Females were “the future wives, mothers, and housekeepers” (Pearson 211) of Elizabethan times. Not many options were open to them. They were dominated by men, and by society. The obedience of women to men was evidenced in their educational, marital, and household opportunities. Although there was a female ruler, Elizabethan women were held in much lower regard than men. In the plays of William Shakespeare, women were portrayed as strong, independent individuals with minds of their own, and were viewed as men’s equals. Macbeth’s wife is the one who facilitated their evil plot. In Hamlet, Ophelia is not complacent, nor is she ready to do the will of her father; she is in love. Romeo and Juliet presents the two lovers as equal parts of the relationship. One is not subordinate to the other. Shakespeare did an excellent job of going against social norms to empower women.
At thirteen and fourteen years of age, females in modern society are just barely finishing middle school, looking forward to high school. Education can potentially continue for the rest of their lives, but usually only lasts until the early to mid-twenties. Education of Elizabethan girls was typically ending at the age of thirteen or fourteen. “By the e
. . .
They expressed equal amounts of love, and promised to trade vows as soon as possible. / If all else fail, myself have power to die” (Romeo and Juliet 3. This phrase, however, can be taken in many different ways. Romeo surprised Juliet in the night by climbing over the garden wall and listening to her talk about him. Murder, suicide, running away; it did not matter. Subjects specifically adapted to girls were “drawing, writing, logic, rhetoric, philosophy, language, and housewifery” (Rowse 127). On his way home from a battle against Norway, Macbeth comes across three witches. Soon after, Ophelia performed the unthinkable; she killed herself. She says “to be more than what you were, you would / Be so much more the man” (Macbeth 1. Juliet, still engaged to Paris, went to the church and wed Romeo. When Romeo was exiled, Juliet’s parents saw her crying hysterically, and thought it was because of the death of her cousin. At this news, Juliet went ballistic, saying “I pray you tell my lord and father, madam / I will not marry yet.
Approximate Word count =
2166
Approximate Pages =
9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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