The nexus of status, gender, and societal roles are consistently topics of interest among people, and can be found throughout the plays of William Shakespeare. More evident in their original production, however, through modern renditions and personal interpretation of readings these topics reoccur often His work dictated specific roles for men and women. Through analyzing said roles one can derive insights regarding the esteem of women and how the relative devaluing of women shaped normal gender roles. However, Shakespeare provides conflicting interpretations, dependent upon the light in which his work is read. Among the possible differing interpretations of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” stands a reoccurring argument throughout history of, men vs. women in a battle of status/power. After reading the play one could make the argument that women are inferior to their counterparts, however, at the same time, the argument could be made that women have more power than men, and both positions be considered accurate. Historically speaking, the cultural limitations of women in the sixteenth century were very strong. Publicly, women had no life, and characteristics within the home were expected to mirror that of a servant: patience, silence, and obedience, to name a few. However, this essay will rely solely on evidence from the text, Twelfth Night, to examine the ways the female characters, specifically Olivia, both abides by, and defies the gender roles presented. The idea that women are socially inferior socially to men is evident early on in the play. Exemplified by Viola dressing as a eunuch in order to be close with Orsino. “Conceal me what I am, and be my aid. For such disguise as haply shall become the form of my intent. I’ll ser... ... middle of paper ... .... The notion that women are socially inferior to men, while strong, does not seem as plausible when compared to the idea that women have more power than men. Disregarding the general ideology of the time period, women appear to have more power than men based on the evidence throughout the text. Olivia exemplifies the decisions of a strong, independent woman, giving orders, who, if she can’t win the love of whom she desires, will attempt to buy it. “How shall I feast him? What bestow of him? For youth is bought more oft than begged or borrowed” (3.4.2-3) Suggesting that in her attempt to woo Cesario, the jewels she presents as gifts are similar to bribes, buying his love, if she can’t win it. Ignoring the power represented in buying someone’s love, Olivia is actively pursuing whom she wants. An act that if women were truly inferior to men, would never happen.
The play Twelfth Night, or What You Will by William Shakespeare is a 1601 comedy that has proven to be the source of experimentation in gender casting in the early twenty-first century due to its portrayal of gender in love and identity. The play centrally revolves around the love triangle between Orsino, Olivia, and Viola. However, Olivia and Orsino both believe Viola is a boy named Cesario. Ironically, only male actors were on the stage in Shakespeare’s time. This means that Olivia, Viola, and other female characters were played by young boys who still had voices at higher pitches than older males.
In Shakespearean time and even up to the turn of the 20th Century men were expected to be the sole provider of the family, entailing them to be either well educated or hard working. They were also expected to be good with the handling of finances and property. It was also acceptable for them to be barbaric, boisterous and socially well connected. This has given the men of this time an overwhelming sense of power, respect and freedom; rights which were not given to women at this time. Far from what was socially acceptable in regards to men, the gender identity of women was of a somewhat weaker nature. Women during Shakespearean time were regarded as docile, quiet and non-opinionated. Their socially acceptable role in many cases was to be domestic, entailing them to spend countless hours in the home, tending to basic familial needs, such as cooking and cleaning. This position prevented many women to receive an education or to socialize outside of the home. As a result of their inferior social status, they were expected to be submissive and to cater to her husband’s needs at all times. Women in Shakespearean time were also treated as property, either by their husbands or fathers, which diminished any sense of self-worth they may have possessed. This gender ideology ultimately paralyzed women, as the majority were helpless to alter their social standing or designated familial role.
Othello represents a prime example of Shakespeare's ability to develop relationships between the sexes so as to demonstrate those relationships' weaknesses. In Othello, the sexes are divided by misconceptions and ego- centric views of the opposite gender. The men of the play, in particular Othello, maintain a patriarchal, chivalric notion of the sexes, while the women of the play yearn for more involvement in their husbands' affairs. So it is that the thrust of the play emerges from "the opposition of attitudes, viewpoints, and sexes." (Neely 214)
During the Elizabethan era women had a status of subordination towards men. They had a role to marry and oblige to their husband’s wishes. Shakespearean literature, especially illustrates how a woman is psychologically and physically lesser to their male counterpart. The play, Othello, uses that aspect in many different ways. From a Feminist lens others are able to vividly examine how women were subjected to blatant inferiority. Being displayed as tools for men to abuse, women were characterized as possessions and submissive; only during the last portion of the play did the power of women take heed.
If you can’t beat them, join them. Due to her disguise, she doesn’t have to live up to the highly patriarchal society’s standards for women. While discussing Olivia with Cesario, Orsino says that “There is no woman’s sides / Can bide the beating of so strong a passion / As love doth give my heart. No woman’s heart / So big, to hold so much. They lack retention” (Twelfth Night 2.4.90-93). Cesario is able to refute Orsino’s misogynistic claims about women by cleverly arguing that his sister was able to love just as deeply as him or any other
“The Insincerity of Women” an essay by Garber, was the first article by a female to have negative feelings towards the women in Twelfth Night. Garber feels that Olivia ‘did not gain any liberation through her experience with Cesario’ (356) because she essentially reverted to societal norms by marrying Cesario/Sebastian. However, I disagree with this, although Olivia does eventually marry, it is not a sign of submissiveness, rather a sign of independent authority in that she chooses whom she marries, someone of her own choice rather than of ‘eligible’ status. Furthermore, it is Olivia who proposes marriage, which was a very unorthodox act in the Elizabethan era. Her resolve to marry Cesario/Sebastian highlights what the feminists of this period
Throughout the length of Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello there is a steady undercurrent of sexism. It is originating from not one, but rather various male characters in the play, who manifest prejudicial, discriminatory attitudes toward women.
