Preview

Elizabethan Gender Roles

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1772 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Elizabethan Gender Roles
Gender Roles: Shakespearean and Modern During the Elizabethan times, there were many issues facing common people and William Shakespeare. An important issue that played a part in everyday life for Elizabethans, whether rich or poor, was the difference between men and women. Gender roles have been debated throughout history and are changing everyday. Although modern American gender roles are much more defined and different than Elizabethan times, if Shakespeare were to live today, his writing would have been very different. Gender roles are something that affect every aspect of life, in Elizabethan times and present day. Although the differences between eras may seem immense, modern America has similar morals and ethics to Elizabethan times. Marriage is a major way of life in both times and important to most people. Since the beginning of time, people have always looked for a companion that will care and love them no matter what (“Marriage and Family”). This is a similarity between Elizabethan times and today because finding somebody to love is a natural way of life, and almost all humans want to complete this task. Women today and in the Elizabethan times are very alike because they find a need to get married more than men do (“Chronobiology?”) Women feel the need to satisfy their biological clock with marriage and children, and they always will. For that reason, women in both eras are the primary care givers to children (“Chronobiology?”) Even though women satisfy their children’s needs more than men do, men and women together have always loved their children to full capacity (“Marriage and Family”). Women and men’s behavior and jobs are something that society has always judged people by. The two genders each practice different things in their life, but some of their practices were the same as Elizabethan times and today (“Elizabethan Women”). Women in both eras think that it is important to display themselves nicely in front of people. First of


Cited: Pricard, Liza. Elizabeth 's London: Everyday Life in Elizabethan London. London: Macmillan, 2005 Stear, John. "What is Chronobiology?" Circadiana. 12 Jan. 2005. 11 Apr. 2008 . "Homophobia." Anti-Defamation League. 9 Apr. 2008 . "Marriage and Family." Life in Elizabethan England. 26 Mar. 2000. 9 Apr. 2008 . "Elizabethan Women." Elizabeth. 9 Apr. 2008 . Women 's Job List. 9 Apr. 2008 . Mortenson, Tom. "Boy Projects Statistics." Boys Project. 26 Apr. 2006. 10 Apr. 2008 .
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Gender Roles In Macbeth
    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Gender Roles In Macbeth

    It is important to understand the role that gender plays in today's society, as compared with the gender roles portrayed in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Gender can be seen as a bias both today and in the time in which Macbeth takes place. Masculinity is a strong symbol used within gender throughout the play, and is a parallel with icons today.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    Case Study: Justice & Women in Colonial America, 1500-1775
    • 1806 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Case Study: Justice & Women in Colonial America, 1500-1775

    In the beginning of this time period, there was an unmarried woman on the throne in England; she was Queen Elizabeth. Descended from royalty, this was the first time England had ever had a woman rule her people. Yet even with this remarkable step for women, the roles of women in society were still very much limited. Elizabethan England had very clear-cut expectations of men and women; men were expected to support the household, and women were expected to take care of domestic chores. Across the Atlantic Ocean, the colonies in North America were very much the same.…

    • 1806 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Dbq Queen Elizabeth I Research Paper
    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Dbq Queen Elizabeth I Research Paper

    Throughout history, women have been constantly viewed and treated as inferior to men. Throughout English history, there have been many female monarchs. Among these monarchs is Elizabeth I. Elizabeth’s predecessor was Mary I, who tried to restore England to Catholicism and was heavily disliked by her subjects. Elizabeth’s period of rule commenced during 1558 and lasted until 1603. Since Elizabeth I ensured that England stayed an Anglican country, she was greatly loved by her people and was able to earn respect as a ruler. However, since Elizabeth I was a female during a time where the idea of female inferiority was shared by the majority of people, she did not attain as much respect as a king would have. During Elizabeth’s reign, she used her…

    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analysis of Language Between Juliet and Lord Capulet
    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Analysis of Language Between Juliet and Lord Capulet

    Women could refuse to marry but would be disowned by their families; it was a silent threat that was hidden underneath every happy Elizabethan family. Just as Capulet’s behaviour so drastically contrasts from when Juliet was obeying him to when she spoke out. Women had either little or no work opportunities outside their family and without a male supporter they became penniless street vagrants. Elizabethan society wasn’t fair; if it was then women wouldn’t be working in high power jobs equally with men. The modern society we live in has changed so because of the prejudice against how women where controlled mercilessly by men. In my opinion that is unjust and wrong, I am very appreciative that I wasn’t…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The women's Role in the New England Colonies
    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The women's Role in the New England Colonies

    In the early 1700’s the lives of men and women were very different. Social equality was not extended to the women in the household. Wealth, intelligence, and social status were not of importance when it came to be head of the household. They were taught that their husbands were above then and that it was a “wife’s duty” to “love and reverence them,” (Henretta 97).…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Othello and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Comparative
    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Othello and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Comparative

    In Elizabethan times, a marriage between a man and a woman was considered extremely important. Women were generally considered to be…

    • 486 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Differences in Gender Roles During the Middle Ages
    • 1821 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Differences in Gender Roles During the Middle Ages

    History is marked by specific periods; which illustrates the cultural, economic, religious, and educational setting of the time. One such era is the Middle Ages or Medieval Period. This period that dates from around 850-1400, was defined by the “Italian Renaissance humanist, Francesco Petrarch, who coined the term Middle Ages to describe the period in European history from the end of the Roman Empire until his own time, the 1300s”. There were many changes that occurred during this span in history; such as the development of cities and the marketplace, which allowed some people to obtain financial wealth and move into a new social bracket. This redistribution of the pecking order was a source of distress for some medieval Europeans, therefore, the need to determine a new class structure arose. As a result, medieval intellects classified the different sets of people; “those who pray (monks), those who fight (nobles), and those who work (peasants)”. This new caste system put people’s minds at ease because “they asserted that the three orders had been established by God and that every person had been assigned a fixed place in the social order”. However, the three social categories did not include women of the middle ages, who were important fixtures of the time.…

