Romeo And Juliet Gender Roles Essay

West Side Story. Wise, Robert, Jerome Robbins, and Arthur Laurents. Santa Monica: MGM/UA Home Entertainment, 1961.Film.

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.

From the very first page, the status quo of Verona has been set as Shakespeare starts off establishing this theme of masculinity by inserting scene 1 of act 1 into the book. As this quote shows, “Tis true; and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall. Therefore I will push Montague's men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the

Author and civil rights activist Maya Angelou once said, “How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!”. When one thinks of comic books, it is very likely that the subjects that come to mind are Marvel’s Spiderman or DC’s Batman. Although comic books are stereotypically thought to be mainly about super heroes, there are a wide variety of subject matter they could be written about, such as romance. In the 1950s – 1960s, it was common for these romance comics to exploit the social norms of that time and emphasized the subject of gender roles. While the men in comic books were usually illustrated in a brave heroic manner, the women would be portrayed to be what would now be considered a stereotypical “trophy wife”. As a young child reading these comics and taking in these images, they are slowly molding their ideals to believe that what they are reading and seeing is what is accepted and normal in their society. By coding gender norms into the texts, authors are helping mold the ideology of its readers to believe that it is acceptable for both genders to follow specific rules that accommodate to the believed social norms of the time.

In a patriarchal society, women are expected to conform to social restrictions by demonstrating reverence and obedience to the males in their lives. Shakespeare's tragic play, Romeo and Juliet, explores the effects of patriarchal authority exerted over women and how the patriarchal structure left no escape from it, save death. Through Juliet, Lady Capulet, and the Nurse, Shakespeare establishes a common understanding of this type of society, but illuminates three different reactions to the social oppression by portraying the responses of a passionate lover, an idyllic housewife, and an attendant.

Shakespeare also argues that men are expected to be competitive in society. Once Nurse, Juliets caretaker learns that Romeo has murdered Juliet's dear cousin Tybalt she retorts: “There’s no trust, no faith, no honesty in men; all perjured, all forsworn, all naught, all dissemblers” (III, ii, 85-87). After Nurse hears about the horrible things that men have done, referring to Tybalt and Romeo, she lets her anger by categorizing men into dishonest and untrustworthy behavior. Nurse’s use of “forsworn” and “disassemblers” implies that men have negative behavior and cause damage to society. In this scene, Shakespeare shows how the actions of men cause them to be seen as hostile and hindered, contributing to how society views men. This societal view of men is shown later in the Act when Friar Lawrence expresses how romeo should stop crying and “man up”: “Art thou a man? Thy form cries thou art: Thy tears are womanish, thy wild acts denote the unreasonable fury of a beast: unseemly woman in a seeming man” (III, iii, 109-112). Friar Lawrence describes how Romeo looks as if he was a woman, his tears look like a woman’s and his actions represent actions of

In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare uses the character of Romeo to argue against the Elizabethan era concept that violence equates masculinity.

Female sovereignty was uncommon in Renaissance England. The social structure of the family assured the subjugation of woman under man. Daughters remained under the care of their fathers until they were married, at which time they became subject to their husband's authority. Economics ensured the wife's dependence on her husband. Unmarried and widowed women retained far more legal rights than married women, therefore, "for a woman, marriage meant the loss of her legal and economic rights, and therefore a dependence on the (chosen) man" (Motte 29). Even though marriage often meant a loss of legal rights, those daughters who had the good fortune to choose their mates faired better than those whose marriages were arranged.

Compare and contrast the presentation of gender in two films we have looked at on the course

    Othello represents a prime example of Shakespeare's ability to develop relationships between the sexes so as to demonstrate those relationships' weaknesses. In Othello, the sexes are divided by misconceptions and ego- centric views of the opposite gender. The men of the play, in particular Othello, maintain a patriarchal, chivalric notion of the sexes, while the women of the play yearn for more involvement in their husbands' affairs. So it is that the thrust of the play emerges from "the opposition of attitudes, viewpoints, and sexes." (Neely 214)

Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in the 16th century, at a time where 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 into the expectations of society, and Lady Capulet, who represents a traditional side of love and values social position rather than men themselves.

Throughout Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, there is an overlaying presence of the typical roles that men and women were supposed to play. During Elizabethan times there was a major difference between the way men and women were supposed to act. Men typically were supposed to be masculine and powerful, and defend the honor. Women, on the other hand, were supposed to be subservient to their men in their lives and do as ever they wished. In Romeo and Juliet the typical gender roles that men and women were supposed to play had an influence on the fate of their lives.

Romeo and Juliet is set in Verona. They are two star crossed lovers from two different families who have been feuding for generations. This is apparent in the line “The quarrel is between our masters and us their men”. This demonstrates that the play is destined to result in tragedy. The effect that is created on the audience is that the families have been fighting constantly for many years and that it has been passed down from generations to generations. The Montague’s and Capulet’s ancestors were feuding and this fight has carried on over the years. Looking from a social context women were ruled over by men. Women were possessions or baggage. This relates to the play through Capulet and Juliet’s relationship. Capulet tells Juliet

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet defies the “stereotypical gender normality’s” that were present in 1595. Throughout the play, the two main characters, Romeo and Juliet, continuously oppose to the gender-based normality’s that are expected of them. They defy the gender-based stereotypes surrounding love and relationships, the gender roles around marriage. Even the character's way in which they end their lives are more “suited” towards the opposite gender.

I have read this piece by Shakespeare multiple times, and every time I read this play I notice various details I had never noticed previously. The themes of the destructiveness of love and class conflict have always been the most obvious to me. So, reading the play this time around I tried to find expressions and examples of the other themes in Romeo and Juliet. One theme that I noticed this time was the patriarchal oppression of women. From the beginning of the play, one could see the Juliet was an innocent and obedient child. As the plot develops, Juliet’s character changes, and we can see how the patriarchal power over her left her no other mean of escape, but death. In act three scene five, Juliet confronts her father about not wanting