Female Sexuality And Gender Roles In Shakespearean Society
Female Sexuality & Gender Roles in Patriarchal, Shakespearean Society In The Winter’s Tale and Measure for Measure, female characters play many roles and hold many positions in society. These two plays illustrate that while women still hold varying degrees of power and influence in a patriarchal, male dominated society, it becomes apparent that each woman’s struggle for equality and power is consistently stifled by male authority regardless of their position or class in relation to men. The dominance of females by male authority in these plays is demonstrated through the use of female sexuality, marital status and speech in regards to each woman’s separate and unique position in society. Regardless of each woman’s battle for power and control, each
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woman in these plays eventually remains a pawn to male authority, even if it never becomes obvious in the minds of the female characters.
In each situation, marriage and conformity to the ideal roles for women is the only practical solution to each woman’s predicament. The role of sexuality and marital in society is one of the strongest shackles that deter women from gaining power in society. From the beginning of Measure for Measure , it becomes apparent that a woman’s marital status, fertility, and sexuality define her status as a woman in the eyes of men. The degree of which she is physically attractive and desired in society is decided by whether she fits into the male generated idealistic system of maiden, wife/mother, and widow. The roles are strictly defined as virginity for maidens, fidelity and faithfulness for wives and mothers, and abstinence for widows. In terms of sexuality and sexual partners, women are expected to conform to the “virgin (one sexual partner), wife (one), and whore (more)” (DiGangi 591). This system allows for no exceptions or allowances for women to gain respect outside of this system. The women in Measure for Measure break these stereotypical ideals for females, battle against them, but still fall directly under the male-dominated system due to resilient male control. These plays and further research illustrate that even the accepted and conventional views of the ideal and model women can easily be destructed so women in all positions are lessened to shameful, dishonorable, unclean, suspicious and even evil figures in the eyes of men. The Winter’s Tale proves that even women customarily regarded as honorable and significant for acting as a loyal wife and mother can easily be thrown into a tempest of suspicion, distrust, shame, and notion of possible witchcraft when one central male figure develops a small but growing suspicion of wrong-doing. Isabella is the main female character in Measure for Measure that does not conform to the maiden/wife/whore system of sexuality. While Isabella remains a virgin, Isabella’s intent is not to ultimately lose her chastity to fulfill the desires of a man, but rather fulfill her faith in God and become a nun. Isabella is rebelliously and selflessly choosing to disregard her role and sexuality. This poses a significant problem throughout the play because she does not serve a purpose in the “maiden/wife/whore” paradigm or in the male constructs of society. The fact that Angelo puts Isabella into the difficult position of losing her brother or her chastity reinforces this idea. Isabella’s choice to remain chaste throughout her life gives her the image of being more than a woman in terms of her sexuality. Isabella’s choice to disregard her sexuality altogether gives Angelo the impression that she is more than a woman, even less human, but her inability to confirm to the male criteria for females makes her none. This is revealed in his dialogue with Isabella in Scene 2, “That is, a woman. If you be more, you’re none. (Greenblatt 2052, 134). Angelo desires to destruct Isabella’s resistance to conform by forcing her to lose her virginity or suffer the death of her brother, Claudio. DiGangi explains the posed problem Isabella presents when he says “Angelo’s doubt, discovered in his evasive grammar, reveals an anxiety about female autonomy (as the super-feminine virgin) and its threat to male desires for ownership and control,” (DiGangi 596). Angelo desires to force Isabella into the paradigm through fear, but regardless of Isabella’s audacity and careful planning, she eventually loses this battle at the end of the play through marriage (falling under the role of the wife) instead. Mariana breaks the set standards of the patriarchal society by not conforming to the role of neither wife nor maiden. Mariana loses her virginity to Angelo before marriage, but as her dowry becomes lost at sea when her brother loses her dowry at sea, therefore, ruining her opportunity for marriage. This situation is one of the most dangerous positions for a woman because Mariana is forced to face the possibility of never being desirable to another man and being labeled a whore by society because she is no longer