The Representation of Male and Female Characters in Two Comedies

Gender equality is one of the main focuses in the Shakespearean play Twelfth Night. The movie “She’s the Man” is inspired by this play. The movie “She's the Man” challenges traditional views of males and females in society. In the movie, Amanda Bynes’s coach informs her soccer team that there will no longer be a girl’s team throughout the rest of the year. Unhappy about her coach’s statement, Amanda suggests that the girls should collaborate with the boys and play together on one team. The boys and coach find the idea to be laughable and disagree. When Amanda’s star athlete older brother runs off to travel the country to go on tour with his band, he convinces Amanda to disguise herself as him until his return. She pretends to be him for two

In contemporary film women's roles in films have varied quiet considerably between genres, geographical placement, and between

Monty Python and the Holy Grail, directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, tells the story of King Arthur and he and his knight’s quest for the Holy Grail. The writing and directing of the movie shows the problems of society. Monty Python and the Holy Grail uses satirical techniques to expose gender roles and greed at the expense of others.

During the time period of Shakespeare, gender roles were a huge part in every woman and man’s life and tell each individual how he or she should behave and exist. In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (1597), the portrayal of a working class woman is seen through the Nurse, in Verona. The Nurse is an older woman whom works as a trusted servant in the Capulet household, which includes Juliet. The gender roles were strict within the household during Shakespeare’s time and the females were taught to be disciplined and obey by being a lady in a patriarchal family system. The Nurse serves and shows this discipline by playing an important role as a messenger to Romeo to gather all the details to their secret marriage to make Juliet pleased.

In the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice, Austen uses irony to express a consensus norm in society during her time. Austen uses the word “universally” to put emphasis on her statement, but use of this word also adds a twist of sarcasm to the line. By using this word, Austen shows how significant gender roles and social class are in society at this time. Any man who is of high social and financial status is expected to marry. The women of this time period are expected to present themselves in a sophisticated manner to show they are worthy of being married.

   Shakespeare enjoyed writing passionate plays about young lovers, but, after a while, the formula became exhausted and the Bard was forced to dig deeper, creatively speaking. Twelfth Night is an example of a Shakespearean love tale with a slight twist to keep things interesting. This play was the “Tootsie” of its time. Twelfth Night takes the audience on a gender-bending journey, while maintaining all the elements of true love throughout. At one point, Olivia wears a disguise in order to take on the traditionally male role of wooing her romantic interest, Cesario, who is also disguised. Although Olivia flirts with Cesario and tells him that his “scorn” only reveals his hidden love, she is

In the play The Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare gender role is not entirely equal. In The Twelfth Night Shakespeare uses gender role from English Renaissance but also challenges these stereotypes of men and women roles in society. He questions the roles of gender and displays that both men and women contain feminine and masculine qualities. Crying for example is thought to be feminine but in Hamlet “Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia, And therefore I forbid my tears” suggest that Laertes is feminine and cannot be hidden by his masculinity. (Shakespeare 8) While questioning the play Twelfth Night it is evident that Shakespeare contemplates the issue and used Viola and her role with Orsino as a path to gender equality.

The Role of Disguise and Gender Treatment in Twelfth Night Before Queen Elizabeth I ascended to the throne, women certainly did not have any lasting impact on society, and they almost never were allowed to articulate their thoughts and feelings. They did not have a choice but to listen to their husbands every command, and would keep any objections they had to themselves. When Elizabeth I was crowned queen, she revolutionized that traditional role and gave women the first real chance to be forward, have power, and demonstrate their strength. This is illuminated in "Twelfth Night," with strong female protagonists such as Olivia, Viola, and Maria. Hints of Queen Elizabeth's characteristics can be seen in countess Olivia's power, status, and the

Pierre Bourdieu is a man well known for his ideas on how society and culture operate. In Bourdieu’s book titled Masculine Domination, he discusses the biological difference between the sexes, i.e. between the male and the female bodies, and, in particular, the anatomical difference between the sex organs can thus appear as the natural justification of the socially constructed difference between the genders. To sum it up, he is saying that certain expectations and standards apply to men (gender) because they have male bodies (sex) and different expectations and standards apply to women (gender) because they have female bodies (sex). It may seem like

In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, one of the central themes that drives the main conflict is the issue of gender roles and femininity. Viola, who is the play’s protagonist, finds herself in the midst of this conflict, trying to find a way to rid herself of her ever present other persona. The struggle between the change of gender and the roles they play is shown as Viola becomes Cesario for parts of the play, leading a double life. The quote from lines 25-29 in Act II Scene ii reflect her inner turmoil as she decides how she is going to handle the consequences that have been presented because of her trickery.

