Even more restricting than economic rights were the social and political rights of women. They were expected to be silent observers, submissive to their husbands. Women who attempted to claim their views were seen as a threat to social order. This is significant in that the conservation of social order was a very important aspect of the Elizabethan society. Gender roles during the Elizabethan era were clearly defined, with men reigning superior over women.
She was despised by the Russian people because of the way she advised her husband on government matters and because of her devotion to Rasputin who ‘cured‘ her son of haemophilia. Alexandra was a strong woman and she easily influenced the Tsar. Richard Pipes once wrote, “without her influence, Nicholas might have yielded to public pressure and agreed to play the role of a ceremonial monarch, which could have avoided the
Marlene calls Thatcher; ‘Maggie’ – colloquial use of her name suggesting closeness, perhaps a metaphor for the incorporation of the prime minister’s ideology into society and presenting its strong impact on ordinary life, especially Marlene’s. Churchill however shows how this allusion to a return of the ‘stupendous eighties’ is unrealistic, Thatcher’s contemporary ideology doesn’t work for women or those of lower class unless they lose their identity but perhaps contrasting that it’s exactly this strong ideology that has enabled Marlene to succeed in a world of ‘monetarism.’ For example, Nijo doesn’t actually beat her husband but for the purpose of the play, to highlight the feminist theme, Churchill exaggerates - her thoughts and desires are so strong that they seem real. Nijo defies male dominance like Marlene breaks stereotypical male dominance by reaching ‘top’ through gaining the promotion over other male contenders. The embodiment of Marlene in the character of Nijo emphasises the loss of parts of Marlene’s identity. It’s ironic that Marlene sympathises with characters of Act1 and doesn’t realise the catharsis of her unconscious manifesting itself in this surreal scene.
"I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too,” was said by a brave woman in 1588. As I honor my lady’s words, I have fostered myself into becoming the lionhearted woman that I am today. If I can spend a day talking with anyone in history, I would cull Queen Elizabeth the First. I have spent many of my days admiring her valiant actions, but I have come to realize, the Queen and I have many things in common. One in particular that has aggravated us the most, was our capabilities being greatly undermined.
She then begins to criticize her husbands for not taking her side. Sita’s defiance shows when Rama questions her purity upon being rescued from Ravana. These displays of defiance by Sita and Draupadi, according to Linda Hess, Sally Sutherland, and Wendy Doniger, are a direct result of the pressure put on them by their husbands to be the “Ideal Women”. Throughout the Ramayana, Sita is shown to consistently be the ideal woman and wife for Rama. “Sita is the noblest flower of Indian womanhood, devoted to her land in thought, word, and deed” (Hess 1999, 2).
To what extent was England provided with effective government during the reign of Elizabeth As their new ruler, Elizabeth had to win the support and most importantly the respect of her government. As a woman she had to work harder to achieve this, however to many she went down in history as a great monarch and has this image of gloriana, the great English queen and as the last of the Tudors, the last English queen by blood. During what some refer to as the mid-Tudor crisis, the failures were all blamed on the monarchs but government always deserve some of the credit so for Elizabeth to have a successful reign she would have to have been aided well by her government. Perhaps the most crucial part of government in the 16th century would be the Privy Council, the ministers which are closest to the Queen and the advisors who arguably have much more power and influence over monarchs than parliament or the nobles and lords. Since Elizabeth wanted to distance herself from the largely unpopular Mary Tudor, she chose her own 19 man Privy Council, made up of people she trusted and quite crucially none of them were hard core Catholics.
Also it shows even though she has a husband (George) she doesn’t care that she is having an affair with Tom. When we look at her relationship with George we can see she is the dominant one, by the way she orders him around ‘get some chairs, why don’t you’ this shows the reader that she believes that he should do what ever she wants him to do, and because he is submissive she gets away with it which feeds her egotistical ways. Not only that when she says ‘so somebody can sit down’ shows she believes herself to be a higher class than George as by saying ‘somebody’ suggests her to believe she thinks George to be a nobody. This is also supported by the quote ‘walked through her husband as if he were a ghost’ again suggesting she is too good for him and that sometimes he is invisible to her. However when we see Myrtle when she is in New York with Tom we see her being very spoilt and therefore becomes very ungrateful, ‘I want one of those dogs’ this shows that when she asks Tom for anything she gets it with out question, just to make her happy.
Those who continued to counter such policies were ruthlessly and swiftly dealt with, often by execution, and used as examples to discourage others. Henry's desire for a nation free of foreign religious intervention, total sovereign independence, a yearning of church wealth and the desire for a divorce sewed the seeds for reform. The divorce case angered many people. Catherine of Aragon was a pious and popular Queen who was depicted as a devout Catholic and loyal wife. During the divorce Henry was not only faced with Papal opposition but also staunch resistance from Catherine's supporters.
The love of her people was her motivation. Her volition came of the need to protect her subjects, and be their beacon of strength and hope. She forged a way that was shut, by power of will and breaking down any barriers in her way. Mary Queen of Scotts was believed of some to be the rightful ruler of England, as Elizabeth was an illegitimate child by a mistress of her father, King Henry VIII, who was the founder of the Protestant church, for the reason that Catholicism would not allow him to divorce his wife. Elizabeth was criticized, but held steady her ground.
For example, turning down Mr. Collins may demonstrateher as a no-brainer woman among the society at that time. But by rejecting him, this suggests that Elizabeth places her own judgment over social pressures to comfort. In spite of the fact that she has been forced to get married with Mr. Collins by her mother, she persists to her strong position of rejecting his proposal. Plus, although Lady Catherine tries to strong-arm her into rejecting any proposal from Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth gets angry and asks her to get away. Hence, it can be noticed how Austen stresses on the empowerment of women through Elizabeth’s