Category: Gender Roles

Introduction to Gender Roles in Elizabethan Society and ‘Hamlet’ Although a single woman controlled Europe during Shakespeare’s time, the Elizabethan society was quite patriarchal, women were always considered the “weaker sex” and always in need of protection. When women were married off, they had one main purpose, bearing children, as childbearing was considered a great…

When Pride and Prejudice was being written by Jane Austen in 1811, Europe was amidst the Victorian Era. England was encountering a Pax Britannica, which permitted their economy, government, and populace to increment and extend. The populace increment was expected to a limited extent to the enslavement of women, as women had nothing to do…

Key mortal female characters described in The Aeneid heavily influence his journey, and Goddesses who hold positions of power and influence within the world the poem is set in. Although it is common to have Goddesses play roles in such literature, Virgil’s makes the decision to divert from mortal female stereotypes and the expected roles…

In today’s society, there is a division based on gender roles. Gender roles are what society expects based on the sex of the person. For example, a male is classified as self-confident and aggressive while a female is friendly and emotional. During the late nineteenth century, gender roles were defined. In this time period, the…

Literature stages as a form of expression for individual composers. Some works mirrors our modern society, as they continue to shape and teach individuals. Playwright, William Shakespeare, with his 1606 Macbeth, tragedy play as a representation of the 17th century Jacobean era, explores the atrocities within the darker side of humanity. Many of these aspects…

Introduction to Janie Crawford’s Marital Journey Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God tells the story of Janie Crawford, with Janie ultimately serving as her own narrators. Her story begins with a flashback to her life as a young girl and traces her path through three different marriages. Throughout the various pages, the…

Shakespeare as well as other renowned writers during the Elizabethan time profusely explore the theme of controlling natures of men towards women in their works to highlight the strict patriarchal values of Jacobean society. Desdemona’s subservience acts as a signifier of the control men had over women. The concept of men controlling women can be…

Male to female relationships is a common topic in literature. The women were known as supporting the men in their positions of higher authority and taking care of their family. Othello by Shakespeare is a great example of relationships. In the play, it shows the acts of love and hate for one another in the…

Female characters in gothic texts both challenge and reinforce prevailing standards of gender difference within the patriarchal society at the time that they were written. In Macbeth and Medea, both Shakespeare and Euripides portray women as a symbol of defiance, challenging the gender constructions and the male-dominant system by appropriating traits then-known to be masculine.…

Since the beginning of time, gender and gender norms has been a constant tug of war battle. Because I am a woman, I deserve this right. Because I am a man, I have the authority to tell women what they can and cannot do, etc. In the previous few decades, gender norms have not been…