ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE PAST AND THE PRESENT.
“Frailty, the name is Women “– William Shakespeare
Merchant of Venice written by William Shakespeare is a bitter comedy about a Jewish moneylender Shylock who seeks revenge from a wealthy merchant Antonio. The play highlights many important themes such as mercy, prejudice, the law, justice.
The setting of the play is in Venice and in Belmont. While the Jews had been banned from England since 1290 , Venice had laws to protect non venetians traders who contributed in the economic welfare .Shakespeare’s setting is full of religious strife between the Christians and the Jews .Belmont is presented as a contrast to Venice . It is a place of beauty, peace and wealth. The time of the play takes place during
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Women had no rights and were considered inferior to men .they were supposed to be seen and not to be heard.
In the merchant of Venice Shakespeare gives a significant role to the women.
Even though there are only three women, they show great qualities of being independent, of having intelligence and strength. She hath directed
.Jessica shows great strength when she runs away from her father’s house to marry a Christian stealing her father’s precious and valuable jewels. For women to this at those times were considered rare and unusual. Women in those times were to respect and follow their father. This shows that Jessica has a sense of self-interest and a little bit of ambition. Nerissa is considered an independent women in this pkay . this is because she has induvial freedom to choose who she shall marry and unlike Portia isn’t curbed under her father’s will
Portia –
Pay him six thousand, and deface the bond;
Double six thousand, and then treble
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Women today are strong, open minded have the freedom and the right to choose whom to marry. They are not questionably and have been given rights to vote, speech, and marry. Women today are allowed to take up any profession and are not subjected to domestic chores. They to power to educate themselves and are not subjected to be shadows of men. Proper education to women gives them confidence to be themselves and achieve the inevitable. Women today have a vision and a mission. They have the right to be outspoken and gives opinions on any
Environment and Development There were many new world crops for the Spanish to cultivate, one being maize. This became a staple in their society. A century after Columbus had crossed the ocean; New Spain had become a strong empire. The access to furs had a strong influence on the New French way of life.
Many female critics have looked towards The Wife of Bath as a feminist role model (Reisman) She wanted authority over her five husbands, “She’d been respectable throughout her life, with five churched husbands bringing joy and strife, Not counting other company in her youth;” (Chaucer, l. 459-461) In Othello, the society centered around the men having all the control over women except in their beds, which was when the women could take control. Othello uses his power to over Desdemona to mock her,“Ay, you did wish that I would make her turn. Sir, she can turn, and turn, and get go on, And turn again.
Significant changes for women took place in politics, at home, the workplace, and in education. Women began to do the same work as men. They worked in the field, factories, played sports etc. Today, women have equal rights as men as well as the freedom to do things as they want.
Jasmine Orellana Mrs. Kehrmeyer English Period 3 11 April 2018 The Nineteenth Amendment The Nineteenth Amendment of the United States says that the government cannot deny a citizen the right to vote because of their sex. This amendment was passed by congress on June 4, 1919 and more than a year later, on August 18, 1920, the amendment was ratified and put into action. This amendment did allow many opportunities that women didn’t have before, but at the same time, women had to work twice as hard for something a man would get easily.
Throughout history women have constantly had fewer constitutional rights and profession openings than men, primarily because women have continuously been considered inferior to men. The working class also possessed fewer rights during the 1800s. Workers were bound to their employers and had little to no rights. As the years moved on, much of that began to change. Employed citizens had little to no voting rights, and they kept trying until they achieved what they wanted.
In the 1800’s, all women were being controlled under the supervision of their husbands, females did not have an voice until the 1890’s. Women throughout the 1800’s were expected to stay home moms to care for their children's. As Susan B. Anthony teaches us that women had the right to have an education of their own and gain a profession of their very own when she says the following quote “I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand” - (Susan B Anthony). I agree with Susan B Anthony, I believe that women should have the courage to be able to learn many things and not letting men encouraging them failure. Some of the issues that women had to face during
It’s no surprise, that Shakespeare’s Macbeth was clearly constructed as a rebellion against femininity roles of the time. During the Elizabethan era, women were raised to believe they were inferior to men since men obtained desired masculine qualities such as strength, and loyalty, whereas women were viewed as figures of hospitality (1; 6; 28-31). Obviously, not being tempted by the luxury of subservient women, William Shakespeare rebuked this twisted belief, applying that women deserve more respect than their kitchen tables.
A Modern View of Feminist Criticism William Shakespeare 's "Othello” can be analyzed from a feminist perspective. This criticism focuses on relationships between genders, like the patterns of thoughts, behavior, values, enfranchisement, and power in relations between and within sexes. A feminist examination of the play enables us to judge the distinctive social esteems and status of women and proposes that the male-female power connections that become an integral factor in scenes of Othello impact its comprehension. I believe that the critical lens that provides modern society with the most compelling view of literature is Feminist Criticism because it analyzes distrust and disloyalty among relationships, women being treated as possessions
Although times and conditions have changed, women in today 's society are still being discriminated against because of the same belief that women are inferior to men. Women in the united states and other first world countries are being deprived of equal pay and equal rights. Women in today 's society make 80 cents for every dollar a man makes and get discriminated against because of the belief that women aren 't as strong and intelligent as mem. They have been excluded from numerous educational opportunities and in some middle-eastern countries, are stripped from their basic human rights like education and equality. Women all over the world are now coming together to fight for the rights that they
In the journal article “Rewriting The Odyssey in the Twenty-First Century”. The idea of Penelope taking control into her own hands, in a time when women did not stand up for themselves but rather were emotionally constricted is shown. Penelope’s demeanor is of a woman that does not let society rule what she can or cannot do, and because of this thinking she is able to have an advantage over other women and of men who are the ones in charge of any decision-making (Suzuki). Penelope is the second female character that is not a god that is able to maintain authority of her own in The Odyssey. This is ultimately Homer’s way of expressing his views towards the male societies of his time and their
Each female character is treated by men as a possession. However, there are also moments when they are presented as confident and challenge a male authority. This would have been exiting for Shakespeare’s female Elizabethan audience as women
Not only did men see women as unintelligent, they also saw them as weak and compliant. What made this worse was that women of higher status would have a lot of free time since they had servants to do everything. They would spend their time strolling around or doing ‘feminine hobbies’; this affirmed mens’ notion that that women were idle and did not do much, so they treated them this way. To see how dire their situation was, one must must only have to read A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While fictitious, this story does show one bit of truth, the way women were being treated during this era.
The feminist perspective challenges sexism and other beliefs and practices that result in the domination of women. When we look at Othello from feminist point of view it is important to note how the women of this play are treated and stereotyped.
In Shakespeare’s Othello and in Susan Glaspell’s Trifles women play an important role in the development of the plot. Shakespeare and Glaspell develop these women differently to enhance their message. In Othello, Emilia, Desdemona, and Bianca are all treated very poorly by their male counterparts.
Society during that time, believed that women weren’t intelligent enough to take on such roles. Women in the Merchant of Venice go against their gender roles. Men did not think that women could ever be as smart as they were, and did not listen or take advice from women that is why Portia had to dress up as a man just to get the men to listen to her and Antonio was saved just because of her intelligence. Here is revealed the idea of love that women can do everything to see their husbands happy. Jessica also goes against the gender role of women, because she is making her own decision about her life.