Katarina (Kat) and Bianca Stratford are being raised by their overprotective father. While Bianca is seen as extremely popular and sweet, Kat is considered as overly opinionated and intimidating by her classmates. In order to keep Bianca from dating, their father, developes the rule that Bianca can only go on dates if Kat does so too. Meanwhile, the new kid at school, Cameron, falls in love with Bianca, and in order to date her develops a plan to pay someone to date Kat. The only person that does not seem to be too intimidated by Kat is the mysterious bad boy at school, Patrick, who is surrounded by intrigue and seems to be just as feared as Kat. However, Cameron does not possess the money to pay him. Therefore, he tricks Joey, a male model who is also

Comedy, in the Elizabethan era, often included themes of wit, mistaken identity, love, and tragedy, all tied up with a happy ending. These themes are prevalent in William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, a comical play that explores the pangs of unrequited love and the confusion of gender. Love is a powerful emotion that causes suffering, happiness, and disorder throughout the play. The play also demonstrates the blurred lines of gender identity, which ties into the modern day debate on sexuality and gender identity. The main characters in the play, Viola, Olivia, and Orsino are connected by a love triangle, each person pursuing an unrequited love. Suffering from love and the fluidity of gender are the prevalent themes explored throughout the play and intertwined with Viola, Olivia, and Orsino.

In 'Twelfth Night’, gender and sexuality in many ways add to the play’s themes of madness. 'Twelfth Night ' is a reflection of renaissance thought and culture, the renaissance was a transitional period from the medieval to the radical Elizabethan era. The culture of the time was a contradictory one, as from one aspect it was influenced by the patriarchal medieval time, where women were under the rule of men and seen as needing the protection of men, however, from another perspective, the culture was a changing one as women were starting to receive education and many humanists believed that women should be given more rights. The play reflects these attitudes and often challenges the social hierarchy and establishes ideas on gender roles, sexuality and cross-dressing. These factors indeed undermine the expectations of male and female behaviour, and in turn further the play 's theme of madness which has a comedic effect on the audience due to the shock humour it provides.

Continuing on with challenging gender norms, we are introduced to the concept of women taking on male roles, but then we have to begin questioning what happens to males when they are de-masculinized? In act 1 scene 4 of King Lear, around lines 155, we see that the Fool pokes fun at the idea of Lear being de-masculinized when he states, “Thou hast pared thy with o’both sides and left nothing i’th’ middle” (Shakespeare 1399). In a critique about this passage, it is stated that Lear has to take on a “feminine” position as a result of the loss of power, and that “nothing” refers to female anatomy (Ryan 1074). With these passages, it becomes more evident that King Lear is about gender issues, and how the women of the play challenge gender norms by usurping power. In this play, we see that men lose power, and women gain it, so we see how Shakespeare challenges gender norms by having men and women shift cultural identities. This becomes challenging because it goes against the system, so now the king (who has no power) has to bend his will for his daughter in power, which is considered unnatural for that time period.

     Shakespeare's Twelfth Night examines patterns of love and courtship through a twisting of gender roles. In Act 3, scene 1, Olivia displays the confusion created for both characters and audience as she takes on the traditionally male role of wooer in an attempt to win the disguised Viola, or Cesario. Olivia praises Cesario's beauty and then addresses him with the belief that his "scorn" (3.1.134) only reveals his hidden love. However, Olivia's mistaken interpretation of Cesario's manner is only the surface problem presented by her speech. The reality of Cesario's gender, the active role Olivia takes in pursuing him/her, and the duality of word meanings in this passage threaten to turn the