Gender Roles In Romeo And Juliet Essay

Women have been around about as long as men have, yet the portrayal of women compared to men tends to be inferior. Children, teens, and young adults are learning and reading about the roles that society has created for women. Society has managed to shape how women should act and be seen, but the views that are seen on television and that are read in books have come a long way. For women, the way they are seen, shown to be treated, expected to behave, and the presumption on what women are allowed to do has changed drastically. From the way books were written back in Shakespeare’s time, to more recent books like Twilight, to even modern media, women have been given new views about their role and how they should perceive themselves.
Taking it
Leonardo DiCaprio played the role of Romeo and Claire Danes the role of Juliet. The film consisted of the same main details, families being rivals, disapproval of parent`s permission to marry one another, and of course the actions that left both Romeo and Juliet dead. The film, though, was modified to fit the 19th century theme.
The 9th century involved specific gender roles for women and society had managed to keep it that way for a while. “Women were considered physically weaker yet morally superior to men, which meant that they were best suited to the domestic sphere. “(Gender roles in the 19th century, n.d, 19). Seen as housewives women were taught to be responsible for cooking and keeping the house clean.
In the early 2000`s, Twilight, a well-known book, was released. The film of the book was then released in 2008. Twilight consists of science fiction, including vampires and men who turn into wolves. Throughout the film and the book, Bella, one of the protagonist is caught in an unhealthy relationship. Stuck in between the feelings she has for Edward, the vampire, and in the second film, the feeling she attains while seeing Jacob, the wolf boy, she allows certain actions to take place mistaking it for