Shakespeare's Interpretation of Women in "Measure for Measure"

922 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How women are portrayed in shakespeares plays

Shakespeare's interpretation of women in Measure for Measure very much reflects society's opinion of women at the time, which was that men have more freedom and should be given more respect that women. The society of the time was a patriarchal one, where a male God was the ultimate leader, and below him came the king, then the nobles. However, although the society gave men more rights than women, Measure for Measure demonstrates that they also had more responsibilities. This is shown through the situation with Claudio and Juliet, as although they are both equally to blame for Juliet's pregnancy, it is Claudio facing the death penalty.

Shakespeare shows the Duke's opinion of women in act 5, scene 1, when the Duke talks to Mariana and says "Why, you are nothing then: neither maid, widow nor wife." This shows that a women is only something if she has either a husband or her purity, and without both of these she is worthless. This opinion of women is confirmed by Isabella's determination to hold on to her virginity and its importance to her, as if she loses her virginity before marriage, she will be regarded as nothing in society.

Isabella is used in the play as an example of a perfect woman to the Jacobean society, as she is the epitome of purity and chastity within the play, and the fact that she wants to become a nun shows her to be a very religious person, which is what would have been important to Shakespeare's audience. At the same time, Isabella shows herself to be someone who is very easily controlled, especially by the men in the play, such as agreeing with the plan when the Duke disguised as the friar suggests using Mariana to sleep with Angelo instead. Although this is still wrong according to Isabella's belief...

... middle of paper ...

...ortant than men, which is shown just through their lack of appearances within the play. They are also shown as easy to control, as even when Isabella manages to get out of giving Angelo what he wants, she is still going along with a plan that the Duke has come up with, even though someone will still be committing what she thinks is a sin. Shakespeare could have changed this view of women that we have been given so far when the Duke proposes to Isabella, as she could have given her opinion about this and said that she did not want to marry as she wanted to become a nun, which was what she was thinking earlier in the play. However, as she says nothing she can be seen as unopinionated, which is how men wanted women to be in Jacobean England. By showing women to be like this, Shakespeare would have been increasing the popularity of the play with the male audience.

Show More
Related

  • Gender Roles in Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing"

    1497 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Shakespeare said: “Women may fall when there's no strength in men” (Romeo and Juliet). Throughout history gender role have been a big, whether someone is a feminist or someone believes there is no equality between males and females; everyone has different opinions when it comes to the matter of gender roles. The same thing can be said about William Shakespeare who was a feminist (Shakespeare of Stratford). This ideology can be seen in his play Much Ado about Nothing. In this comedy Shakespeare focuses on two pairs of lovers named Claudio and Hero who are set to be married in a week but before their marriage day, they plan to conspire with Don Pedro, the prince of Aragon to trick their friends Beatrice and Benedick to admit their love for each other. Don John, the brother of Don Pedro, meanwhile plots to prevent marriage of Claudio and Hero by accusing Hero of being unfaithful. Don John initially succeeds in his plan as Hero is accused and ashamed at the marriage ceremony, but at the end Claudio and Hero are united and marry each other. Also, Beatrice and Benedick finally declare their love for each and dance at the end of the play. Shakespeare uses a lot of sources for this comedy and one of them is “Orlando Furioso” written in 1591, which gave Shakespeare the idea of Hero and Claudio’s marriage and Don John’s plot to prevent it. Another source Shakespeare used to write the play is the courtier written in 1588, which gave him the idea of the romance between Beatrice and Benedick. And also “La Prima de la Novelle” written in 1554 by Matteo Bandello gave Shakespeare the idea of putting the setting in Messina, Italy (Shakespeare in quarto). Because Shakespeare was a feminist, some of the women appear as supporting and central...