    • 1821 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gender Stereotypes In Elizabethan Plays
    • 1556 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Gender Stereotypes In Elizabethan Plays

    With great honor comes great responsibility. Sure, men had the honor of putting on shows with their other male cast members, but there was much to be done before a show was ready. Aside from having to wear ladies garments, men had to memorize hundreds of lines day in and day out for an upcoming show. And not only that, they were given so little time to memorize a show, sometimes they are only given a week to prepare. “Rehearsal time was minimal. Actors learned their parts in about a week; a leading man might have to memorize eight hundred lines a day.” (Epstein, p.48) An actor was responsible for preparing all of his lines and his blocking mostly on his own time. So who really had the shorter end of the stick? However, men were given a little…

    • 1556 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    quick summary of men and women in the Elizabethan era
    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages

    quick summary of men and women in the Elizabethan era

    Men were superior in the Elizabethan era. They were to make the decisions in the family and women must obey them. Men are expected to support and improve the positions of their family through influencing and assisting them.…

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Midsummer Night's Dream Gender Roles Essay
    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A Midsummer Night's Dream Gender Roles Essay

    Throughout many of his works, Shakespeare demonstrated the issues relevant to his time in regards to gender roles and tensions. During the period of the fifteenth century, women of upper class were inferior figures known as the “Elizabethan women” and were dominated by the men in their families. Women were subservient to the men in the family and were expected to obey men in all aspects of their life, no matter what their opinion was. Marriages were arranged to suit the family and disobedience towards men was seen as a crime against their religion, and women were likely to die or suffer banishment for doing so. Likewise, the role of men was to be the head of the marriage and men were allowed to discipline their wife as they pleased. Men were also granted utmost respect and rights. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, written by Shakespeare in the year 1600, illustrates the plight of women in a patriarchal society.…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Gender Roles in the 16th Century
    • 1909 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Gender Roles in the 16th Century

    One of the most fundamental themes while reading Shakespeare is the prominent reminder of women at the end of the 16th century and their roles placed under men, as women were a threat to the masculinity, and thus, power held by men. There are clear misogynistic elements in all of the works performed through Shakespeare’s plays, most predominantly appearing in The Taming of the Shrew. As quoted within texts and contexts of this play, the reader becomes aware that The Taming of the Shrew “participates in a tenacious popular tradition of depicting domestic violence as funny” (Dolan 244). In current times, the idea of domestic violence is contrary to what would be seen as humor, but in the 16th century people were accustomed to this as a value of their everyday life. Through the use of shrew-taming within the play, the audience sees the gender roles at their most obvious forms, where men are superior, and women, unless otherwise informed, should maintain to be seen and not heard. Using the ideas from contextual material is an important factor in understanding the play, to articulate an analysis of times where women were in no form of equality to a man and his duties. In a deeper analysis, one may see the role of masculinity take heed in this theme, the idea of a man acting as anything less than masculine is gruesome to a man and to his honor. The relationship between men and women are a continuous theme throughout all of Shakespeare’s works, focusing on the desire for power. Without the use of contextual material, one may not see the influence of society in 16th century homes, especially within the concept of divisions of labor.…

    • 1909 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gender Roles In The Elizabethan Era
    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Gender Roles In The Elizabethan Era

    The Elizabethan era may have only lasted for 45 years, but it brought forth a blossoming of literature, and changed the way that people viewed themselves and their society. The gender specific roles in the Golden Age may have not suited the people of today, but in the 1500’s they were acknowledged and seen as a common practice. During the Elizabethan era, diverse family and societal roles were demonstrated through men, women, and children.…

    • 1167 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Masculinity In The Elizabethan Era
    • 1452 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Masculinity In The Elizabethan Era

    Gender roles set a standard for how every person is supposed to behave according to their sex. These expectations are based on stereotypical traits and there are often consequences for not following the norms. Shakespeare’s Macbeth gives evidence of how men and women were perceived during the Elizabethan era and what would happen if they did not conform to those roles. Most of the characters’ actions in the play are influenced by how strict the expectations are. Society’s definitions of masculinity and femininity force the characters to conform to certain behaviors based on their gender, which leads some to reject or criticize their given role.…

    • 1452 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Sexism In The Elizabethan Era
    • 61 Words
    • 1 Page

    Sexism In The Elizabethan Era

    Sexism and subhuman treatment of women during the Elizabethan era is evident in the historical context of literature written during that time. In The Tragedy of Hamlet, the lives of Ophelia and Gertrude are especially exemplary in conveying this harsh treatment of women. The inequality of gender roles, "good girl" stereotypes, and overall sexist ideas were commonly accepted during this era.…

    • 61 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Shakespeare's Gender Roles In Much Ado About Nothing
    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Shakespeare's Gender Roles In Much Ado About Nothing

    Shakespeare has had a lasting effect on society to this day, but he hasn't predicted society. In his play Much Ado About Nothing, which is still being performed today, he says many statements about society in a whole. One of those being about gender roles of old society. Although some will say that Shakespeare's gender roles hold up to today's society, they would be wrong because Beatrice being frowned upon , the way women are viewed as things in the play and role of honor.…

    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More