Shakespeares portrayal of female characters in the play Hamlet mirrors the way in which women were perceived in his day. The actions of the characters Ophelia and Queen Gertrude are often heavily swayed by the words of the male characters. In the play, the male characters think of the women as archetypes, who do not make choices for themselves, and thus the female characters behave as though they are helplessly caught up in the plot and unable to change their situation’s. Hamlets lover, Ophelia, is by far the most piteous character in the play. Although it was Hamlet who wooed her, and with whom she was intimate it is Hamlet himself who later chastises her for her impious actions.
By utilizing the Handmaids as a representation of the females in the Gileadean society, the author exposes the flaws of an anti-feminist society through objectification and the absence of agency. The Handmaid’s Tale illustrates women who are strongly objectified by men. An example of how Handmaids are objectified is through their names. The women are named after their assigned Commander; their name which consists of two parts is constructed with the prefix, ‘Of’, followed by the suffix of their Commander’s name. The main character’s Handmaid name is Offred, meaning that she is property of Fred.
This comes as no surprise, because if you aren't going to write your own ideas, what is the significance of writing at all? Shakespeare- for whatever reasons- thinks of women as how they are portrayed in his plays. He considers them weak, frail, un-able to function for themselves without the help of a man, and less deserving of the prosperities that it means to be human. This is obviously shown when Hamlet shows his own disdain for woman kind by saying, "fragility thy name is woman (p.29)!" in those five words, hamlet basically sums it up.
Desdemona is Othello’s wife who he is madly in love with and Iago preys upon Othello’s jealous personality and trusting nature to convince Othello of his wife’s infidelity resulting in the ultimate downfall of Othello – death. Othello’s downfall is caused by his own weakness due to his trusting nature and willingness to believe anything he is told. Early in the play, it becomes evident that Othello is blind to Iago’s evil when Iago says “I am not what I am” (I.i,65). This statement foreshadows Othello’s downfall as it is his trust in Iago, which causes it. Othello believes Iago’s lies and always listens to his advice throughout the play.
And swear whatever you wish, and then begin all over again?”(Anouilh, 48). The presence of her masculinity implies that only masculine characters can oppose law. Because she is an undesirable female, who doesn’t follow the rules of womanhood, Anouilh resolves the presence of her character through an inevitable death, to emphasize his contempt with such women. Although male, Haemon portrays female characteristics, being over-emotional and rash, thus being incapable of fulfilling the idealistic male role. An
William Shakespeare’s famous play, Hamlet, offers detailed and often callous insights into the role of women, and men, in the Renaissance period in which the playwright lived in. Throughout this time, traditional women were often constantly criticised and treated as inferior to male counterparts. As such, Shakespeare has constructed his female characters to fulfil these traditional roles; however by taking a feminist approach these female characters appear marginalised and degraded. Ultimately, through the playwright’s representation of women, they can be see as worthless, sexual objects , both weak and inconsiderate in nature. Through a modern perception on the playwright’s female characters, women can be seen as worthless, sexually corrupt indiviudals.
Throughout the entire sonnet he mocks the ideas of women’s perfection in the Renaissance, and shows that no woman is perfect. In “Did Women Have a Renaissance?” Joan Kelly-Gadol disputed that although the Renaissance has been called a period of renewed intellectual, political, and artistic development the rebirth of this, she explains, was a retrieval of writings from the ancient Greeks and Romans. This rebirth was combined with the medieval notions of women as being either good, submissive, and chaste (like the Virgin Mary) or evil, active, and promiscuous (much like Eve). In this paper, I will show that Shakespeare fought for a change in the idea of women, just as Queen Elizabeth fought for her perfection to be seen as not a woman but as the true de facto King of England. During the time of Elizabeth’s reign the standards held for women were almost impossible to reach.
A cause for concern in Tis Pity is that Giovanni’s actions are not condemned. It is presented by Ford to be a “tumultuous passion that brings about his destruction” according to the critic Mark Stavig. His passions are inescapable it seems and so he cannot be held accountable for his drastic actions. Conversely, because of Annabella’s position as a woman, she is consciously aware of her own fate and knows that if their incestuous relationship was to carry on further, harsh repercussions would occur. The Friar tries to dissuade Giovanni from commencing the relationship despite there being little effect from his words.
Caryl Churchill has explored such issues in her works mainly pertaining to the position of women in male-dominated societies. Indeed, some of her works utilize various plot structures to harness support for the improvement of the position of women in society while some attempt illustrate women’s vain struggle against oppressive patriarchal agents. The main concerns of the play are the empowerment of the upper class patriarchal agents as well as the repression of women which is everlasting in the societies ruled by patriarchs. Here, Churchill’s mission is to make an attempt to dismantle the patriarchal ideas which has made women’s repression commonplace. Keywords: Women’s oppression, Stereotypical witches, Patriarchy, Capitalism, Different class levels “A society is patriarchal to the degree that it promotes male privilege by being male dominated, male identified, and male centred.
Desdemona’s innocent, loyal, and honorable traits contribute to the theme that things are not always as they seem due to Othello’s failure to recognize them in his moments of jealous accusation. Desdemona’s most obvious trait is that of innocence. It is shown clearly throughout the whole play through her religious faith, dedication to Othello and her disbelief in any act of betrayal. In the beginning of the play, Othello too is dedicated and in love with Desdemona. Although, by Act IV of the play Othello is convinced, by Iago, that Desdemona is a “whore” and dishonorable to their marriage.