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Sexism in Romeo and Juliet
Representation of women in Shakespeare
Shakespeare's representation of women
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Recommended: Sexism in Romeo and Juliet
In “Romeo and Juliet,” a play written by William Shakespeare, women were portrayed as ranking below men and always expected to act poised and subdued. If they attempted to possess any more power than what was given to them by men, others would view them as stepping out of their place and misbehaving. In most scenarios, when a man is talking to a women, the words and phrases that they use have a connotation of being very dominant and controlling. In the play, the female characters are expected to act in pristine behavior when they leave their respective households, but the male characters are almost encouraged to be rowdy and rude with one another. Most times, when the women go out into town, they are sent with a man to accompany and “protect” them, while even young boys are permitted to roam the streets freely. For example, Peter demonstrates his job as the guardian of the Nurse when he states, “I saw no man use you a pleasure; if I had, my weapon /should quickly have been out, I warrant you: I dare /draw as soon as another man, if I see occasion in a /good quarrel, and the law on my side” (II.4.144-146). When the Nurse went out to meet Romeo for Juliet, she was forced to have a man accompany her for protection. As she was not trusted enough to leave the Capulet Household on her own, it implies that women were not thought of as capable of taking care of themselves, while men can come and leave as they please. For instance, Mercutio shows a prime scenario involving male privilege when he states, “Good Peter, to hide her face; for her fan's the fairer/ face” (II.4.98-99). When Romeo went out to greet the nurse in the same scene, he was traveling solely with Mercutio, Benvolio, and he
Shakespeare’s compelling drama The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, known as the ultimate portrayal of love, contradicts the Christian definition of love in St. Paul’s 1 Corinthians 13. In one instance, the Bible verse states that “love is kind and patient” (1 Cor. 13:4) in contrast to Shakespeare’s drama in which Romeo and Juliet fall in love in four days. In addition, St. Paul conveys that “love isn’t selfish or quick tempered” (1 Cor. 13:5) whereas Juliet pleads to “make the bridal bed / In that dim monument where Tybalt lies” (3.5.212-213), using suicide as a selfish resolution to her love dilemma. Furthermore, according to the Bible, “Love rejoices in the truth, but not the evil” (1 Cor. 13:6), however Lady Capulet emphasizes that Benvolio
The nurse has raised Juliet since she was a baby. She plays more of a
William Shakespeare 's play, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, (Romeo and Juliet) includes two very rash, passionate characters who refuse to listen to the demands of their families. This ends with them paying the ultimate penalty, death. In Pamela Berkman’s story, “Duty”, there is a grieving mother who is not grieving as much as one usually would over the circumstances involving the death of their child. In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and "Duty" by Pamela Berkman, there are two main female roles that are progressively changing along with the plot and as they interact with other characters and are thus labeled as "complex characters". These characters would be Juliet, from Romeo and Juliet, and Lady Capulet, from "Duty".
In Act 3 Scene 1, Romeo experiences a range of losses-one of which is the death of his best friend Mercutio, at the hand of his rival Tybalt. In contrast to the aggressive tendencies of Romeo’s bloodline, his initial reaction was that of a man who is ashamed and feeling a loss of masculinity. Blaming his new found love for making him “effeminate” suggests to the audience that the guilt (which is obvious through the feeble attempt he makes at excusing his actions) is also making him question his virility. The fact that “effeminate” is said in a demeaning manner exhibits the sexism which is too a common theme throughout. In contrast to this original action, Romeo quickly turns vengeful- perhaps in an attempt to restore the masculinity he felt he lacked- letting “fire eyed fury” be his “conduct.” The alliterative phrase “fire eyed fury” can be interpreted by the audience as a vicious rage, “fire eyed” suggesting that when commencing upon this range Romeo wasn’t acting like his true self.
Long before the women’s rights revolutions of the early 1900s, the women of Verona, Italy were restricted by intensive social bounds. Expected to be polite and submissive, girls were married off as young as thirteen, and bore children shortly after. In Juliet’s soliloquy in Act 3, Scene 2 of the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Juliet is awaiting her first night with Romeo as his wife. Her parents are unaware of this endeavor, because Juliet has hidden it out of fear of their disapproval. While Juliet followed social law in the earlier acts by showing modesty and tentativeness when meeting Romeo a mere day earlier, she now breaks free but is buried in misconceptions. The personification and symbolism of night, in addition to the words describing it in Juliet’s soliloquy suggest alternate views on women's rights.
