Women In The Elizabethan Era

Being a woman in the Elizabethan era was extremely tough as they were treated as objects and only married men that profited their Father. This has all changed very dramatically since that era.This is shown very well in the texts that we have studied this term. (“The Taming Of the Shrew”, and “Ten Things I Hate About You”). In The Taming of the Shrew, this was very evident as Baptista, the girl's Father, gave Petrucio, a very ostentatious man, a reasonable dowry to try to “tame” Katherina, the extremely opinionated daughter. Ironically, her sister is the kind of woman who would have been considered the perfect bride as she was loyal, quiet and did what she was told. Being male in these days meant that you were expected to have money, influence

Women weren't allowed to go to school or act in plays (Davis 91). “Women had little rights and were considered property of their father or husband and not as their own person” (Davis 90). Rich women that had servants spent their time gossiping to one another and playing cards (Davis 91).

Life for the women in the Elizabethan times was very hard. Women were expected to find some rich and successful guy to end up marrying and then expected to have babies and spend their life caring for the children, their husband, and their home. Women were not able to have paying jobs or schooling. All they did was clean and obey the men around

In the sixteenth century the role of women in society was very limited. Women were generally stereotyped as housewives and mothers. They were to be married, living their life providing for her husband and children. The patriarchal values of the Elizabethan times regarded women as the weaker sex.’ Men were considered the dominant gender and were treated with the utmost respect by females. Women were mainly restricted within the confines of their homes and were not allowed to go school or to university, but they could be educated at home by private tutors. Men were said to be the ones to provide for their families financially. Women were often seen as not intelligent. Property could not be titled in the name of a female within the family. Legally everything the female had belonged to her husband. Poor and middle class wives were kept very busy but rich women were not idle either. In a big house they had to organize and supervise the servants.

In the Elizabethan period, women were subordinate to men. They were considered to be ‘inferior' beings who were controlled by their husbands, fathers or any other men in the family. Women were not allowed to hold their own opinions, views or lifestyles. Men had control of everything, some of these included money, politics, work, children, women and home.

Back then women were not allowed to speak as often as they would have liked to. They were expected to be caregivers, have and raise children, and do household duties such as cleaning and cooking for the family. Basically that was a women's typical role, men were constantly seen as being way above women, so therefore they would always be the ones who commanded or had the final word in what would be done. Women were seen as passive and weak, and not as able to accomplish physically or mentally all that men

Though women in the Elizabethan Era hardly married someone for love, they often did marry to improve their position in society. By this, women could gain immense authority over their household and those in it. After the husband, the man of the house, of course, the wife had the most authority over the estate. The woman had power over the servants, so it was her job to watch over them to see that they completed their jobs properly and timely. In addition, the lady must watch over her ladymaids to keep them out of trouble and even help them find suitors to marry themselves.

Women did not have many rights at the turn of the century. What few rights and freedoms they did have were dominated by social standards. They were expected to cater to their husbands' wishes and commands. I think their society oppressed them more often than their own husbands did. A good

Gender expectations limited personal choice to a great extent during the Elizabethan Era. The Elizabethan Era was the period in which Elizabeth I ruled England from 1558-1603. There was a strong view on women should be the property of men and must obey them. William Shakespeare influenced this time period massively and incorporated the different gender roles and expectations into his plays. Personal is defined as something concerning one's private life, relationships, and emotions rather than one's career or public life. Choice is defined as an act of choosing between two or more possibilities. Therefore personal choice can be seen as how someone chooses to life their personal life; whether that be the relationships formed or

Once they were married they basically became one person that followed the will of the husband, the wife was essentially masked by her husband. Wives were primarily responsible for housework and childcare. Women were needed by the men because they were not considered "true" men unless they were married so the unmarried men were often excluded from ruling positions that would have otherwise been rightfully theirs. Women almost always stayed at the house and took care of the family instead of working because if women were to work they would earn about half to two-thirds less than men for the same work. Along with the unfair wage deduction for women, they were also excluded from several things like the military so sometimes a woman would dress up like a man to gain access to certain opportunities that they otherwise wouldn't be granted such as joining the military. Among the poor, both sexes were known to do whatever it took to survive regardless of their traditional role. While it was looked down upon it wasn't unheard of for a woman or male to take on the responsibilities of the opposite sex. If the situation called for it the wife would sell or trade on the streets or work for a manufacturing company to earn some

Women were expected to basically be merely an object, even a trophy for their husbands. They were expected to stay home and clean, as well as cook. With all these expected tasks, women hardly had any time to branch out and figure out what they wanted to do with their life. They had no time for leisure activities of any kind because, of course, their activities involved taking care of the house. Women were also seen as the weaker sex, always submissive to their dominant male counterpart. Although the women were submissive, they were held to a higher moral standard. Adultery was twice shamed upon if committed by a woman rather than a man. (Hughes par.3) A woman could be stoned to death, but people would turn their cheek for a man while the woman still was expected to stay beside the man.

The Elizabethan age regarded women’s sexuality as a form of currency. In England’s social structure currency was a means to power. A woman’s virginity was something to be bargained for, and when the time was right, sold to the highest bidder. In modern day, this slightly resembles prostitution, but during Elizabethan times selling a daughter’s virginity was the quickest way up the social ladder. During this time, the sacrifice of virginity implies marriage. Young women rarely married on the idea of love alone, due to the father’s interests in finding an ideal husband that will strengthen the family’s position within the community. Author of Shakespeare’s Women, Angela Pitt states “if for some reason it was impractical for a girl to marry she was encouraged to enter a nunnery,” (15). English women were predominantly ignored outside of the matrimonial and spiritual world.

of a man. Women were able to hold political positions, possess land, and overall enjoy a

In comparison with men, women didn’t have a lot of rights and freedom. Some argued that men and women were different species and that men were similar to gods and women were similar to animals. Men could vote but women couldn’t,

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.