    Read More

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream - Battle of the Sexes

    576 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine being a woman in sixteenth century Europe. Females were raised to believe that they were subservient and that men knew better on any subject. Basically, women had no rights. They were considered property, first “owned” by their fathers and then control was “transferred” to the husband chosen for them. Marriage was not about love, but in most cases, it was a business deal that was mutually beneficial to both families – an interesting fact is that like young women, most young men had no choice in the selection of their future betrothed. These traditions and the gender roles assumed by men and women at that time had an impact on Shakespeare’s writing and performances and a great example of this is evident in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

    Read More

  • Power Of Women In Othello

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the Elizabethan era women had a status of subordination towards men. They had a role to marry and oblige to their husband’s wishes. Shakespearean literature, especially illustrates how a woman is psychologically and physically lesser to their male counterpart. The play, Othello, uses that aspect in many different ways. From a Feminist lens others are able to vividly examine how women were subjected to blatant inferiority. Being displayed as tools for men to abuse, women were characterized as possessions and submissive; only during the last portion of the play did the power of women take heed.

    Read More

  • Gender Relations in Shakespeare´s Romeo and Juliet

    829 Words  | 2 Pages

    Romeo and Juliet has different roles for different genders. During the Shakespearean period, when Shakespeare writes, most women had to marry when they were teen, when they were in adolescence or even before. However, the men who they were marrying were in their early to late twenties. In the household that the women lived in, the men basically owned them. The women always followed men’s word, which says that the male was the dominant gender of the society. Romeo and Juliet reflects this in a number of ways. Juliet was forced to marry Paris, by the word of her father, who said that if she did not marry Paris, she would go to the streets(Shakespeare, 3.5.154-62). Women were thought to be weaker and less important than men in Romeo and Juliet because men are trying to be the strongest out of everyone, women have a lower social status, and men think they owned women in Romeo and Juliet.

    Read More

  • Measure for Measure Essay: Isabella’s Moral Dilemma

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the play, Claudio has been sentenced to death for getting his fiancee pregnant (his crime was not so much getting her pregnant, but having sex with her at all). Claudio's sister, Isabella, who is in the process of joining a nunnery, feels that Claudio has done wrong, has sinned and committed a crime, but she feels that the sentence--death--is too strict. So, she goes to the ruler of the city, Angelo, to plead for her brother's life. The previously virtuous Angelo falls into lust with Isabella, and he propositions her to save her brother by having sex with him (Angelo). Now, remember that Isabella is in the process of becoming a nun. She, of course, rejects this propos...

    Read More

  • BBC's Shakespeare Retold: Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Brian Percival

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    A major concern in both the film and the original text is the ‘status of women’. This is represented through the differing roles of women and their denigration within the Elizabethan society. For instance, Hero is accused of committing infidelity; consequently her image in society is tarnished, In addition to this, Claudio insults Hero publicly without even considering confirming the accusation of her being unchaste. This is illustrated through Claudio slandering Hero through the use of usage of Greek Mythological allusions “You seem to as Dian in her orb, but you are more intemperate than Venus in y...

    Read More

  • Feminism In Othello Essay

    1641 Words  | 4 Pages

    In his novel, Othello, he uses the courage of the women in his literature to depict how women should be treated, and to contrast from how little respect they once obtained. The society in Shakespeare’s Othello is strongly dominated by men who were the political and military leaders of their homeland during the Elizabethan era. These men are expected to stay loyal to their reputations and to uphold the strong sense of character that earned them their positions in the first place. In contrast, during the Elizabethan period of time women were viewed as weak second-class citizens and inferior to males, with their only job being to serve their men.

    Read More

  • The Character of Emilia in Othello

    627 Words  | 2 Pages

    The definition of Renaissance women is fundamentally important in William Shakespeare's play Othello. One of the major causes of Othello's tragedy is his belief that Desdemona is not chaste. According to the men of the Renaissance, chastity, silence, and obedience are three attributes that define Renaissance women. Although Othello takes place during the Renaissance, the women in the play, Bianca, Desdemona and Emilia, defy traditional norms by lacking at least one of the major attributes defining women; Bianca's lack of chastity is clearly displayed when she unlawfully sleeps with Cassio; Desdemona's lack of silence is clearly displayed when she constantly urges Othello to give Cassio's position back. However, in the last two acts, Emilia displays the strongest challenge to the definition of Renaissance women as silent, chaste, and obedient, mainly to defend Desdemona.