considered a chaste woman. The description of Mariana’s brother losing her dowry at sea is also a very unsettling image of birth as the Duke describes her dowry as being “miscarried” at sea (Greenblatt 2057, 207). This line gives the reader a somewhat upsetting image of any chance Mariana had of a happy marriage and motherhood being “miscarried.” The fact that Shakespeare uses such a barren, disturbing maternal term to describe this event strengthens the idea that all situations that happen to women in this play are brought about by men and just as easily destructed by men. This gives the reader the feeling that men control the power to bring about or quickly end any power or opportunity to find happiness. Gloomy, melancholy references to maternity or female sexuality are used as an unnerving insight into the restrictive female condition of Mariana. While reproduction depends upon the female body, the imagery invokes the idea of an interrupted state of nature by male control – much like Mariana’s disheartened situation. Juliet is forced into a situation in which she is neither wife nor whore and pregnant due to fornication with Claudio. Juliet is criticized because she is unmarried and exhibits a pregnant belly – an apparent image of her unrestrained sexual desire. Once again, through the sexual image of the female body, Juliet is deemed undesirable both sexually and in the restrictive standards of society because she is neither married nor a virgin. Juliet is the embodiment of an unrestrained and unchaste female because she is not under the control of men and pregnant with child. Juliet’s pregnant body becomes the image of disgust and carnal sin because her sexuality is obvious through her appearance and obvious lack of marital commitment. DiGangi describes this “The pregnant woman is therefore an image of her own fulfilled sexuality, her belly an eloquent narrative of her illicit desires. Juliet’s expressive body, which is both the ritual object of public scrutiny and the subject of Claudio’s discourse, explains the silence of her toungue,” (DiGangi 593). Regardless of the truth of Juliet’s condition, she will continue to be criticized and diminished to nothing by this patriarchal society because her pregnancy and marital status give her the image of a sexual object that has been used and taken advantage of by men at her own expense. While Claudio is publicly punished for his sexual indiscretion, his defense of Juliet reinforces the idea that women should be seen as property under a marital contract. In Act 1, rather than defend Juliet as a lover or equal in power, he mentions her only to claim his ownership of her and her bed. “Thus stands it with me. Upon a true contract, I got possession of Julietta’s bed. You know the lady; she is fast my wife,” (Greenblatt 2034, 123-124). Even if Juliet were to conform to the roles of women in this society, this statement confirms that she is seen only as a possession, in which her possessions become the possessions of her husband. Society makes it possible for Juliet to escape the criticism of being an unrestrained sexual monster only through her eventual marriage to Claudio, and because she is pregnant, this is a weighty topic in order for her child to be lawfully and rightfully born. Like the other women in this play, there does not seem to be a means in which a woman has a means to choose her own destiny and be an equal in the eyes of men. Juliet is forced to choose the life of a possession of her husband or the constant shame of a whore. Mistress Elbow is the only married woman in Measure for Measure. She defies all society’s attempts to conform women to a set of strict standards by being a married, pregnant brothel owner. The fact that she is a brothel-owner suggests the idea that she is also sexually unrestrained regardless of her marriage, possibly resulting in a bastard child. Even Mistress Elbow’s name (Mistress Overdone) suggests a sense of impurity and marital infidelity. The image of abortion is prevalent in relation to Mistress Overdone because of her continued presence at a “hot-house.” Hot-houses are known to refer both to brothels as well as saunas, which are dangerous because the extreme heat of these establishments have been known to expel unborn children. Her frequent and deliberate decision to continue visiting the brothel and/or hothouse suggests her unrestricted means of both ruining her own reputation, her husband’s reputation, and the life of her unborn child. This presents another significant problem in a male-dominated society because abortion is another means of female autonomy that men cannot control. Even though Mistress Elbow is occupying her rightful role as a wife and mother in society, her actions outside of her marriage indicate that she too refuses to be tied down or restricted by the set roles of women in this society. Once again, her reluctance to abide by these restrictions or reject them altogether leaves her hopeless in society. Like Juliet, her marriage leaves her as an object of control and possession by her husband.
