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Gender roles as you like it
Patriarchal patterns in shakespeares plays
Patriarchal patterns in shakespeares plays
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Recommended: Gender roles as you like it
Not only does Rosalind's change of identity into Ganymede show homoerotic context in the play, but the homoerotic relationship it triggers as well. While Orlando pours love for Rosalind on every of the forest's trees, Ganymede approaches Orlando and assures him he can cure his love for Rosalind by acting like Rosalind. Desperate to express his feelings for Rosalind, "by the faith of [his] love," Orlando agrees to pretend Ganymede is Rosalind (3.3.418). In Stephen Lynch's essay "Representing Gender in Rosalynde and As You Like It," he says that "the enigmatic and potentially homoerotic friendship between Orlando and Ganymede" shifts from the silent background to the fore stage (Lynch, Stephen). The more Orlando woes Ganymede, the more comfortable and confident about his expression of feelings he becomes. …show more content…
Despite having a "male" character in front of him, Orlando's phrases for Ganymede are too strong to just consider it acting out a fake love with a friend who agreed to help cure his love desire. In Act IV, scene I, when Orlando and Ganymede are wooing each other, Orlando tells Ganymede "love me, Rosalind...wilt thou have me? (4.1.108). Not only does Ganymede agree to "have him," but also tells Celia "Come, sister, you shall be the priest and marry us...as fast as [thou] can marry us" (4.1.117, 4.1.127). Had it not being because Celia does not have a license to marry couples, most likely Orlando would've consented to marry Ganymede, whose true identity would've immediately accepted to marry Orlando. Their friendship is important because as Orlando expresses everything his heart supposedly feels, he expresses it towards Ganymede, and never does he mention any of his love lines to undisguised Rosalind when they marry each other in Act
Nora and Mrs. Wright’s social standing when compared to the men in each play is inferior. Both works expose their respective male characters’ sexist view of women diminishing the women’s social standing. Each work features egotistical men who have a severely inflated view of their self-worth when compared to their female counterparts. The men’s actions and words indicate they believe women are not capable of thinking intelligently. This is demonstrated in “Trifles” when Mr. Hale makes the statement about women only worrying about mere trifles. It is also apparent in “A Dollhouse” when Torvalds thinks his wife is not capable of thinking with any complexity (Mazur 17). Another common attribute is of the women’s social standing is displayed as both women finally get tired of feeling like second class citizens and stand up to the repressive people in the women’s lives (Mulry 294). Although both women share much in common in their social standing there subtle differences. Torvald’s sexist view of Nora is more on a personal level in “A Dollhouse” while the male characters’ sexist views in “Trifles” seem to be more of a social view that women are not very smart and their opinions are of little value. This attitude is apparent in “Trifles” as Mr. Hale and Mr. Henderson’s comments about Mrs. Wright’s housekeeping (Mulry 293). As the women in both works reach their emotional
Franklin continues the argument that Edna is an example of the “labor toward self of the female hero with the accompanying inner and outer threats to attainment of selfhood” (Franklin 510) in her criticism The Awakening and the Failure of Psyche. Franklin also compares Edna’s character to a mythological figure; the comparison proves how it is “clear that heroism is necessary for the nascent self to resist the lure and power of unconscious” (Franklin 510). To first address Franklin’s discussion of Edna’s fight to become a female hero, it’s displayed in the criticism that Edna’s individuality is one of a matriarchal society. However, as Franklin proves, Edna wants are different than her actions because she “begins to play with different love roles, such as courtly love” (Franklin 514). Edna is then said to be a sexually awakened being because of her dabbling in different love roles as well as her idealism in her new relationships; although, her new sexual being comes with a cost because she, as said by Franklin, falls into the “narrow roles prescribed by the patriarchs” (Franklin 520). This struggle, as identified by Franklin, adds to the darkness in her emerging ego out of the stifling atmosphere. The criticism then elaborates on how the stifling atmosphere brings Edna to believe that there is a whimsical love in her journey individuation, but instead “Chopin now wishes [the readers] to see that Edna has a crucial choice to make: either to accept the fantastic nature of romantic love and continue on her solitary journey to self, or to refuse to acknowledge romantic love’s transient nature and embrace death” (Franklin 524). Franklin identifies Edna’s labor to find a balance between love and individuality as one similar to both the spirits of Psyche and Eros; they each have a continually struggle to strive towards two different passionate loves. Franklin explains that much like Psyche’s yearning, Edna’s infatuation with Robert is one in which
In conclusion, Even though both Ibsen and Glaspell are showing the responsible for giving women insight to what their lives could be as an independent person who is treated as an equal, their plays deals somewhat different sight to deals with the problems of the inequality between men and women. In other words, in A Doll’s House, Nora – like many others – begins to realize that she is more than capable of thinking and living for herself. Unlike Nora, however, in Trifles, Mrs. Wright chose to stay married to her unloving and murder her husband. Moreover, unlike what A Doll’s house portrayed, in Trifles, Glaspell shows the power of women can gain by sticking together and looking out for one another in order to improve their social positions from the behavior of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters.
