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How women are portrayed in Shakespeare plays
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John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi and Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock each feature females as the dominate characters, but represent them in very different ways. In Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi it is made clear and significantly expresses how being vigorous, prideful and independent are not solely male characteristics, but assist in empowering women. In Pope’s The Rape of the Lock he presents women of circumstance and their over the top reactions to events that are superficially inconsequential, ruled over by a culture of consumerism and materialistic and vain necessities.
In The Duchess of Malfi the Duchess is a powerful and independent widow who defies her male kinsmen by ignoring their warning against her remarrying, a steward beneath her station, as they view this second marriage as an act of dishonor against the family. The Duchess, a character that is in control of her actions, displays a strength and sense of pride that successfully personifies the contradictory traits of “manly” behavior while maintaining the feminine appearance needed to uphold the balance in-between the barricades of social confines. Webster contrasts the weaknesses of the male character to reveal the superiority of the Duchess over the male characters, the Cardinal, Bosola, Ferdianand, and Antonio are all juxtaposed to the qualities of the Duchess showing her true rule over them.
The Cardinal is painted as a detached, manipulative, important official in the Roman Catholic church who is contrasted by the Duchess' fervent personality which illuminates the power of the female presence in the play. Through his relationship with his mistress, Julia, the Cardinal shows his lack in emotion. In opposition to the Cardinal's relationship with Julia, t...
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...own heaven upon me then may feed in quiet." (IV ii 208-215) In this her final address, the Duchess reinforces herself as the opposite of Antonio, who wavers and makes several missteps throughout the play. By contrasting these two honest and good hearted lovers only brings further confirmation even honest male characters have faults and weaknesses that lead to the further empowerment of the female character.
The Duchess of Malfi, shows characteristics like passion, integrity, strength, virtue, and independence. However, this alone does not bring about the true heir of dominance, this is shown through the faults that lie within the male characters of the play. The Cardinal's uncaring disposition, Bosola's lack of stability and evil nature, Ferdinand's abuse of power, and Antonio's lack of direction all play part in the illumination of the Duchess' dominant qualities.
With one another’s help, they are able to prevent their husbands from havoc and disaster, and likewise keep their own lives happy. The faults in the Insatiate Countess are attributed to her insatiability, which comes from over-investing in men and devaluing friendship. Were she to follow the paths of Abigail and Thais, she would not only have someone to channel her energy into, but also have someone to talk her out of revenge, which would then prevent her from both orchestrating murder and being hanged herself. If we can learn from both the comedic and tragic plots, let us first understand them to have the same message: to observe a moderate one’s investment in one’s lover, a greater investment in one’s friends, and, when balanced by friendship, an utmost investment in oneself.
Complications also arose when viola fell in love with her master, duke orsino, while at the same time had the love interest of orsino, the countess Olivia, trying to woo her. This placed viola in an extremely difficult and complex situation on one hand, she loved the duke and would have liked to do all she could to win his heart. But because she was his servant, she was obliged to serve him and help him win the hand of Olivia. What was a poor girl to do ?
According to Elizabethan society, the center of Olivia’s dilemma with her marriage was ensuring her wealth, not marrying a man she loved (Joseph 170). Social class increases division among individuals in society. This play “ is not the story of a Juliet's or an Orlando's love .., but of the very realistic struggles and intrigues over the betrothal of a rich Countess, whose selection of a mate determines the future” (170). Readers looking past these boundaries created by class and gender, can find striking similarities in emotions characters have for each other. The personal struggles the characters face in this play demonstrate the obstacles that individuals faced because of their gender or place in the social hierarchy.
As I mentioned it is difficult not to agree with Sid Ray’s article. The maternal and pregnant Duchess does challenge male authority, often by claiming authority over her personal life opposing Ferdinand and the Cardinal’s wishes. By talking in depth about the pregnant female body, Ray somewhat disregards the fact that the Duchess’ pregnant body is often disguised or hidden offstage in her private life with Antonio, rather than in her public life as a head authority of the Duchy of Malfi.
Society in the early 17th century was very different from ours today; then, women were far below men in stature and respect - they had no rights, and husbands and other male family members treated them more like possessions than human beings. While most women accepted this, there were, as always, those who rebelled - the Duchess is one such rebel. She refuses to accept the rules of society, instead choosing her own path to follow?an unpredictable and dangerous path, as is eventually seen with her capture, torture and death at the hands of her own brothers. For example, in Act I, Scene II, no sooner have Ferdinand and the Cardinal warned her against remarrying, than she and Antonio are arranging to be married - a perfect example of her headstrong attitude. She is also remarkably open towards Antonio about the whole affair; indeed, it is her who moves their relationship onwards from light-hearted ?irting to marriage itself, when she gives her wedding ring to Antonio, saying:
...present powerful characters, while females represent unimportant characters. Unaware of the influence of society’s perception of the importance of sexes, literature and culture go unchanged. Although fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty produce charming entertainment for children, their remains a didactic message that lays hidden beneath the surface; teaching future generations to be submissive to the inequalities of their gender. Feminist critic the works of former literature, highlighting sexual discriminations, and broadcasting their own versions of former works, that paints a composite image of women’s oppression (Feminist Theory and Criticism). Women of the twenty-first century serge forward investigating, and highlighting the inequalities of their race in effort to organize a better social life for women of the future (Feminist Theory and Criticism).
