Evolution of Women’s Roles From the 1500’s to Today

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Women have always played a role in society, but the real question at hand is how has the role of women been modified since Shakespeare’s time to today. “Men’s role in society was valued much more than woman's role” (Writework 01). Women weren’t as appreciated and thought to be needed in society during Shakespeare’s time. They took care of basic home needs and kids, while the men did everything else that would be classified as ‘more important.’ Women now have evolved and are much more of a necessity and an importance in day to day life. There are several ways that women’s roles have evolved, three specific examples will be given: the importance or unimportance of the role of women in the 1500’s, the changes that have occurred for women in society and their role today - in the 21st century.
Throughout the 1500’s and into the 1600’s, in many different parts of the world, “women were considered subordinate to men” (Women Today 01) and did not have the same rights. Men were in charge of doing laborious jobs and bringing in money for their families, while women had two basic roles: taking care of the home and the kids. Of course, taking care of the home was an enormous responsibility when paired with raising numerous kids - Men often thought that the women had it easy compared to them. At that point in time, female children were taught to be home keepers. They learned the basic chores that they would be responsible for as they got older, and would need to know in order to run a household. While taking care of the home and children was their main duty, they also learned to read the bible. When they would read the bible, they would take the time to read to their children and also teach them how to read (History of Women 01). ...

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...ng characters in our world. Although women are still considered subordinate to men in some areas of the world, it is safe to say that that is not accurate in more than half of today’s world’s society.

Works Cited

Citations

Bevington, David, ed.The Complete Works of Shakespeare.4th ed.New York: Longman-Addison Wesley Longman, 1997.
Shakespeare, William.As You Like It.Bevington 288-325.
Much Ado About Nothing.Bevington 216-51.
The Taming of the Shrew.Bevington 108-46. http://www.historyofwomen.org/oppression.html Women in the Middle Ages (Early 1400’s- late 1500’s). (2004, June 07). In WriteWork.com. Retrieved 18:27. March 06. 2014. from http://www.writework.com/essay/women-middle-ages-early-1400s-late-1500s
Women in the U.S. Today.By Sonia Kane and Suzanne McCabe http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4975
http://www.unification.net/misc/21-women.html

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