While each of these four women exhibit many courageous behaviors that continually separate them from the idealistic image of women, their fate at the end of the novel is still put into the hands of dominant men. The fact that each of these four women ends up married at the end of play reinforces the concept that women need to fit into the standard mold set by males to contain their sexuality, remain under their control and become mere pawns in the game constructed by male influence. Each female moves slightly in the maiden/wife/whore paradigm, but only to fulfill the needs of the society. The fact that Isabella is left speechless at the end of the play leaves the readers wondering whether the marriages truly are the solution to each woman’s predicament throughout the play – or if instead it’s just a means of control by men. The fact that the play closes with Isabella left speechless when forced into a situation against her own personal wishes and desires for her future leaves the many readers/audience members with an empty feeling – like there should be something more to come. Even though the women in Measure for Measure do not conform to the ideals of a patriarchal society, women who do conform to these standards still face uncertainty when male anxiety arises. In the Shakespearean patriarchal society, Hermione is initially the ideal version of a perfect woman. As a faithful wife, mother of one, and pregnant with her second child, she falls perfectly into the nurturing and loving wife/mother role. However, it soon becomes evident that any doubt or anxiety in a male’s mind, whether true or not, can quickly ruin her established position in this society. Leontes’ paranoia about Hermione being an unfaithful, deceitful wife mother destroys her marriage, motherhood, unborn child and reputation regardless of the beliefs of others or anything she says to defend herself. Female power and sexuality is linked to witchcraft in The Winter’s Tale due to the supernatural aspect of Hermione’s resurrection and the Bible’s representation of women through Eve’s corruption and sexual desire in the Bible. In this play, Leontes’ sudden and growing suspicion of his wife and Polixenes illustrates the male anxiety to control every aspect of femininity. References to witchcraft de-emphasize the natural and wholesome female involvement in the reproductive process. Any part of the mother-child bond that excludes the male is viewed as a supernatural, whorish and evil version of witchcraft. Rosenfield explains this notion further, “ The ideology of maternity that associates mothers with whores and the process of reproduction with witchcraft is exposed as the rhetoric of threatened masculinity, which is similar to the rhetoric that defines women as witches,” (Rosenfield). Much of the reason for women in Shakespearean society being labeled witches is centered on the double role associated with the female body. The female body is seen both as a sexual object and the source of nurturing and creation. Male anxiety grows in The Winter Tale when Leontes cannot separate Hermione’s image from a nurturing mother and faithful wife from her role as a sexual object. The fact that she may become the object of his friend’s desire causes a downward spiral of jealous envy and paranoia. Rosenfield defines the male representation of Hermione as “the construction of the nurturing mother and the nursing witch, insisting that the mother must universally be rejected for appropriate psychological development of the child,” (Rosenfield). The image of breast-feeding in Act 2, Scene 1 demonstrated when Leontes is thankful that Mamillius was not breast-fed by Hermione gives the impression that a part of Hermione’s evil, witch-like behavior may have been transferred to their son through her breast milk. The image of a mother is symbolized as creating “something” from “nothing,” much like the supernatural aspects of witchcraft. Hermione’s paranormal resurrection towards the end of the play confirms this symbolic connection between witchcraft and women. As male anxiety towards female roles in relation to their sexuality grows, men assert control over the situation by demeaning both feminine sexuality and the nurturing role of women by accusations of witchcraft and wicked, supernatural practices. Even though Hermione represents a wife and mother, there are a few instances in which Hermione exhibits behavior and speech that is not common among women during this time. Hermione shows a powerful desire to remain a loyal wife and mother but exhibit her position as an equal in the face her husband. In the eyes of the audience/reader, this may appear as a power struggle many women have to face to exhibit authority but still fall into the rightful role of woman, nurturer and caregiver in the male-dominated system. Her power in court but eminent inferiority as a woman is represented through her speech towards her husband in the presence of her guests. At court, Hermione refuses to be silenced by her husband but still attempts to perform her duties as a woman through her entertainment of guests. She responds to her husband, “What, have I twice said well? When wasn’t before?