In recent discussions of the mistakes people make in literature. It has been said that even good writers make mistakes. A controversial issue has been whether they are writing to have people feel that they are more superior to the others or not. As a student, I notice many issues that authors make in literature. By that, I mean that I distinguish the arguments that they make about our society, people in our society, and things related to that nature. According to Steven James, authors have their mind set on impressing readers or having editors “drop their jaws.” He says, “Yet too often authors forget this and, in their zeal to impress readers or wow editors, pepper their writing with distracting devices that only end up undermining the story …show more content…
There’s a fearful point" (Romeo & Juliet. 4.3.30-33). In this case, this displays feminism because why couldn’t Juliet be the one to save Romeo? This shows that men are more dominant than women. Which shows that there is a feminist approach in the play because at the time, men were superior to women. The women's lives were controlled and dictated by men. However, many people have their own definition of a “Feminist/Feminine Approach.” I would define a Feminist/Feminine Approach as looking at the roles women are given in literature. In the text, there are multiple times where Juliet has no say so in what she wants to do with her life. For example, Juliet is being controlled in Act. 1, scene 3. In the text, Juliet’s “mother” asks her how she feels about marriage and Juliet states that she do not dream of it. Later on, Juliet’s “mother” basically tells Juliet that she should dream of it because girls her age or younger are already married and are mothers. The text says, “Well, think of marriage now. Younger than …show more content…
Gender issues play a part in every aspect of human production and experience, including the production and experience of literature, whether we are consciously aware of these issues or not” (Tyson 91). This takes us on to “feminist/gender criticism.” As far as “feminist/gender criticism”, theorists call them “the three waves of feminism.” In this case, the three waves of feminism are: “First Wave Feminism”, “Second Wave Feminism”, and “Third Wave Feminism.” First wave feminism refers to the inequalities both men and women have to face. Basically, men are more privileged than women. The Women’s Suffrage Movement is a great example of first wave feminism. During that time, women struggled to receive the right to vote and run for office. It is known that women were prohibited from doing things men were able to do; vote, run for office, and exercise the same “civil rights.” During the women's suffrage, people believed that a married woman could not make her own decisions when it came to deciding on who should be elected. The husband is the one who makes the decision and votes for his family. But, with the help of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton women gained the right to vote in 1920. Although both Anthony and Stanton did not make it to vote, they definitely did help women gain the right to vote. In Shakespeare's, Romeo and Juliet play he shows women in unique types of ways according to the feminist/gender perspective. Although the constitution sheds light to
Romeo develops the theme of gender roles by being an example of society’s view of a male during this time period, Romeo also shows that he is aware of his masculinity when he states that by being around his lover,Juliet, he has become “womanly” and non-masculine, “This gentleman, the Prince 's near ally,My very friend, hath got his mortal hurt In my behalf. My reputation stain 'd With Tybalt 's slander—Tybalt, that an hour Hath been my cousin! O sweet Juliet,Thy beauty hath made me effeminate. And in my temper softened valor 's steel!”(3.1.114-120). In Verona, in Romeo and Juliet, the world of men and the measure of a man was determined by violence, sexual domination, and also conquest, Romeo displayed these characteristics with his first motive to go to the Capulet’s Ball, he went after Rosaline, Juliet’s cousin, whom he was trying to seduce, and this shows that Romeo saw Juliet by accident because he was only at the ball due to his determination to sexually dominate Rosaline and make her his. Romeo has given countless examples of the claim of masculinity through violence, but one example comes from when Romeo kills Tybalt, who had previously killed Romeo 's best friend Mercutio, and restates his masculinity as well as getting revenge on the behalf of his slain friend, “ Alive in triumph, and Mercutio slain!Away to heaven, respective lenity,And fire-eyed fury be my conduct
Today, women and men have equal rights, however, not long ago men believed women were lower than them. During the late eighteenth century, men expected women to stay at home and raise children. Women were given very few opportunities to expand their education past high school because colleges and universities would not accept females. This was a loss for women everywhere because it took away positions of power for them. It was even frowned upon if a woman showed interest in medicine or law because that was a man’s place, not a woman’s, just like it was a man’s duty to vote and not a woman’s.