... Since masculinity is very prominent, men thought that they had to display strength. Since women were thought to be unknowledgable, women were lower on the social status list. When Capulet says he will throw out Juliet, he is saying that he owns Juliet. Women being less important and weaker is etched into Romeo and Juliet so much, that women seem to accept it.
In Shakespearean times society always acted in a carefully considered manner. People were polite and thoughtful and did not entertain overt displays of emotion. Men and women played significantly separate roles in society, the man being seen as the decision maker and the woman being seen as more demure and was responsible for household duties. They were seen as inferior to men and as a result their talents were often suppressed in society. “Tis true, and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall. Therefore I will push Montague’s men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall” (Act 1, Scene 1). Sampson a servant boasts he can use women's vulnerability to his advantage. The words used such as “thrust to the wall” and “weaker vessels” supports the premise that women could be used at will by men for either strategic advantage in society, or alternatively to suppress as was at times the mood of the day. In the Elizabethan era, values and attitudes resulted in a male dominated presence appearing throughout Romeo and
Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in the 16th century, at a time where the role of the woman was to be subservient to men and act as a wife to their husband and a mother to their children. Women were expected to conform to the expectations of society, and were seen as possessions by their fathers and husbands. Fathers arranged their daughters’ marriages, usually for financial or social gain for the family. In Romeo and Juliet, the unfair treatment of women is conveyed through characters such as Juliet, a young girl who is growing into the expectations of society, and Lady Capulet, who represents a traditional side of love and values social position rather than men themselves.
When a man is attracted to a woman they express the feeling mutually. An example would be in “Michelle”, sang by Paul McCarthy where a man sings to his lover in French. Context clues point to the fact that she does not speak English, which is why he sings in French, “the words she will best understand.” In “Romeo and Juliet”, written by William Shakespeare, Romeo spots Juliet and immediately notices her great beauty. By saying what he did, he shows her that he noticed her over all the other ladies in the room. Looking at what both sources portray about how men show their emotions, we are to see that when a man feels attraction towards a woman, they are compelled to express this by talking and complimenting the woman they feel attraction to.
To many, Romeo and Juliet is a tale of love filled with teenage angst, peer pressure, and excessive violence, yet so many love it. Why? Perhaps it is because so many young adults deal with similar issues relating to depression, anxiety, and struggles with peer pressure and emotions. Although we are now in the twenty-first century, it seems that adolescent emotions have stayed relatively similar, that is, difficult to control and understand. There were many teen issues that led to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet such as peer pressure, depression, and rebellion all of which are still prevalent in today’s society.
The Elizabethan era gender roles were much different than they are today. Women were regarded as the weaker sex, and men were always dominant. These “rules” are shown prominently throughout Romeo and Juliet, and paved way for obstacles they went through in their relationship. The gender conventions for women and men were prodigiously stereotypical and unreasonable, as they made men out to be the superior gender. Women should not have been perceived as inferior to men, and these unwritten rules for masculinity and femininity were shown throughout the play. Romeo acted very feminine which contradicted his gender conventions while Juliet did not abide by rules and disobeyed her parents. Romeo and Juliet had many ways in which they followed and
The value Romeo most cherishes is privacy between him and Juliet. The value of privacy is expressed through the metaphor of night. Through night, darkness is a veil that removes any obligations to social institutions and implications, rules and regulations. In short, night is the individual’s escape from the public world. In a way, the lover’s eventual suicides may be viewed as an eternal night. Romeo rejects the values of his surrounding public and social institutions. The placement of familial power on the head masculine figure of the household creates a profound obstacle between Romeo and Juliet. Both lovers must rebel against their lineage especially Juliet. Because of the patriarchal power structure, Juliet’s love is not hers to give away. There is a strong hostility between their two families that conflict with the renaissance value of honor.
During the Shakespearean time women were treated as inferiors. The three women in Othello, Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca encountered many degrading and unfortunate situations. They were to be obedient. The women had to comply with the commands, orders, and the instructions of the men. Women were made to believe that they had no rights. The men would publicly humiliate the three women. It was difficult for the women to stand up for themselves due to that time in society. In Shakespeare’s play Othello, he portrayed the three women to be viewed as obedient, loyal, and submissive to their husbands.
Men have so much control in this society and Shakespeare has a little bit of a change in the women in his play.
To quote the great, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “feminist: a person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.” Feminism. The ideology of women having an equal stand with men. The rise of feminism, in the 18th century, lead to a new form of criticism: feminist criticism. This type of criticism developed with the three waves of feminism.