Gender Roles In The Elizabethan Era

But what about the years before women began acting? What about Shakespeare's time? Who played Juliet or Desdemona or Rosalind during "the golden age of English history", the Elizabethan era? This was back when theatre was the highest form of entertainment (bear-baiting being a close second, of course) and people of all backgrounds and status would flock to a tour stop or later, one of many permanent theatres around London. Women, as we know, weren't acting then so who would fill these female roles? The obvious answer for playwrights at the time were boy players. Contrary to present-day theatre, women were only seen on stage in the Elizabethan era as portrayed by young men. Elizabethan theatre, categorized by the reign of Queen Elizabeth

When the Elizabethan boy player acted as Viola disguised as Cesario, he would literally just look like himself— a boy performing a male role. What made it so special and "tongue in cheek" was that audiences were able to make the distinction and recognize a boy playing a girl acting like a boy. The male dress allowed these women characters to explore their surroundings freely as well as discover more about themselves, in turn demonstrating to the audience the layers women had; "Disguise makes a woman not a man but a more developed woman (Dusinberre, "Shakespeare and the Nature of Women")". These boys were playing complex women, meaning that women at the time were complex beings and Shakespeare validates that by making his female characters just as strong-willed and intelligent as any of his male heroes. Women were, and still are, interesting people— the only difference is that now we've come such a long way from all-male theatre companies. Now women are actors, directors, writers, stage managers, as they should be! It's just that during Shakespeare's time it wasn't considered proper for them to be on stage. Thankfully, the playwrights (for the most part) were skilled at giving women a voice in the theatre and the Elizabethan boy player, well-trained