The setting and symbolism of the play act as a portal that allows for the dramatic development of the message and themes. Throughout the play, Glaspell continually uses the setting to demonstrate the differences between men and women during that time period, and further, how the lives and roles of women were devalued and considered unimportant. From the start of the play, the audience immediately gets a feel for the run-down atmosphere of the farmhouse, the life Mrs. Wright must of led, and more importantly, the distinct separation between the male and female sexes. Not only are the genders separated biologically and geographically throughout the play, they also differ in mindset, behavior, and overall thoughts regarding the motive of the murder. This can be seen when Mr. Henderson, Mr. P...
Gender roles are also illustrated when looking at the male characters in this novel. Léonce is a successful businessman and when he travels for work Edna becomes romantically evolved with a young man named Robert, whom devotes himself to her for the summer. He is very careful about the way he speaks to Edna, for example he calls her “my dear” because he acts like Léonce has a possession over her. Léonce even visits a doctor to talk about his concerns for Edna when she expresses her “rights of a
Similar to other works by Shakespeare, such as The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream embellishes the pressures that arise between genders dealing with complicated family and romantic situations. The plot includes a duke who is going to marry a woman he conquered in battle, the king and queen of the fairies embroiled in a fight so fierce that it unbalances the natural world, and a daughter fighting with her father for her right to marry the man she chooses. The girl’s father selects Demetrius to marry his daughter, but she is in love with another man, Lysander, who loves her in return, and her friend Helena is in love Demetrius, but he wants nothing to do with her. Considering the fact that males were dominant during that era, whereas, men chased women, and women remained submissive, Shakespeare dallies with those traditional roles and there are several possible reasons why. Perhaps he made women a stronger force in his plays because he wanted to give his audience a break fr...
Love is a powerful emotion, capable of turning reasonable people into fools. Out of love, ridiculous emotions arise, like jealousy and desperation. Love can shield us from the truth, narrowing a perspective to solely what the lover wants to see. Though beautiful and inspiring when requited, a love unreturned can be devastating and maddening. In his play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare comically explores the flaws and suffering of lovers. Four young Athenians: Demetrius, Lysander, Hermia, and Helena, are confronted by love’s challenge, one that becomes increasingly difficult with the interference of the fairy world. Through specific word choice and word order, a struggle between lovers is revealed throughout the play. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare uses descriptive diction to emphasize the impact love has on reality and one’s own rationality, and how society’s desperate pursuit to find love can turn even strong individuals into fools.
In Twelfth Night, by William Shakespeare, gender identity and alternative sexualities are highlighted through the depiction of different characters and personalities. In the play, Viola disguises herself as a man thereby raising a merry-go-around of relationships that are actually based on a lie rather than actual fact. Viola attracts the attention of Olivia since she thinks that Viola is a man but even more fascinating is the fact that Orsino is attracted to Viola although he thinks that she is a man. In another twist Viola is attracted to Orsino and has fell in love with him although their love cannot exist since Orsino thinks that Viola is a man.
...ment about how Torvald doesn’t like for her to eat them. Nora lies and says Kristine brought them too her. As Nora’s secret side is revealed, her life seems anything but perfect. As we look at the character change in Nora, we see two different sides to her. The beginning of the play reveals a woman totally dependent on her husband for everything,. It isn’t until the end of the play that she realizes she can be herself and she doesn’t have to depend on her husband. Nora realizes “that if she wants an identity as an adult that she must leave her husband’s home” (Drama for Students 112). By examining Nora, we see from Ibsen’s theme that if we ignore all the expectations the social world has for a person, our true selves can be revealed.
