich and titled suitors, who Portia unsparingly judges. This is when Portia is first portrayed as cruel and
character growth. 2. Thesis: Shakespeare's well known for writing complex and interesting female roles that empowered young girls during the Elizabethan times. All the next 3 body paragraphs are going to be about the three plays: Much Ado, The Merchant of Venice and As You Like It. The author will most likely use those plays to prove that Shakespeare was able to write complex characters who possessed beauty, vigorousness, self-confidence and wit. Each play listed above will possess a strong female protagonist