Romeo and Juliet Essay: Literary analysis In Romeo and Juliet, women have minor roles in the society in the time this play was wrote within the 16th century, a time where the role of women was not to be a person in their own rights, but to be a wife to their husband and a mother to their children. Women had a specific place in society, and they were expected to conform to expectations of their positions. Women were owned by their husbands, and had little to no freedom from their spouses or parents. In Romeo and Juliet, women have minor roles in the society. They are expected to be obedient and followers of men in their families.
Emilia is Desdemona’s maid and she has a mind of her own. Through discussions she has with Desdemona the reader can concur that she will do anything necessary to get to the top even if that is sleeping around. She also says in one of her and Desdemona’s conversations that women only cheat because men have taught them to do so by neglecting them and fraternizing with other women. Emilia is a woman who although different from Desdemona is not all bad. She is as duped by her husband, Iago, as much as the rest of the cast and she tries to amend her wrongdoings in the end by telling the truth to Othello although she is too late to save her mistress, Desdemona.
In the times John Steinbeck lived in women were not held in high regard but they were just present to serve men. However, they still tried to yearn for a better future by exploiting men. The character Curley's wife in the novel is a victim of society and her dream. She is married to Curley who neglects her and so because of her loneliness she is always seeking attention. She wears too much makeup and dresses like a "whore"
(Page 282 lines 127-130). She has been married multiple times which back in the medieval times and even now a day that is unacceptable. She is also looking for her sixth husband. Back in the old days being sexual active came only after one is married and not supposed to be for pleasure but to reproduce (Lines 69-75). She then compares herself to those who live by society the "right" way, those are perfect people and she is not perfect so she does as she pleases (Lines 105-120).
When we are primarily introduced to her we can sense she may cause trouble among the men. She is described as having “full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up” it is clear that she craves attention and the only way she sees she is able to receive it is by acting shamelessly around the men. She is unhappy in her marriage and although she flirts with the other men what she wants is not an affair or a relationship but companionship. Loneliness is a theme often associated with the migrant workers in America during the 1930s, but Curely’s wife is in fact the person who experiences it most. She is the only woman on the ranch, which makes her different from the rest.
Curley’s wife is portrayed as being a whore – but this is only due to the way she dresses, her provocative ways and the way she acts around men, as if she is aware of her femininity. This could suggest that she is only like this because she is bored, like it is something to do – something interesting for a change. She is constantly trying to get people to notice her. But, because of Lennie’s purity and innocence, he doesn’t see her in the way other men do – a sexual object. When Steinbeck quotes “And because she had confided in him, she moved closer to Lennie and sat beside him”, it is clear to the audience that Curley’s Wife is using her sexuality as an object to create some sort of excitement for herself.
• ‘You aint ruined’ – sense that she is envious that the other farm girl can be no naive (could remind herself of her). Now she is seen as a second class citizen and cannot marry or have a family because she is married • ‘You blue and bleak face could’ - unhealthy because she is unhappy because she has no life or status DIDNT TAKE WHAT THEY WERE DOING SERIOUSLY • Although the reader is like to feel sorry for the poet, ‘we played’ tells us that she saw her loves as a game. Could suggest that she liked all the attention. • She saw them as toys too, ‘my hurdy gurdy monkey men’ • Now she realises what she has done wrong and is has set in she still shows now sign of sorrow, ‘o you didn’t know I’d been ruined’ the breezy tone is heavily ironic. • ‘You aint ruined’ – suggesting she was like her and wanted all these clothes and privileges
The Role of Women in “The Odyssey” It seems if it weren’t for women in Homer’s The Odyssey all forms of empathy, love, war, or compassion wouldn’t exist. Although women held an entirely different position in society compared to men, they too held influence and power. “The Odyssey” revolves around Odysseus’ quest to return home to Ithaca and back to his wife Penelope, which has been overrun by suitors. Within the poem there are three basic types of women the goddess, the seductress, and the good hostess/wife. Each role adds a different element and is essential to the telling of the story.
Despite the reformation of society in the 14th to 17th century, the role of women was still the same. Leading figures of the renaissance continued to portray women as they were presented in the medieval era as either virtuous and chaste or seductive and deceptive. All the advancements in culture, art, intellect and politics emerged only for men and women were excluded from the rebirth era. Women were subjugated and were used in society at the men’s expense. Daughters would grow up and potentially help the family through an advantageous marriage.
I believe Gertrude from Hamlet, is a depthless individual who only thinks about her body and external pleasures. Like a child, she longs to be charmed and delighted by the men in her life. Gertrude is also a very sexual woman, and her sexuality may have been the reason that Hamlet turned so violently against her. Hamlet was already outraged with his mother for her marrying his uncle just a short time after his father's death. “Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, with witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts, -- O wicked wit, and gifts that have the power so to seduce!--won to his shameful lust the will of my most seeming-virtuous queen.”