Portrayal of Women in Jonson's Volpone Essay

When she sees Marry Warren sewing a poppet at court, she seizes the opportunity to persuade more villagers and later pretends she is stabbed by Goody Proctor's familiar spirit. At the Proctor's house, Cheever tells John Proctor and his wife, "And he goes to save her, and, stuck two inches in the flesh of her belly, he draw a needle out." This quote describes a moment in the play when the other characters, particularly John Proctor and his wife, realize just how successful Abigail Williams has been in deceiving the other villagers. Even though Abigail is barely present in Act II, Miller uses quotes like this to show how Abigail covers her deceit with partial-truths so that it appears more realistic and palatable to a bystander. When John Proctor demands that Marry Warren tell the court where the poppet came from and how Mary, and not his wife, stuck a needle in it, Marry Warren cries, "She'll kill me for sayin' that! Abby'll charge lechery on you, Mr. Proctor!" This quote once again shows Abigail's influence in the court and the power she holds over many people. Even the thought of going against Abigail, a girl who Mary Warren was friends with, scares Mary Warren because she knows that Abigail will easily deny the charges as she has come up with an diabolically clever

Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in the 16th century, at a time when the role of the woman was to be subservient to men and act as a wife to their husband and a mother to their children. Women were expected to conform to the expectations of society, and were seen as possessions by their fathers and husbands. Fathers arranged their daughters’ marriages, usually for financial or social gain for the family. In Romeo and Juliet, the unfair treatment of women is conveyed through characters such as Juliet, a young girl who is growing up within the expectations of society, and Lady Capulet, who represents a traditional side of love, and values social position rather than men themselves.

Not only is Abby an improper girl, she dirties her name even more by making threats and lowering herself to violence to conceal her wrongdoing. For instance, Abigail shakes Betty, and smashes her across the face. Her anger is clear and may justify her actions somewhat, but what she says afterwards goes too far. Speaking to Betty and Mary Warren, she says “...Let either of you breathe a word...and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it…”. She afterwards tells Mary to shut up (Act I,18,19) These terrible threats, along with Abigail’s violent nature to cover her sins, condemn her to a life of treachery which she does not turn from. Mary Warren adds further proof to Abigail’s guilt when she is asked by Proctor to testify in court as to the nature of the poppet she had made. Mary speaks in fear of Abigail and what she might do to both herself and Proctor (Act II,

Mary Warren and Mercy Lewis enter the house and Abigail tells them do not reveal that they were casting spells. Betty wakens and Abigail threatens the girls if they speak that she drank blood and casted a spell on Goody Proctor. John Proctor and Abigail talk about their relationship before the opening of the play. Abigail expresses her feelings toward Proctor, but he refuses to believe her. Abigail then becomes angry with him.

As the perception of women changes constantly, society is the only factor in creating their ideal image. These societal views are the basis of their treatment, with the expectation that it is beneficial for them. However, societal expectations of women in the Elizabethan and Victorian eras severely limit their freedoms and rights. William Shakespeare’s Othello and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein portray most women in their typical roles. Both authors depict the level of injustice in society’s treatment of women through the passivity of women causing their deaths, the silencing of vulnerable women and the portrayal of women as more humane than men.

Abigail lies in order to save herself from being executed and passes the blame to many others. After Abigail ‘confesses’ about what she was doing in the woods one night, Betty approaches her and tell her that she “drank blood”

Abigail starts holding all the attention again, and is questioned on her credibility. Abigail is acting offended and begins threatening to leave if she is going to be treated with disrespect. Abby and the other girls begin faking an incident that brings negative attention to Mary. Mary turns her back on Proctor then, fearing what Abby will do to her. Proctor understands what Abigail is doing. In an effort to spare his wife and catch Abigail in the act, Proctor confesses to lechery pleading “I have known her, sir. I have known her” (Miller Act Three Line 842) alluding to the sexual relationship he and Abigail shared. Abigail denies it over and over. Proctor believes that Elizabeth will shed light on all of this by confirming his confession. He is repeatedly stating, “In her life, sir, she have never lied… My wife cannot lie” (Miller Act 3 Line 891-893) Based on this Danforth brings in Elizabeth and asks her if it’s true. Not knowing the current situation Elizabeth hesitates and replies with a no. In a final ditch effort to get the attention off of her, Abigail accuses Proctor of witchcraft. She doesn’t even stick around for execution day. Knowing that she’s close to getting caught, Abby steals all of her uncle’s money and flees. Proctor, trying to hold onto one last shred of goodness, choses against confession and hangs for his alleged