This essay explores the differences of gender in “Much Ado About Nothing” and how these play into “Much Ado About Nothing”. Gender has always been a big part of Shakespeare’s plays. In “Much Ado About Nothing” the fear of cuckoldry and the fear of femininity feature in this play. Benedick’s lamentation of the lack of bachelors after Claudio reveals he wants to marry Hero. The fact that Beatrice is a more masculine character despite being a woman. “Much of the critical worrying about Much Ado and its ending focuses on the question of whether this ritual signifies a change in Claudio sufficient to warrant his good fortune in the next scene, where Hero is restored to him.” (198)
Even though loyalty is a timeless concept that was heavily covers throughout the entire novel, an equally important topic in the novel was the misconception of the lower class at the time had on the higher class. The final message that represents with characters was that the social status of someone has no relation to the worth of someone. The characters that best display this topic are the previously mentions unnamed duke and duchess. People who because of their lax lifestyle take on a cruel persona to gain enjoyment from the misfortune of the protagonist. Instead of being chivalrous nobles they are vindictive, unlike the commoner Sancho. An example of this was that they uses their status to bully others like when they pressures Sancho into,
The Tragedy of Mariam focuses on Elizabeth's Cary's desire to develop a platform from which women can speak, thereby offering a fuller understanding of women as individuals. By examining issues of public and private language, Cary shows her interest in female voices. As an early-17th-century female playwright, Cary was described by the Earl of Clarendon as `a lady of a most masculine understanding, allayed with the passions and infirmities of her own sex'. This description could be interpreted as a complement to Cary, although the Earl adheres to the patriarchal boundaries placed upon both men and women. The connection that he makes between Cary and masculinity reinforces the stereotype of male authority. This essay will examine Cary's exploration of gender, language and silence in The Tragedy of Mariam. The play's expression of these themes is sometimes open, and at other times covert. By concentrating on the issues of public and private speech, this essay will determine the effects that crossing patriarchal boundaries had on women in early modern England.
This play portrays the women as fragile and pathetic beings. When Miranda is speaking to Ferdinand she is allowing him to see her as quite vulnerable, which will allow him to view here exactly as that.“At mind unworthiness, that dare not offer/What I desire to give, and much less take”(3.2.77-78). She goes on to say, “If not, I’ll die your maid. To be your fellow/You may deny me, but I’ll be your servant/Whether you will or no”(3.2.83-86). This play is portraying Miranda as a pathetic woman who would rather be a servant to a man that won’t marry her; she would rather be his maid than live without him.
The emotion of envy creates the cycle of treachery between the characters, Antonio and Prospero. As an act of jealousy, Antonio overthrew Prospero’s throne of the dukedom to banishment with his daughter. For example, Prospero states, “Or else new-formed ‘em - having
The theme of “My Last Duchess” is power, it is based on the Duke’s political and social power applied by the speaker. In this
A woman of Renaissance-ian nature was stereotypically linked to the male dominant in her life. In contrast, the women that were powerful – and there were plenty – were subject to the idea that the female body was not strong enough to live up to a male counterpart. Rarely is the support of feminism and feminine sexuality seen in a time ruled and respected by powerful males. John Webster, however, presents a character of social prowess and sexual determination in his play The Duchess of Malfi, juxtaposing the social views of a woman with his characterization of the Duchess. The Duchess exudes autonomy in all of her many forms: as a ruler, widow, wife, and sister. Even in her death she
On the surface, The Rape of the Lock is a retelling of an episode that caused a feud between two families in the form of an epic. One might believe that in his version, Alexander Pope portrayed the women of the story as shallow, vain little girls, however on a deeper level the women are crucial to the story. Aside from not being as helpless as they appear, each woman possesses a different kind of power that contributes to their character greatly. Rather than being the conceited and shallow figures expected of the time period, the women in The Rape of the Lock posses more power than meets the eye.
She is clearly the only character in the play who has throughout an intelligent, erotic, and fully anchored sense of love, and it becomes her task in the play to try to educate others out of their false notions of love, especially those notions which suggest that the real business of love is adopting an inflated Petrarchan language and the appropriate attitude that goes with it.