Gender Standards in Literature: Shakespeare to Austen

Society has created a set of standards for women that has been portrayed in literature for many centuries. Shakespeare depicted these strict standards in Athens during the 16th and 17th centuries in his play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Two centuries later, in her novel Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen depicted the expectations of women during the 19th century in England, and the resemblance between the two was anticipated. Women had nearly the same roles throughout the centuries, although there were some differences. Weaker women had a tendency to conform completely to these harsh standards for men and betrayed other women, whereas stronger women were more likely to think for themselves and behave in their own ways. Both Austen and Shakespeare

Women are told not to chase after men, as they will come to them or their fathers will choose them. After Demetrius rejects her multiple times, Helena continues to fight for his love, and she claims that “[women] cannot fight for love, as men may do;/[Women] should be wooed and were not made to woo” (Shakespeare II.i.240-242). While she is correct, she continues to fight for the improbable love. Helena portrays a weak women by continuing to go against these standards. Similarly, when Lydia ran away with Wickham, Mary, being moralistic and unsympathetic, reminds the family “[t]hat loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable, that one false step involves her in endless ruin” (Austen 280). She is reminding the family how Lydia’s mistake in doing what she was always told not to will inevitably ruin her and the family. She is unsympathetic for her sister, and she seems to not care what will happen to any of them. Mary also portrays a weak women by betraying her sister and being moralistic with these standards. Both works characterize weak women, but in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the weak women is the one who disobeys, while in Pride and Prejudice, she is the one following society’s standards. Similar to Lydia and Wickham, “Lysander and [Hermia] will fly th[e] place” to be together (Shakespeare I.i.203). Hermia was told she was going to marry Demetrius,

Shakespeare focused on the role of women in marriage and love, while Austen illustrated a more rounded view of their role in society. Although there are some women who are weak and do the opposite of the standards, most women who follow them are characterized as weak, while those who go against the standards are often stronger and had their own and were ready to fight back. Throughout the world, the roles and expectations of women have always been similar, and has depicted in all forms of