Although it is quite
difficult to determine what exactly Shakespeare’s thoughts of women were, it is
possible to gist of what women were believed to be at the time Shakespeare was
writing his plays: they were described to be physically, morally, and
intellectually inferior to men. Moreover, they were forbidden to participate
actively and publicly in any type of artistic performance: painting, singing,
dancing, and ACTING. This prohibition guided the transvestite to the theater’s
gates, making men perform women’s roles in different plays. However, women in
Shakespeare are well known for neither fit the ideal image of women at the
time, nor they correspond with the misogynist attitude towards women of those
days. In fact, these extraordinary characters (Juliet in Romeo & Juliet,
Portia in The Merchant of Venice, or Viola
in Twelfth Night) are intelligent,
witty, brave and noble, and many of them demand equality:
VIOLA
There is a fair behavior in thee, captain;
And though
that nature with a beauteous wall
Doth oft
close in pollution, yet of thee
I will
believe thou hast a mind that suits
With this
thy fair and outward character.
I prithee,
and I’ll pay thee bounteously,
Conceal me
what I am, and be my aid
For such
disguise as haply shall become
The form
of my intent. I’ll serve this duke:
Thou shall
present me as an eunuch to him:
It may be
worth thy pains; for I can sing
And speak
to him in many sorts of music
That will
allow me very worth his service.
What else
may hap to time I will commit;
Only shape
thou thy silence to my wit.
(Act
I. Scene II)
PORTIA You
must take your chance,
And either
not attempt to choose at all
Or swear
before you choose, if you choose wrong
Never to
speak to lady afterward
In way of
marriage: therefore be advised.
(Act
I. Scene I)
JULIET My
ears have not yet drunk a hundred words
Of that
tongue’s utterance, yet I know the sound:
Art thou
not Romeo and a Montague?
JULIET How
camest thou hither, tell me,
and
wherefore?
The
orchard walls are high and hard to climb,
And the
place death, considering who thou art,
If any of
my kinsmen find thee here.
(Act
II. Scene II)
What
Shakespeare wanted to reinforce through these allusions could be described as
the cradle of feminism in literature where men’s image was put at the same
level of women through marriage. Moreover, the plays raise questions about hierarchy
and compel the readers to reformulate their ideas or conceptions about women as
protagonists of their lives and not living in the men’s shadow.
Work Cited:
·
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
·
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice
·
Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet
http://www.pubwire.com/DownloadDocs/PDFiles/SHAKESPR/TRAGEDY/RMEOJLET.PDF
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