    Read More

  • Romeo And Juliet: Gender Roles In The Elizabethan Era

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Elizabethan era gender roles were much different than they are today. Women were regarded as the weaker sex, and men were always dominant. These “rules” are shown prominently throughout Romeo and Juliet, and paved way for obstacles they went through in their relationship. The gender conventions for women and men were prodigiously stereotypical and unreasonable, as they made men out to be the superior gender. Women should not have been perceived as inferior to men, and these unwritten rules for masculinity and femininity were shown throughout the play. Romeo acted very feminine which contradicted his gender conventions while Juliet did not abide by rules and disobeyed her parents. Romeo and Juliet had many ways in which they followed and

    Read More

  • A Feminist Reading of the Tempest

    1435 Words  | 3 Pages

    Miranda’s character in the play represents the ideal woman of Elizabethan era. She is portrayed as a goddess among the men. “Most sure, the goddess/Oh whom these airs attend!”(1.2.425-426). Fer...

    Read More

  • Women: The Role Of Women In Shakespeare's Othello

    1877 Words  | 4 Pages

    Statement of intent: The role of women in William Shakespeare’s play Othello is portrayed through the behaviors and actions of Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca. William Shakespeare integrates his Elizabethan society to create the patriarchal Venetian society in the play. Women in his society were seen as inferior to the men. The three women play a significant role in different social stratification. How are women submissive, possessions, bold, and degraded to sex objects and whores? How have they displayed unconventional acts and boldness?

    Read More

  • Treatment Of Women In Othello

    1665 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the Shakespearean time women were treated as inferiors. The three women in Othello, Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca encountered many degrading and unfortunate situations. They were to be obedient. The women had to comply with the commands, orders, and the instructions of the men. Women were made to believe that they had no rights. The men would publicly humiliate the three women. It was difficult for the women to stand up for themselves due to that time in society. In Shakespeare’s play Othello, he portrayed the three women to be viewed as obedient, loyal, and submissive to their husbands.

    Read More

  • Measure For Measure

    693 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shakespeare's Measure for Measure can be seen as an early account of sexual harassment. While the issue of women's rights had hardly been explored at the time the play was first performed, Measure for Measure touches on issues of sexuality, independence, and the objectification of women. Despite these serious issues, the play is considered a comedy, and the story it tells is filled with amusing characters as well as broad sociological questions.

    Read More

  • Women´s Portrayal in Shakespeare´s Othello

    1426 Words  | 3 Pages

    The play Othello is presented as a male-dominated society where women are only recognized as property; objects to own and to bear children. Women in the Elizabethan society and in Shakespeare society were not seen as equal to men and were expected to be loyal to their husbands, be respectful, and to not go against their husbands judgements or actions. Shakespeare presents Desdemona, Emilia , and Bianca as women in the Elizabethan time where they were judged based on their class, mortality, and intelligence. Shakespeare makes his female characters act the way they would be expected to act in an Elizabethan society. The role of these women in Othello is crucial because they show how women were treated and how unhealthy their relationships between men really were in both Elizabethan and Shakespeare's society.

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In Shakespeare

    1889 Words  | 4 Pages

    Defining what a female was supposed to portray and how they were supposed to act was nothing new in the English Renaissance period, but it was very clearly established. For Shakespeare, as well as most of Renaissance society, women who were properly within the feminine role displayed a series of values most indicative of purity, or even angelic behavior. These values included obedience, submission, humility, patience and sexual chastity among others. Conspicuously, the majority of these values was measured by and derived meaning from their relationship to the male. Nonetheless, as gender roles are social constructs, Shakespeare was able to manipulate them as he saw fit, such as with crossovers. In other words, he was able to create female characters that exhibited masculine characteristics and male characters with female characteristics.

    Read More

More about Shakespeare's Interpretation of Women in "Measure for Measure"

Open Document