Elizabethan Era and “Much Ado About Nothing” Gender Roles This play dates back to the Elizabethan era, a time when men and women lived in a patriarchal society. Under those circumstances, men were molded by traditional beliefs; their loyalty and their social ranking depended on honor, comradeship, and authority over women. Because men were viewed as the better sex, it was thought that women needed to be protected by men their entire life. In the case that a woman was unwed, the father, brother or another male relative was to care for her until a male companion showed up. Women were subservient to men; men were the leaders and women their subordinates. For instance, once married, men played the provider role for the woman and family; • The punishment for disobedience was a beating. It was seen as sin to disobey the male member of the family. Source: Lin, Kevin. “Role of Women in Elizabethan Times- Nothing But Shakespeare.” Role of Women in Elizabethan Times- Nothing But Shakespeare. 2010. Web. 1 June 2015. https://sites.google.com/site/nothingbutshakespeare/role-of-women-in-elizabethan-times In the play, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare exposes the grim truth about gender roles and inequality in the Elizabethan era. The inequity of genders is established in Beatrice’s language, how the male characters view women within the play, and the concept of What makes this relationship stand out is the fact that they don 't fit the mold of the gender roles in a relationship, they share a mutual respect for each other, they are equals, which is what makes them compatible for each other. In the Elizabethan era, marriage wasn 't about love, sometimes it occurred and sometimes it didn’t, it was more for the social status. But, be that as it may, despite what the social norms were, Benedict and Beatrice both looked past their gender roles that they were supposed to take on in a relationship and decided to have an equal partnership with each other. Hero, the daughter of Leonato and the cousin of Beatrice, she is the spitting image of the traditional woman in the Elizabethan era. Hero fits perfectly into her gender role, she is passive, quiet, obedient, and feminine. She never speaks out about anyone, even in a time when she should defend herself. The most compelling evidence of this is the wedding scene in Act IV; Scene I, (lines 30-55) when Claudio and hero are standing at the altar and he publicly humiliates Hero and accuses her of cheating on
William Shakespeare’s writing reflected and at times emphasized the gender oriented stereotypical roles and responsibilities of the English Renaissance. However, many Shakespearean characters including Benedick and Beatrice of Much Ado About Nothing challenged the standard image and characteristics of men and women.
In Shakespearean time and even up to the turn of the 20th Century men were expected to be the sole provider of the family, entailing them to be either well educated or hard working. They were also expected to be good with the handling of finances and property. It was also acceptable for them to be barbaric, boisterous and socially well connected. This has given the men of this time an overwhelming sense of power, respect and freedom; rights which were not given to women at this time. Far from what was socially acceptable in regards to men, the gender identity of women was of a somewhat weaker nature. Women during Shakespearean time were regarded as docile, quiet and non-opinionated. Their socially acceptable role in many cases was to be domestic, entailing them to spend countless hours in the home, tending to basic familial needs, such as cooking and cleaning. This position prevented many women to receive an education or to socialize outside of the home. As a result of their inferior social status, they were expected to be submissive and to cater to her husband’s needs at all times. Women in Shakespearean time were also treated as property, either by their husbands or fathers, which diminished any sense of self-worth they may have possessed. This gender ideology ultimately paralyzed women, as the majority were helpless to alter their social standing or designated familial role.
During the Elizabethan era, men were more powerful and the more significant gender type, while women were more obedient and silent. This gender difference influenced how the society viewed women during this time. In “Women in the Renaissance and Reformation” the author discussed about how the women had different jobs then the men did. The men had to do the more work in the family, while the women were sitting at home watching the kids or doing something that was not very productive. The roles women played in their family included “a daughter, then a wife, mother, or widow.” On the contrary, men’s roles were “generally defined by social position or occupation, as in a merchant, knight, priest, peasant and more.” (Carnagie 541). Women were subservient to their men. They relied on their male relatives to support and take care of them while they could have been taking care of themselves. “Before the renaissance even occurred, men dominated European society and women lacked power to challenge them. After about 1400, however, women began to demand for som...
The portrayal of gender roles in William Shakespeare’s play Othello, demonstrates the inferior treatment of women and the certain stereotypes of men placed on them by society. Both the male and female characters in the play have these certain gender expectations placed on them. In a society dominated by men, it is understood that the women are to be seen rather than heard. The women are referred to and treated much like property. If indeed they do speak up, they are quickly silenced. One woman’s attempt to be the perfect wife is what ultimately led to her demise. The expectations of men are equally stereotypical. Men are to be leaders and to be in control and dominant especially over the women. The male characters compete for position and use the female characters in the play as leverage to manipulate each other. Shakespeare provides insight in understanding the outcomes of the men and women who are faced with the pressures of trying to live up to society’s expectations, not only in the workplace, but also in the home. The pressure creates jealousy issues amongst the men and they become blind to the voice of reason and are overtaken by jealous rage, leads to the death of many of the characters.
The main roles as a woman were to marry, to manage the household, and to bear children.
As planned, Much Ado About Nothing explores the themes of love and honor through communication, but also miscommunication. By focusing on two relationships throughout the play, this production displays how social rules are influenced by gender and how these gender stereotypes lead to biased notions. From seeing what the production team planned before producing Much Ado About Nothing, I think they achieved their desired ideas about gender roles, marriage, morality, and identity.
Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing is, on the surface, a typical romantic comedy with a love-plot that ends in reconciliation and marriage. This surface level conformity to the conventions of the genre, however, conceals a deeper difference that sets Much Ado apart. Unlike Shakespeare’s other romantic comedies, Much Ado about Nothing does not mask class divisions by incorporating them into an idealized community. Instead of concealing or obscuring the problem of social status, the play brings it up explicitly through a minor but important character, Margaret, Hero’s “waiting gentlewoman.” Shakespeare suggests that Margaret is an embodiment of the realistic nature of social class. Despite her ambition, she is unable to move up in hierarchy due to her identity as a maid. Her status, foiling Hero’s rich, protected upbringing, reveals that characters in the play, as well as global citizens, are ultimately oppressed by social relations and social norms despite any ambition to get out.
In conclusion, gender role in Elizabethan era is very complex with respect to women’s role. Men are the masters of the home and society; they preside over every aspect of life. They are however, expected to take care of their family and also be actively involved in politics, war, and they inherit their father’s properties. Women role varied a according to their social status. All women were raised to be subservient to men. Unlike upper class women, lower class women were denied any kind of education. And all women are expected to get married and bear children. The qualities Shakespeare gave Beatrice are very significant because it contrasts traditional Elizabethan theater. Gender role has evolved over time, especially women’s role and it will continue to evolve as long as there are women like Beatrice around.
Orgel, Stephen, and Sean Keilen. Shakespeare and Gender. New York: Garland Pub., 1999. Online text.
Society in the16th century was highly structured. Women of the upper class were expected to be trophies for their husbands. The men were required to hunt, lead, and go into battle. If one chose not to follow these dictates, the rest of society would question, look down on, or even punish the deviant. The prominent author, William Shakespeare, placed this subject into comedy and tragedy plays with dramatically different outcomes. In Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare makes fun of stereotypical gender roles by establishing Beatrice and Lady Macbeth as the dominant characters over Benedick and Macbeth through imagery, dialogue, and character personalities.
...he other hand, Beatrice and Benedick are comedy-makers and Beatrice is not ruled by her father as Hero clearly is. It does take Don Pedro’s benevolent plot to bring Benedick and Beatrice together, however. A modern audience would prefer Beatrice to Hero as she is her own self and admirable. The relationships also differ because Benedick and Beatrice’s relationship slowly grew whereas Claudio and Hero’s relationship was love at first sight. Perhaps it was a little hasty as we see in Act 4 how their love turns sour.
The theme for honour and fidelity apply for both men and women in Shakespeare’s play ‘much ado about nothing’. Honour and fidelity is represented very differently for men and women as it would have been for the people in Elizabethan times. In this first section of the essay, I will be exploring double standards and Shakespeare’s awareness of the double standards between sexes and his feminist approach, the differences of honour and fidelity for men and women and upper class and lower class comparisons.
In Shakespeare’s time, women had very limited rights. They were expected to be submissive to any man no matter the relationship. Women were supposed to do domestic services while the higher-class women were taken to nunneries to like. They were not allowed in any decision-making. If a husband said no, that was the end of the conversation. Women were required to respect their husband’s word and consider it law.
Much Ado About Nothing is traditionally known as a comedy, but gender is an obvious theme in this play. To me this play challenges the gender inequality of this time period through its main female roles. Beatrice is a challenge to the traditional woman of the Elizabethan era, who is represented by Hero. Beatrice is seen as a sharp, outspoken, independent woman, while Hero is a quiet, polite and obedient woman. The stark differences between these characters shines a light onto the gender inequality of Shakespeare time. This paper will argue that Beatrice and her cousin Hero are used to show the gender inequality of the the Elizabethan era.
Throughout the historical literary periods, many writers underrepresented and undervalued the role of women in society, even more, they did not choose to yield the benefits of the numerous uses of the female character concerning the roles which women could accomplish as plot devices and literary tools. William Shakespeare was one playwright who found several uses for female characters in his works. Despite the fact that in Shakespeare's history play, Richard II, he did not use women in order to implement the facts regarding the historical events. Instead, he focused the use of women roles by making it clear that female characters significantly enriched the literary and theatrical facets of his work. Furthermore in Shakespeare’s history play, King Richard II, many critics have debated the role that women play, especially the queen. One of the arguments is that Shakespeare uses the queen’s role as every women’s role to show domestic life and emotion. Jo McMurtry explains the role of all women in his book, Understanding Shakespeare’s England A Companion for the American Reader, he states, “Women were seen, legally and socially, as wives. Marriage was a permanent state” (5). McMurtry argues that every woman’s role in the Elizabethan society is understood to be a legal permanent state that is socially correct as wives and mothers. Other critics believe that the role of the queen was to soften King Richard II’s personality for the nobles and commoners opinion of him. Shakespeare gives the queen only a few speaking scenes with limited lines in Acts two, four, and five through-out the play. Also, she is mentioned only a few times by several other of the characters of the play and is in multiple scenes wit...