Sexism In A Midsummer Night's Dream

Shakespeare uses Hermia’s character to exemplify a woman's expected relationship towards men during that time period. Women were meant to obey the rules of men and never hold positions of power in society. This idea is displayed in the quote “Society restricted women from possessing any political or personal autonomy and power.” (Introduction to early Modern England pg 11). Shakespeare also highlights this expectation in the relationship between Hermia and her father. In fact, when Hermia wants to marry for love, Egeus informs her that she must obey him and marry Demetrius or choose between becoming and nun and being killed.

Consequently, anything they owed were their husbands now, all earnings went to straight into their husbands pockets (Bonnie and Ruthsdotter). Besides from having no right in the eyes of the law, women also had many limitations regarding education and the workforce. Women were not allowed to enter many professions including medicine and law. Girls

The saying goes, “Behind every great man is a great woman,” and, in some medieval romances, that great woman is scheming for her own benefit (and either for or contrary to that of the man’s). Feminine honor is tied to being a good wife, which means being sexually faithful to and obeying. In Bisclavret by Marie de France, Bisclavret’s wife betrays him both by taking away his humanity and by taking a lover, and for that, she is disfigured as her punishment. The inverse occurs in The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle: Ragnelle, disfigured by her stepmother, manipulates both Arthur and Gawain to secure her marriage with Gawain, and she is rewarded with beauty. These women are ultimately judged not by their manipulative actions but how

Furthermore, an outsider is a character that is set apart from the established cultural pattern. The most character that was an outsider was Franky, Bernice, and the soldier. Therefore, Franky didn’t feel like she wasn’t part of any club “we”. Bernice is part of the family, but again she’s not part of the family because if they ever move or go somewhere out of the town she can’t go. The soldier didn’t know anybody when he came back in town and he felt unnoticeable because nobody said anything to him at all.

After Proctor heard the news that happened in Salem, Abigail spoken to Proctor “We were dancin’ in the wood last night, and my uncle leap into us. She took fright, is all”. Abigail tell others that she only dancing in the wood and nothing more, although the truth is that she drank blood to curse on Elizabeth. Her behavior are truly sinful, it shows that she does not concern about her social standard in Salem. Abigail forces and threaten other girls that were dancing in the wood with her to be dishonesty therefore no one could figure out what happen.

From the Suffragette movement of the early 20th century to modern day Women’s Marches, it is evident that women have continuously fought against the expectations and limitations placed on them by society. Throughout William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, female characters also grapple with gender standards, and either abide by or reject them. Characters such as Dewey Dell and Cora Tull follow female expectations since Dewey Dell allows men to control her and Cora fulfills the expected role of being a caretaker for her husband and children. Addie Bundren meanwhile does not obey societal expectations, which is apparent since she has her own desires and rejects the homemaker role given to women during this time. Truly, female characters within As I Lay Dying have varied perspectives on the roles of women in society, which makes them symbols of the various outlooks on 20th century feminism.

As the story unfolds, it is evident that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are in an abusive relationship. Lady Macbeth seems to be the one that has the top say and final decision in the relationship. Macbeth, however, seems to coward under Lady Macbeth in most situations. He seems to be a lot more sympathetic that his wife, especially when he decided no to go through with killing the king. Lady Macbeth would definitely like the idea of her being queen, which is why she is so upset when Macbeth decides not to go through with killing the king.

Antigone broke every rule in the book when it came to the way that women were supposed to behave in society back then. Women back then were either seen as slaves, mothers, or concubines, even Kreon told his son Haimon that, “when you lay yourself under a pleasure female the pleasure goes cold soon…and never never never let ourselves be bested by a woman” (lines 740-745 & 772-77), claiming that women are only good for one thing and even that is not enough to trust a woman. But Antigone was not seen as any of these things she believed in something and even though her sister told her not to do it, Antigone knew what was right and defended her beliefs. When Ismene said, “moreover we’re girls girls cannot force their way against men” (lines 70-72) it was obvious that this was one of the reasons that she did not want to help Antigone, she was raised to believe that women did not have the same strength that men have. Antigone defied all “rules” women were taught back then and made sure that not only would she be looked like as a martyr, but as a woman who was not afraid of any

There is a pivotal change in her entire attitude, from the moment she begins to question her moral ambiguity which takes place after she comes to terms with her own emotions which she can no longer push aside, ultimately leading to betrayal of herself. Previous to her first plotting of evil, Lady Macbeth is seen as a morally righteous and sane person who simply has a well off life with her husband. However, she turns completely opposite from the greed she acquires within herself wanting her husband to become king. A now selfish and greed hungry Lady Macbeth, plans and succeeds in the murder of Duncan, the first person in the way of Macbeth’s thrown. The act of taking someone’s life proves further all of her moral

While in modern times this considered untrue, it is still consider being very much true in many of the short stories we read. An example would be in “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell, where the men think very little of the women comments and think they are the superior gender. As a result, the men’s identity is composed of being overconfident and inconsiderate. On the other hand, a woman’s identity is greatly affected by the stereotypes and roles society has set for them. In the short stories, many of the women’s identity were tied to their marriage.

Meanwhile women on the other hand have to lay boundaries for themselves and only be limited to their husbands or in the handmaid 's case their commanders. Although society can be good in many ways such as today’s society but it can also be very bad and not progress forward but instead backwards. The Handmaid’s Tale has shown many examples of a corrupt and bad society where women are back to being downgraded such as they were before a really long time

Lady Macbeth in the beginning of the play is manipulative, most of the times she manipulates her husband into doing either what she wants or what she thinks he should do. For example, when Macbeth does not want to kill Duncan anymore, Lady Macbeth convinces him by saying “from this time such I account thy love. Art thou afeared to be the same in thine own act and valor as thou art in desire? (I.vii line 38-41). Besides, the audience see Lady Macbeths is influencing her husband’s feelings by she is using her love as a weapon because she is saying do it or I will not love you.