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Women's Roles In The 1500s

Decent Essays

Imagine a life of not being able to have a mind of your own and having to base your actions on a man. That’s how it was for women during the 1500s. Women didn’t have a choice. Nowadays women are able to do as they please without the consent of a man. The play Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare women roles differ from current gender roles. In the 1500s the roles of women in society were very restricted. The play depicted women as weak and inferior. Women roles have greatly changed since the 1500s. The twentieth century played a major role for women.
During the 1500s Women’s roles in society were not equal to men. The play portrays female characters as weak, inferior, superficial, rebellious, and impulsive. Juliet, protagonist, was impulsive and …show more content…

Women have become liberated and successful. Instead of women being forced to marry who their father says or be obedient to a man they are versatile. Women are able to do as they please. “In 1604, a law was passed that allowed men and women to marry without parents’ consent (Elizabethan Era).” This wasn’t women’s only issue; they weren’t allowed to receive the proper educations or the right to vote. Women realized the only way to get equality and proper treatment was to fight. The fight began with the first Women’s Rights Convention which held in 1848 (Women’s Rights). “In this convention, men and women signed a document – “A Declaration of Sentiments”, which constituted of resolutions that were adopted for the eradication of discrimination against women in all realms of society” (Women’s Rights). In 1869, the fifteenth amendment resulted in the movement for women's rights which gained them even more supporters (Women’s Rights). The twentieth century is when things changed dramatically for women. The 19th amendment was passed which gave women the right to vote. “Also, women could own and look after property, with a mutual agreement with their husbands (Women’s Rights). In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed to eliminate sex discrimination in the work place (Women’s Rights). In 1978, rights were given to pregnant women that helped them to maintain their jobs, without experiencing discrimination (Women’s Rights). Other laws were passed for pension rights for women, especially for widows and divorcées (Women’s Rights). Women have been through a lot to get to where they are

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