/ I prithee tell me. Cram’s with praise, and makes/As fat as tame things. One good deed dying tongueless/Slaughters a thousand waiting upon that/ Our praises are our wages. You may ride’s/With one soft kiss a thousand furlongs ere/With spur we heat an acre,” (Greenblatt, 2887 94-98). This phrase “our praises are our wages” demonstrates that women (even the queen) gain power through the praise of men, leaving them dependent on male validation for their success and power status in society. Hermione’s effort to silence her husband puts Leontes in the position of a Shakespearean woman – he is given the opportunity to speak but then forced to remain silent. Hermione’s courageous behavior towards her husband is uncommon at the time because she is damaging the image of her virtue in the eyes of men through her bold exuberant speech and the use of her speech to silence her male mate. Hermione’s bravery is shown again when she is initially accused of infidelity by her husband. She handles the situation with control, tact and purpose while delivering her words. Her words appear to be logically thought out and presented to her husband without letting her “womanly emotions” take control of her speech and overall behavior. Hermione views the situation calmly without exhibiting fear and anxiety of what may happen in the future when she is, in fact, accused of adultery and infidelity. Hermione’s outward strength is shown through her words, “I am not prone to weeping, as our sex/Commonly are,” (Greenblatt 2898, 110-111) and “My women may be with me, for you see,/ My plight requires it. –Do not weep, good fools, there is no cause. When you shall know your mistress/Has deserved prison, than abound in tears, (Greenblatt 2899, 120-122). Hermione’s behavior shows strength normally exhibited in the speech of males throughout this play. While she is defending her position as a loyal wife and mother, she does not feel it necessary to fall to the feet of her husband even though he has accused her of a crime in which she has not committed. Speech is an essential part of Hermione’s defense and suddenly fluctuating position because in a patriarchal, male dominated society, a woman’s importance and place in society is many times dependent upon her speech both in and outside the royal court. Van Elk explains this, “..the connection between female speech and promiscuity, so prominent outside the court, becomes a catalyst for a crisis in which no one’s position is secure and even royal power is opened up to question – the courtly emphasis on rhetorical display and public performance leads to a situation in which upward and downward social mobility becomes possible for everyone, “ (van Elk). This explanation gives support to the fact that even though Hermione once held an important, stable place in her family, marriage and society, anything that is said for or against her, by her or others, can quickly change her position. This gives reason to believe that a woman’s place is never secure, both in and outside of court. While Hermione’s speech remains calm, controlled, and courageous, women in all situations are expected to remain silent. Once again, silence is an indication of chastity. The fact that Hermione defends her position rather than silently accept her fate as an adulterer gives reason for the court to accuse her of infidelity and have her executed. Again, a woman in Hermione’s position is expected to accept what is brought upon her as a consequence of her hypothetical actions by male authority or suffer the consequences of appearing unchaste and unfaithful, and therefore, unfit for respect and a secure position in society. In this Shakespearean, male-dominated society, women are forced into the difficult position of accepting the set criteria and ideals for a woman of the time or forced into a life of rejection, disdain and even alienation by other members of the society. Women who refuse to conform to these standards may even be accused of being unclean, evil, wild, or witch-like. Those women, like Hermione, who do find comfort and happiness in the roles of the wife/mother or widow, are still never secure in their position. In The Winter’s Tale and Measure for Measure, each woman ruthlessly fights for or against the male generated mold women are required to adapt to. These two plays illustrate that regardless of what women want and desire in their own personal lives, their fate is never theirs to decide. Male anxieties about the control and possession of women control every aspect of this society. Both plays demonstrate that regardless of what the female does to gain or maintain a position in society, the male ultimately holds the key to all happiness and potential authority in her life.
Appendix
DiGangi, Mario. “Pleasure and Danger: Measuring Female Sexuality in Measure for Measure.” ELH. Vol. 60, No. 3 (Autumn, 1993), pp. 589-609. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2873406 This research article states that much of what is defined and manipulated about female sexuality is controlled by male anxieties regarding what could happen if female sexuality is unrestrained. The writer suggests that “erotic pleasure, pregnancy, and abortion” are a few things that arise in this play when a woman has control over her own body.
This play highlights four very different female stereotypes in the Measure for Measure (Mistress Elbow, Mariana, Juliet, and Isabella) to illustrate the maid/wife/widow paradigm that continues throughout the play. Isabella is a chaste virgin, dedicated to her faith. Mistress Elbow is the only legal wife in the play. Juliet is a pregnant woman. Mariana is “nothing” because she is “neither maid, widow, nor wife.” As the author explains, this is a subversion of the paradigm because she does not fall into a central slot. The author explains this as a “coherent maleness.” The author explains that each woman’s marital status plays a big role in her sexuality as a woman.