One clear representation of the reverse gender roles displayed throughout the novel is when Juliet proposes the idea of marriage to Romeo. On the balcony, following Romeo’s profession of love, she states, “Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow” (Rom.2.2.146). During the time of Romeo and
Ann-Marie MacDonald’s Goodnight Desdemona (Good morningJuliet) uses intertextuality to unveil the complete Shakespearean characters of Juliet and Desdemona to reveal the feminist narrative lurking between lines of Shakespeare’s plays. Only through the intertextual re-examination of the Shakespearean text itself via the interjection of genre and the reassigning of dialogue, within the metatheatre, is the true feminist representation of the female Shakespearian characters unveiled from behind the patriarchal preconceptions. From this understanding we may read Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) to be true feminist reworking of Shakespeare. Therefore the metatheatre’s intertextuality reinforces and supports the traits of the feminine. MacDonald’s main Character, Constance Ledbelly is searching for the missing link in Shakespeare’s Othello and Romeo and Juliet, the missing link from the original source works of his plays. Just as Constance explores from studying the Gustav manuscript that something is missing from Shakespere’s plays, we the reader can complete the information with Constance’s exploration to uncover the feminist narrative hidden within Shakespeare’s plays. MacDonald uses intertextuality and meta-theatre to dive into the mystery that is the source works of Shakespeare. The opening dumb show introduces us to the three different worlds that we are about to explore. This introduction to the meta-theatre, showing the ‘new’ narrative and play, that is the story of Constance, and the two familiar plays of Othello and Romeo and Juliet, invites the reader/viewer into the exploration of the inner workings of the texts. Constance is thrust into each play, creating the play within the play which is then manipulated by Con...
William Shakespeare said: “Women may fall when there's no strength in men” (Romeo and Juliet). Throughout history gender role have been a big, whether someone is a feminist or someone believes there is no equality between males and females; everyone has different opinions when it comes to the matter of gender roles. The same thing can be said about William Shakespeare who was a feminist (Shakespeare of Stratford). This ideology can be seen in his play Much Ado about Nothing. In this comedy Shakespeare focuses on two pairs of lovers named Claudio and Hero who are set to be married in a week but before their marriage day, they plan to conspire with Don Pedro, the prince of Aragon to trick their friends Beatrice and Benedick to admit their love for each other. Don John, the brother of Don Pedro, meanwhile plots to prevent marriage of Claudio and Hero by accusing Hero of being unfaithful. Don John initially succeeds in his plan as Hero is accused and ashamed at the marriage ceremony, but at the end Claudio and Hero are united and marry each other. Also, Beatrice and Benedick finally declare their love for each and dance at the end of the play. Shakespeare uses a lot of sources for this comedy and one of them is “Orlando Furioso” written in 1591, which gave Shakespeare the idea of Hero and Claudio’s marriage and Don John’s plot to prevent it. Another source Shakespeare used to write the play is the courtier written in 1588, which gave him the idea of the romance between Beatrice and Benedick. And also “La Prima de la Novelle” written in 1554 by Matteo Bandello gave Shakespeare the idea of putting the setting in Messina, Italy (Shakespeare in quarto). Because Shakespeare was a feminist, some of the women appear as supporting and central...
Even though women could vote, many didn't because they weren’t used to it or their husband didn’t approve. Women were very submissive to their husbands in the early 30’s, but that was slowly starting to change. One of the big reasons things began to change was because of the Great Depression. When the Great, it affected both the rich and the poor. This caused women to want change.
What is Feminism? How does feminism affect the world we live in today? Was feminism always present in history, and if so why was it such a struggle for women to gain the respect they rightly deserve? Many authors are able to express their feelings and passions about this subject within their writing. When reading literary works, one can sense the different feminist stages depending on the timeframe that the writing takes place. Two such works are ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by, Charlotte Gilman and ‘Everyday Use’ by, Alice Walker; the feminist views within each story are very apparent by the era each author lives in. It is evident that a matter of fifty years can change the stance of an author’s writing; in one story the main character is a confident and strong willed young woman looking to voice her feminist views on the world, while the other story’s main character is a woman trying to hold on to her voice in a man’s world which is driving her insane.