Although women in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries faced oppression and unequal treatment, some people strove to change common perspectives on the feminine sex. John Stuart Mill, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and Virginia Woolf were able to reach out to the world, through their literature, and help change the views that society held towards women and their roles within its structure. During the Victorian era, women were bound to domestic roles and were very seldom allowed to seek other positions. Most men and many women felt that if women were allowed to pursue interests, outside traditional areas of placement that they would be unable to be an attentive

Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre embraces many feminist views in opposition to the Victorian feminine ideal. Charlotte Bronte herself was among the first feminist writers of her time, and wrote this book in order to send the message of feminism to a Victorian-Age Society in which women were looked upon as inferior and repressed by the society in which they lived. This novel embodies the ideology of equality between a man and woman in marriage, as well as in society at large. As a feminist writer, Charlotte Bronte created this novel to support and spread the idea of an independent woman who works for herself, thinks for herself, and acts of her own accord.

Throughout Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë uses the character Jane as a tool to comment on the oppression that women were forced to endure at the time. Jane can be seen as representative of the women who suffered from repression during the Victorian period, a time when patriarchy was commonplace. Brontë herself was affected by the time period, because according to Wolfe, she was deprived “experience and intercourse and travel.” (70) Thus Jane offers a unique perspective as a woman who is both keenly aware of her position and yet trapped by it despite repeated attempts to elevate herself and escape the burden placed on by her different suitors. Although superficially it seems that Jane wants to break away from the relationships that further

The nineteenth century Victorian era woman needed wealth or position to avoid a life of drudgery.  Women were viewed as trophies or possessions men owned.  They were not permitted to develop nor expected to, and even venturing out on their own was considered inappropriate.  During the era in which Jane Eyre was published the home and family were seen as the basic unit of stability in society.  At the middle of this foundation stood a wife and mother representing the sum total of all morality - a Madonna-like image.  This image was reinforced by social institutions such as mainstream religious and political beliefs.  Women were steered away from independence, confidence, and

Subservient, ignorant, passive, timid: these are the qualities that described the ideal 17th century woman in the eyes of Europeans. In the play Macbeth, author William Shakespeare explores the roles of these women through his female characters, challenging preconceived notions and setting up his personal perspective on what a woman's niche in society truly is. Through his contrasting female characters of the gentlewoman and Lady Macduff versus the witches and Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare depicts the reality of how women actually function is society.

With puppy water, beauty’s help, distilled from Tripsy’s darling whelp” (29-33). This statement depicts that women will go to the extent of applying urine from an animal to hide their imperfections. From a man's point of view, this is nauseating and absurd to find such a repugnant fluid masking the face of every beautiful woman. As Strephon’s curiosity leads him forward, his fear of the unknown prepares him for another sight, “Hard by a filthy basin stands, fouled with the scouring of her hands; the basin takes whatever comes, the scrapings of her teeth and gums. A nasty compound of all hues, for here she spits and here she spews” (37-41). The image of Celia’s white teeth after seeing the compound created by them is tarnished. Strephon cannot believe that such white teeth were actually the colour of the paste he found. Thus adding to his point that women are not what they seem or of the same value. Next, he goes to see her chamber pot and is shocked with the contents he saw, “When frightened Strephon cast his eye on’t, it showed a visage of a giant. A glass that can to sight disclose the smallest worm in Celia’s nose. And faithfully directed her nail to squeeze it out from head to tail; for catch it nicely by the head, it must come out alive or dead” (61-68). Such a sight led Strephon to see all the blemishes that once covered beautiful Celia’s face. Men would not have thought of Celia the same way if all those ‘worms’ that covered her were still

She professes her opinion that if the wife falls, it is her husband's fault (4.3.89) and asserts her belief that women have "some revenge" (4.3.96-97). Emilia provides the feminist voice of Othello, asserting her independence from her husband and even admitting that she would commit adultery if the price were right. Her attitude towards men is somewhat cynical, as she says "They are all but stomachs, and we all but food; They eat us hungerly, and when they are full They belch us" (3.4.106-108).

Jane Eyre was written in a time where the Bildungsroman was a common form of literature. The importance was that the mid-nineteenth century was, "the age in which women were, for the first time, ranked equally with men as writers within a major genre" (Sussman 1). In many of these novels, the themes were the same; the protagonist dealt with the same issues, "search for autonomy and selfhood in opposition to the social constraints placed upon the female, including the demand for marriage" (Sussman). Jane Eyre fits this mould perfectly. Throughout the novel, the reader follows Jane Eyre on a journey of development from adolescence to maturity to show that a desire for freedom and change motivates people to search for their own identity.