Throughout human history we can deduce that women were typically regarded with lesser importance compared to men. According to historylearningsite.co.uk, this argument is proved especially true in Medieval England, for societal norms resulted in the harsh treatment of women. Males dominated the society and felt that they were superior to women. This theory still remains accurate in "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare and "A Gathering of Old Men" by Ernest Gaines. The similarities between the women in the play and the novel are beyond abundant; nevertheless, their differences are what set the apart as a very important element to the plot. The significance of women to the development of the plot cannot be undermined, for it is monumental. The women in "A Gathering of Old Men" and the women in "Julius Caesar" compare and contrast through their desire to protect others, through how they were treated, and through how they feel about equality. To begin, Calpurnia from the tragedy and Candy from the novel both had motives of protecting men. Calpurnia, Caesar's wife, had a nightmare prior to his assignation. In her sleep, Calpurnia yelled out "Help ho! They murther Caesar!" Who's within" …show more content…
Portia and Calpurnia were treated poorly solely because of their gender, while Beulah's harsh treatment was a result of not only sexism, but also racism. Equality was lacking in both situations, and while Portia thought she could prove herself equal, Candy felt that she should already be of equal importance to the men. Both pieces of writing are part of history, and one would hope that the idea of sexism will remain a part
The main thing Caesar’s wife, Calpurnia does in the play is tell Caesar to stay at home on the day of his murder because of many unnatural events that have taken place the night before and because she has had
Shakespeare created his own archetypal structure when he wrote tragedies and comedies. In tragedies everyone dies. In comedies everyone gets married. Across each tragedy and comedy similarities with other tragedies and comedies can be found. That’s because, once again, it’s archetypal literature. The characters especially as far as women go consist of “the weak one”- (Ophelia, Juliet, (although not really because she loved her parents enemies), Hero and many others. Shakespeare created a new type of literature with women that were stronger and rebellious and perhaps had power like Rosalind and Beatrice in “As you like it,” and “Much Ado about
Women in the sixteenth century were commonly dominated by a patriarchal society. Meaning their loyalty and respect lay amongst the men in their lives with little choice for opposition. In Othello by William Shakespeare, he portrays the role of women in a way typical to their representation in Elizabethan and Venetian society. While the women may be presented as mentally stronger than their male counterparts, the language given to these female characters suggest that they have internalized society 's expectation of them. Apart from moments of private conversation and Emilia 's reaction to Desdemona 's death, the women behave in a submission that is expected of them, believing it to be the natural way, as the men continue to downgrade and treat them as secondary citizens. Shakespeare represents this status of women through the traditional views of the male characters, moments of submission from the females, and how the women internalize this society.
Women are seen as fickle, emotional creatures that spend most of their time on nonsense. Women are also known for their ability to hold a grudge, remember every wrongdoing ever done to them, and for their aptitude for revenge. Most women today would disagree with this stereotype, and women have made great strides, but women’s roles in society have not come as far as we may think. The roles of women in Shakespeare’s Hamlet demonstrate that women are fickle, obedient, and passive, but in Euripides’ Medea women are exhibited as aggressive, prideful, and subject to extreme emotion.
During the 1500s, the roles of men and women differed immensely throughout society. Even though the roles of different people based on gender have equalized in the United States, there continues to be controversy over whether gender defines one’s role in society or not. In the play, The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, there is a lot of hierarchical power based on gender between characters along with society. Although some people may argue that gender does not define one’s role in society, more evidence supports that gender does define one’s role; because the roles of men and women during Shakespeare’s time differed considerably from the roles of men and women today as men were viewed as superior and women were labeled and treated unjustly.