Courtly love was a secret love or romance between the first knight and the king’s lady that would usually begin with something as small as an exchange of looks through eye glances. Next, a declaration is then discussed by both parties to pursue a relationship under the table from their king or anyone else in the castle. “Gawain glanced at the gracious looking woman …Gawain and the beautiful woman found such comfort and closeness in each other company (line 970,1010)”. Sir Gawain had courted Guinevere while he was at kings Arthurs castle but being here in Bertilak’s Castle he now found a much more stunning lady superior to Guinevere, Lady Bertilak. He had really fallen in love with lady Bertilak at first glance and Lady Bertilak was in love with his heroicness. Moreover, the relationship was established, Sir Gawain was to love her and be obedient to all of her commands as well as to always be polite, courteous and to never exceed the desires of the lover. At one point of the story, Lady Bertilak goes to Sir Gawain’s room in the morning while her husband is away and everyone is sleep because she desires to be with him, “I shall kiss at your command ...should it please you, so press me no more (line 1303). Abiding by the rules of courtly love Sir Gawain is to be a good knight and do as she pleases but
The hilarious play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare, tells the twisted love story of four Athenians who are caught between love and lust. The main characters: Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius are in a ‘love square’. Hermia and Lysander are true love enthusiasts, and love each other greatly. Demetrius is in love with Hermia, and Helena, Hermia’s best friend, is deeply and madly in love with Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander try to elope in the woods because Egeus, Hermia’s father, disapproves of Lysander. Helena, hearing about their plans, tells Demetrius, and all four of them end up in the woods where Lysander’s quotation, “The course of true love never did run smooth”(28), becomes extremely evident due to several supernatural mix-ups, authority, and jealousy.
They are perhaps not truly in love, but after Guigemar notes the invisible wound of love he says “it has its source in nature” (Marie de France 49). By nature, humans have been known to be driven by a constant pursuit of what the desire, for by succeeding in this pursuit they are happy. Love brings happiness to Guigemar and the queen, but their happiness comes by a greater cause than true love. The lovers were convenient for their own pursuits. Guigemar served the queen as a commodity by giving her a value of freedom, and the queen gave Guigemar freedom from pain. In the end, Guigemar runs off with the queen after defending her from Meriaduc concluding the end of his troubles. Desire is thus a selfish inclination toward love, for its foundation is whatever suits a person’s liking. The queen and Guigemar are suited for each other, yet they are not suited to be in love with each
William Shakespeare’s writings are famous for containing timeless, universal themes. A particular theme that is explored frequently in his writings is the relationship between men and women. A Midsummer Night’s Dream contains a multitude of couplings, which are often attributed to the fairies in the play. Each of these pairings has positive and negative aspects, however, some relationships are more ideal than others. From A Midsummer Night’s Dream the optimal pairings are Lysander and Hermia, Demetrius and Helena, and Oberon and Titania; while the less desirable pairings are Theseus and Hippolyta, Hermia and Demetrius, Lysander and Helena, and Titania and Bottom. Throughout A Midsummer
The first thing that the reader will notice regarding gender is the title of the play “A Doll’s House”. This reveals to the reader, Nora’s and possible Torvald’s status within the play. Nora is unable to be herself as she is not seen as an equal in her marriage. Instead, she is something to be admired and flaunted. This need for her to be something that Torvald can show off. Both Nora and Torvald are living lives based on illusion. Torvald has made Nora his perfect little doll so that he can look good. She thinks that he is a person with incredible strength, she becomes disillusioned with him at the end of the play when he exposes himself as just a man. This paper will look at the way that society’s expectations of gender roles are perceived
Even for the briefest moment, Rosalind regretted to dress up like a man. But luckily, using her quick-wit, in Act 3 Scene 3, she cunningly persuaded Orlando into love-counselling by letting him pretend to woo her. She states that love is merely madness and deserves to be whipped. Then she intelligently said about the marks of a love which Orlando did not have.