Victims Of Women In Shakespearian Plays

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.

 In the plays female sexuality is not expressed variously through courtship, pregnancy, childbearing, and remarriage, as it is in the period.  Instead it is narrowly defined and contained by the conventions of Petrarchan love and cuckoldry.  The first idealizes women as a catalyst to male virtue, insisting on their absolute purity.  The second fears and mistrusts them for their

Women in today’s society feel as if they are given less power than a man and are fighting back for their rights. In his comedic romance novel, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare portrays women as the weakest of the sexes. Throughout the tale, Shakespeare makes it a societal normal to treat women in this manner, which in old times, was accepted. Women in the story even see themselves as weaker than men and accept they are below them. Shakespeare’s conflict, imagery, and symbolism sets the stage for how the sexes are portrayed in this novel full of comedic irony.

Why, why is this? Think'st thou I'ld make a lie of jealousy, To follow still the changes of the moon With fresh suspicions? No; to be once in doubt Is once to be resolved . . . (3.3.190) The moon/Desdemona is seen as at once chaste and inclined to change. Later, Othello accuses Desdemona of infidelity despite her protesting innocence. Again, he compares her infidelity with the moon: "What committed!/ Heaven stops the nose at it and the moon winks . . . " (4.2.74). The moon, once chaste, is now flirting. Similarly, Othello believes that Desdemona, once chaste, is cuckolding him. These two examples show the multiple allegories of the moon that, similarly, exist in women.

In William Shakespeare’s tragic drama “Othello”, Shakespeare puts emphasis on the role of the female characters and their influence on the male protagonists. Othello’s love and jealousy regarding his wife made this play a tragedy. There are only three women in the play Othello; Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca. The way in which these women behave and present themselves strongly reflects the ideological expectations of women within Shakespeare’s imagined Venetian society as well as the Elizabethan society in which he lived. This patriarchal Venetian society presented in the play depicts women as possessions of men who should remain submissive and meek at all times. They lived in a society in which a woman was either a whore, or a good, angelic

Becca Griffing 02/08/2012 Shakespeare in Love Analyze the representation of gender in two or more plays and/or films When reading literature from the Renaissance period, it is clear to see male and female characters were thought upon as two completely different types of people. By following what the bible told them about the opposite sexes, writers in this time were able to set specific gender norms for both men and women. However, when reading the works of William Shakespeare, one can sense a riff in the norms of either sex. With characters such as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, we can see a character that possess qualities that do not necessarily belong to their gender. However, with a character like Desdemona in Othello, we can see

Challenging the Roles of Gender in Shakespeare In Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare challenges the use of gender roles, which are social and behavioral standards assigned to the sexes, which were established during his time period. Shakespeare challenges these roles through his characters, Romeo and Juliet, by having them rebel against the social construction of gender set in Verona. Gender roles during the Elizabethan age were formed under patriarchal social construct. Women, during that time period, were expected to passively obey the men in their lives, such as their husbands or fathers. Men, during that time period, governed their households and enforced their superiority in their communities. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare

In William Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet”, Shakespeare defies most traditional gender roles by allowing his characters to exceed the stereotypical expectations and allowing them to be true to themselves. Society in Verona is clearly portrayed as the expectations for beliefs, values, and behaviours in both men and women. Women are thought of as inferior, weak, and objects to possess while men are driven by power, bravery, and sexual domination. The character of Romeo, however, challenges these ideas about men and incorporates very feminine traits into the way he presents himself. He is repeatedly associated with failure to stand, weakness and weeping, as well as privacy. Romeo’s inability to conform to society’s expectations of men brings him and Juliet together, however his later attempts to re-conform lead to their ill-fated tragedy.

The play, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare supports the concept that men are superior to women in all aspects in life. This is highlighted numerous times and is witnessed through the dynamic relationships shared between women and men within the play. The men of Verona crave dominance, whilst the women of Verona are subservient. Ultimately, Shakespeare’s play is a depiction of typical gender roles of the Elizabethan era.

A Feminist Analysis of Othello   In William Shakespeare’s tragic play Othello there are numerous instances of obvious sexism aimed at the three women in the drama -- Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca – and aimed at womankind generally. Let us delve into this subject in this paper. In the essay

During the 14th century, the view regarding gender roles was nothing like today’s perspective. Boys were raised to become men: violent, dominant, confident, and decisive beings. Girls were raised to become ladylike figures: subservient, obedient, diffident, and emotional individuals. Conveyed in the tragic play Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, 14th century gender roles shape and impact the female protagonist, Juliet Capulet. Furthermore, the play reveals the development and growth of Juliet, despite her challenges regarding specific gender roles and complicated relationships.

Tiffany Stelle English Prof Barrett-Graves 8 April 2015 Tamora: Gender Constructs in Titus Andronicus In Shakespeare’s plays it is important to understand the historical context of women in the Elizabethan Age and their role. The Shakespearean era consisted of a misogynistic and patriarchal society which contrasted with Queen Elizabeth being the head of the state. Even though the most important person in England was a woman, the common woman was still very limited in her power and in her independence. Women in this era were dependent on men socially, economically and sexually. Married women were not allowed to be in the public without their husbands, they were bound to the domestic area. Women in general were believed to be less rational than men and always needed male protection and guidance. As they were thought to be incapable of caring for themselves, it was the men’s duty to control their sexuality; the father had to guarantee that his daughter marries as a virgin and the husband had to control his wife so she would only bear his children. Economically women were dependent on men because they were not allowed to have their own business or be involved in trade. They were seen as objects of bartering that men traded with and treated as if they were property. Women were believed to be passive objects, this idea of male dominance above women is represented in theology and philosophy and even supported by medical science: “The fact that female sex organs were inside was

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie once stated,"The problem with gender is that it prescribes how [someone] should be rather than recognizing how  [they] are."William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet and Jeanne Gerlach, Rudolph Almasy, and Rebecca Daniel's article "Revisiting Shakespeare and Gender" explore the ideals of men and women in the sixteenth-century society of  England and Italy. Shakespeare is telling  a story set in Verona, Italy of how the two protagonists, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet’s, young love and the feuding of their families caused the deaths of them. The Elizabethan Era women are expected to show “obedience”,”weak[ness]”,and “silence” in regards to men, in Shakespeare’s plays he challenges the ideas that women cannot

Some critics and other readers of Shakespeare's plays argue that he treats women with disrespect. However, he actually treats them with a great amount of respect. Shakespeare has been criticized by many modern writers for his portrayal of women.

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.