Through comedy, Shakespeare bends the rules for the gender in the play Twelfth Night. Viola and Olivia are two women who complicate the relationships they have. Viola dresses as a man who she calls Cesario, while her double life has her learning the roles of both male and female. She meets Olivia who struggles with her own relationships and looks to Viola as Cesario for help. Both these women go through the same struggles of the gender roles but because Shakespeare created to Viola play both male and female her roles allow her to push the role of the female gender in society. These roles that they have are heteronormative verse binary gender, use of male and female communication, male power verse female power, relationships and identity.
In Shakespeare’s time, being an independent and strong women was unthinkable. In this book Othello, Iago and Othello constantly dishonor their wives, Desdemona and Emilia, and also women in general. They speak of women rudely and claim ownership of their partners, and Iago goes a step further with this by imposing gender stereotypes on Emilia and Othello. Desdemona gives into this kind of thinking and her role in society over the course of the play, acting as a obedient and lesser than her husband. Sexism in Othello is exposed by the consistent degrading of women, the enforcement of gender stereotypes and the women’s acceptance of roles in society, all implying that women are inferior to men.
The role of the women in Othello has exceptionally changed from 1603 to today. Women now have more rights than what they were offered in the 1600s. During the duration of this play, the prominent group of people are the men. The men believe they own women as their property, even the father’s own them. Women not supposed to cheat on men but men may have an unlimited number of mistresses and wives. The women in the play, Desdemona, Bianca, and Emilia, have known of this treatment and even talk of such. But, the women are still faithful and loyal to their husband, and if they were to be disloyal, there would be serious consequences. There are many examples of the specific gender roles throughout this play that describe the treatment women received during the 1600s and so on. Women are submissive and are often referred to as possessions in the play. Shakespeare has given each of these characters a role to play as a victim, as in a woman, or a dominant male.
The portrayal of gender roles in William Shakespeare’s play Othello, demonstrates the inferior treatment of women and the certain stereotypes of men placed on them by society. Both the male and female characters in the play have these certain gender expectations placed on them. In a society dominated by men, it is understood that the women are to be seen rather than heard. The women are referred to and treated much like property. If indeed they do speak up, they are quickly silenced. One woman’s attempt to be the perfect wife is what ultimately led to her demise. The expectations of men are equally stereotypical. Men are to be leaders and to be in control and dominant especially over the women. The male characters compete for position and use the female characters in the play as leverage to manipulate each other. Shakespeare provides insight in understanding the outcomes of the men and women who are faced with the pressures of trying to live up to society’s expectations, not only in the workplace, but also in the home. The pressure creates jealousy issues amongst the men and they become blind to the voice of reason and are overtaken by jealous rage, leads to the death of many of the characters.
The role and status of women is dramatically explored in Shakespeare’s Othello, this is demonstrated through the way women are presented, and the way they are treated by other characters throughout the play. The female characters, Desdemona, Emilia and Bianca, whilst all having different statuses, have similar roles in terms of the function they serve to the plot of Othello. Shakespeare uses numerous ways to demonstrate the role and status of women in Othello.
In William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” a unnatural love triangle unfolds as the leading heroine, Viola, disguises herself as a male to obscure her social class in society in order to find herself without being bound by her gender. While many of Shakespeare’s works elaborate on the traditional and religious understanding of marriage during the 1600s, “Twelfth Night” obscures these traditional motifs by creating a humanistic portrayal of love that blurs not only social class but gender as well. The determinism throughout the play demonstrates how nature imposes limitations on the characters through cause and affect. For the characters
In Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, the scene opens to reveal a society controlled by men. Men, who live in the foreground of Venetian society, wield their power in business, government, and family life. In the background, women conduct their lives quietly. They are subservient to their husbands and fathers and are regarded as helpless and in need of male guidance in areas of decision making. Though in Shakespeare’s time such a societal structure was largely acceptable, the modern reader views the subjugation of women with aversion, and the ways in which Shakespeare presents the female characters in this play perhaps show that he too was not entirely comfortable with the unbalanced scale of power between men and women.
Women of the late 16th century were subjected to patriarchal ways and not granted the same rights and privileges as males. Yet, Shakespeare gives women in The Merchant of Venice significant roles in controlling the fates of all of the other characters. Portia and Nerissa cleverly disguise themselves as an esteemed lawyer and clerk, respectively, and interpret the law in such a way that Antonio and Bassanio are saved from Shylock’s bond, while Shylock is forced into a position of utter humiliation. The William’s Center for the Arts takes The Merchant of Venice and amplifies the play’s feminist qualities, not only through context of the play and performance, but also through gender-blind casting.