With Caesar’s actions in Calpurnia’s presence we see the gentler, slightly less arrogant side to his personality. Also in having Portia’s presence, we see the more compassionate side of Brutus, her husband. We are shown Caesar’s gentler, less arrogant behavior when Calpurnia pleaded with Caesar that he not leave home that day, a request made due to her suspicions sparked by the soothsayer’s warning to beware the Ides of March. Caesar dismisses her feeling confident that the Soothsayer’s words were unimportant. However she continues in her attempts to convince him. “Mark Antony shall say I am not well,/ And for thy humor I will stay at home” (cite). Then, although he sees staying home on this day as a sign of cowardice, Caesar chooses to stay home. Although shortly after, Caesar reverts to his original plan, the fact remains true that for at least a moment, Caesar had made the less arrogant choice. Making this choice showed Caesar is capable of changing his arrogant way of thinking under certain circumstances.In having Portia, Brutus’s wife, we see a new characteristic in Brutus as well.After Portia’s death Brutus says to Cassius, “No man bears
All things considered, women are very underestimated when being compared to men. All women in this play were without power, a stay at home wife, without a clue and without the ability to stand on their own two feet. Whereas every male character in the play held all the power, were the bread winners, were rational and more than capable to think and be on their own. What this
From the expansion days of Ancient Rome to the fall of the Roman Empire, women have always succumbed to living subjacent to the status of their omnipotent and dominant male figures. After leaving her childhood home and the rule of her father, a young Roman girl would then be coerced into the dominion of her husband, often taking a plethora of roles, ranging from lover, caretaker, and best friend. It is often lightheartedly stated that, “Behind every great man is an even greater woman,” and William Shakespeare exemplifies this concept beautifully in Julius Caesar, in which he effectively used the spouses of the two main characters to add more depth, drama, and literary elements to the play, bringing it to life. Although the only two
For thousands of years, humanity has been ruled mainly by a Patriarchal society. In this society women have often been seen as objects or inferior humans through the eyes of their male counterparts. The Elizabethan era was no exception to these beliefs, and works of literature often supported these misogynistic views. In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, however, the author appears to portray the characters of Portia and Calphurnia in a positive light, ignoring the common stereotypes often associated with female characters. Although Portia and Calphurnia have minor parts in the play, their strength is discernible. Both female characters are portrayed as
The role of woman in the society has always been really controversial, whether it was 400 years ago or now. Shakespeare's two very famous comedy plays, The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice challenge a very serious social issue, the role and importance of woman in society. We all know the stereotypical image of woman in the society but Shakespeare questions the society on these thoughts through his plays. While Shakespeare expresses his ideas in a very unique way in each of his plays, this issue is common in both plays and is portrayed very similarly. Whether it is the way woman are treated, portrayed or judged, Shakespeare repeats the same idea through difference acts and events between the two comedies. There are some
It is true that the majority of women in the 17th century were housewives (Lambert). However, in Shakespeare’s eyes, this did not translate to inferiority of women. Instead, he believed that society’s flawed thinking was both unjust and dangerous. He saw women for what they were worth: humans capable of performing and becoming something everyone else could. Regardless of their genders, woman could be just as assiduous, shrewd, and vindictive as their male
Feminism is and has always been a prominent focus in society. Specifically during the Renaissance, when Shakespeare’s Othello was written, were women thought of as subordinate to men. Shakespeare portrays women as merely FOIL characters to their male counterparts throughout the play. They help shed light on the men’s dark sides as well as their true faults. Their roles include wives, prostitutes, and even messengers. The women in the play are disrespected and treated as lesser beings. Although there are imperative female characters in Shakespeare’s Othello, many of them are treated as tools or objects and are disrespected by the men, specifically Iago, Othello and Cassio.
In the Middle Age literature, women are often presented or meant to come off as an unimportant character; which can also reflect on how the author wants the women character represent. Women are usually shunned, have no say or control in what they do; due to what men desire; like Ophelia and Gertrude did in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. But these female characters that I will discuss are women with power, control, and a voice. Majority of the female character’s appearances are made to represent wickedness, evil, or a seducer who challenges a man belief; and does not symbolize perfect women.
Shakespeare and Webster represent the female characters in ‘Hamlet’ and ‘The duchess of Malfi’ by using general themes such as the patriarchy and the social control, the female identity and its independence, this institution of marriage, the expressions of sexuality and finally women shown to be either conformist or transgressive. Men were firmly in control in the Elizabethan and Jacobean era, and the expectations for women were to stay home, cook, clean and raise a family. Women’s status and roles were subject to the Tyranny of patriarchy, they were given strict disciplinary rules to follow whether by law or unspoken norms to prevent from rebellion. Women’s rights were restricted, legally, socially and economically, unlike today were women are more powerful and independent. Today women and men are seen to be equal and women can do pretty much everything a man can do (voting, working, becoming president) although there are many people still today who disagree with women having these rights.
Shakespeare and the members of the Elizabethan era would be appalled at the freedoms women experience today. The docility of Elizabethan women is almost a forgotten way of life. What we see throughout Shakespeare’s plays is an insight into the female character as perceived by Elizabethan culture. Shakespeare’s female characters reflect the Elizabethan era’s image of women; they were to be virtuous and obedient and those that were not were portrayed as undesirable and even evil.