Feminism has been a concept long thought about. Generally dealing with the idea that men have historically been thought of as superior to women, the feminist philosophy contends that men and women are equal and thus deserve equal treatment. Esquivel makes it clear that all the women characters are not dependent in any way to any men. This independence of men that she creates is a key to understanding the feminist nature of the novel. Early on with Tita’s father dying we see that now Mama Elena is charged with the care and prot...
Romeo and Juliet has different roles for different genders. During the Shakespearean period, when Shakespeare writes, most women had to marry when they were teen, when they were in adolescence or even before. However, the men who they were marrying were in their early to late twenties. In the household that the women lived in, the men basically owned them. The women always followed men’s word, which says that the male was the dominant gender of the society. Romeo and Juliet reflects this in a number of ways. Juliet was forced to marry Paris, by the word of her father, who said that if she did not marry Paris, she would go to the streets(Shakespeare, 3.5.154-62). Women were thought to be weaker and less important than men in Romeo and Juliet because men are trying to be the strongest out of everyone, women have a lower social status, and men think they owned women in Romeo and Juliet.
The struggle of women to fight for equal rights has always been a problem in society. This issue has transcended from generations and can be tracked down from many literary sources: books and articles, the conflict women went through to even be able to voice their point in in any matter, even ones that included them. William Shakespeare, as said by Scott Guffey, manages to bring “fourth [the] highly believable and realistic” (Guffey 2) judgment and belittlement of women during the Renaissance period in Othello. Shakespeare does this by establishing societies need for women to portray the image of the perfect wife and signifying the repercussion that occur when those needs are not meet. He illustrates what happens to Desdemona and Emilia’s credibility and treatment after their husband’s accuse them of cheating, an allegation that causes them to no longer hold the only thing women were valued for: their image of an impeccable wife. Although, they were both strong women by defying important men in their life, gender was represented as a source of supremacy, in Othello, and challenging those norms ultimately lead to both of these women’s demise.
Juliet’s arranged marriage with Paris, as well as the ancient feud between Capulets and Montagues, eventually contributed to the deaths of their children. In Act 1 Scene 2, Paris asks Capulet, ‘But now, my lord, what say you to my suit?’ which shows that Capulet and Paris are discussing Juliet’s possible marriage without consulting her, perhaps implying they think she is too nave to decide on her future. They are arranging her marriage for her, which implies that men are very controlling of women’s lives, especially those of their daughters. The scene establishes how Juliet is subject to parental influence, and how she is very constrained since her father can force her to marry whoever he wants. Juliet’s status as a woman leaves her with no power or choice in the decision of whom she should marry.
Women in the Elizabethan era were subservient to men. They were expected to conform to the societies expectations while obeying the significant male figures in their lives. High-born women were often portrayed “possessions” to be shared between fathers and husbands. In several cases, they were socially restricted and unable to explore the world around them without chaperones. The women were mainly expected to act as loving caretakers to those in their families. In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, however, the female figures in the play both promote the idea of unbridled feminine sexuality but also promote the female ideals of being loving caretakers. The dramatic technique Shakespeare uses to characterize his female figure in the play are the setting, the character’s dialogue and what the other characters say about them, especially behind their backs. The three main female characters that endorse but also contradict the archetypes of women are the tyrannical Lady Macbeth, the loving Lady Macduff and lastly the mysterious weird sisters.
Throughout the texts we have read in English thus far have been feminist issues. Such issues range from how the author published the book to direct, open statements concerning feminist matters. The different ways to present feminist issues is even directly spoken of in one of the essays we read and discussed. The less obvious of these feminist critiques is found buried within the texts, however, and must be read carefully to understand their full meaning- or to even see them.
William Shakespeare’s The Tempest provides dialogue that portrays the social expectations and stereotypes imposed upon women in Elizabethan times. Even though the play has only one primary female character, Miranda, the play also includes another women; Sycorax, although she does not play as large a roll. During many scenes, the play illustrates the characteristics that represent the ideal woman within Elizabethan society. These characteristics support the fact that men considered women as a mere object that they had the luxury of owning and were nowhere near equal to them. Feminists can interpret the play as a depiction of the sexist treatment of women and would disagree with many of the characteristics and expectations that make Miranda the ideal woman. From this perspective, The Tempest can be used to objectify the common expectations and treatment of women within the 16th and 17th Centuries and compare and contrast to those of today.
Men have so much control in this society and Shakespeare has a little bit of a change in the women in his play.