The author of this article focuses on the “Virgin/wife/whore” paradigm throughout the play, explaining that it is crucial to maintain the distinctness of these measures. Each woman does not occupy one specific role in this paradigm, but straddle two different roles. Juliet occupies the “sexually charged” space between “wife” and “whore.” Isabella occupies the space between “virgin” and “wife.” These roles are simply defined in the sense that virginity is for maidens, marital chastity for wives, and abstinence for widows.
Not only is a woman’s sexuality determined through their marital status, this essay also examines physical characteristics of each woman’s body to represent her role in a patriarchal society. For example, DiGangi uses the description of Juliet’s body as ideologically described as “whorish,” and “ all th’ effect of love” to represent her body and sexual desires as undesirable or shameful. However, Isabella’s virginal body as sexuality that will “ripen” in time. Mistress Elbow’s body is blank and unrevealing due to her role as a wife.
The research in this article illustrates that the patriarchal society has set strict guidelines for the sexuality of women, but even when women do not conform to the stereotypical roles, dominance is still possible. Women expected are either to conform to the idea of a formal marriage or be cast out by society in the case of a whore. The virgin is still in a threatening position due to her lack of sexuality and denial of her assigned gender role. The author explains that this remains a threat to males due to the lack of ownership and control they exhibit over her. This point is supported by the fact that Angelo desires to sleep with Isabella at her brother’s expense. This research concludes that even though these women defy the “stereotypical” gender and sexuality roles of women in Shakespearean society, eventually, their fate is placed into the hands of men, and each woman is subject to fit the “virgin (none)/wife (one)/whore (more)” paradigm that is set up in this patriarchal society.
Rosenfield, Kirstie Gulick. "Nursing nothing: Witchcraft and female sexuality in The Winter 's Tale." Mosaic [Winnipeg] 35.1 (2002): 95+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 Dec. 2011
This research article focuses on the idea of female sexuality in relation to witchcraft in The Winter’s Tale. The information in this article reinforces the idea of unrestrained female sexuality being a forbidden and criticized notion in this play. Because Hermione is unexpectedly resurrected at the ending of “The Winter’s Tale,” many researchers have explored the magical or supernatural characteristics of this play. This research article connects both the supernatural and female roles in relation to sexuality, birth, and femininity in order to emphasize their evil, destructive and impure from a patriarchal viewpoint.
Rosenfield uses each of the play’s female characters to explain how The Winter’s Tale uses reproduction, sexual appetite, and the roles of women to link womanhood to witchcraft in order to enforce and emphasize the idea of male authority while reducing female importance and involvement in reproduction and sexual experiences. The author’s research states that this play views all women as witches that have been corrupted by Eve’s sin from the beginning of time. The idea contradiction of the virgin and the whore are also consistently discussed throughout the research article, reinforcing the idea that a whore is “nothing” and a woman can be “something” when she becomes a mother. Even female reproduction and childbirth is viewed as a corrupt and evil process rather than a natural, necessary and beautiful part of life. Rosenfield uses line 58 in Act 2, Scene 2 of The Winter’s Tale to illustrate Hermione’s child as a “prisoner to the womb.” Throughout the article, the author gives reasons that the play portrays mothers lessened to the image of whores and witches by a patriarchal society, rather than sexual beings and nurturers. This argument is supported in the play when Leontes (a male representing patriarchal society) accuses Hermione of infidelity. Hermione is transformed in the eyes of Leontes as a loving wife and mother to an adulterous, cruel, and unfaithful woman. Despite anything Hermione and Paulina say to defend themselves as women in this society, they are further accused of lying, witchcraft, and wrong-doing because their position in society does not allow them to have any authority over men. Like witches in a witch-hunt, the author explains that these women remain powerless in this society because their power is continuously threatened and destructed by men. van Elk, Martine. " 'Our praises are our wages ': courtly exchange, social mobility, and female speech in The Winter 's Tale." Philological Quarterly 79.4 (2000): 429+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 Dec. 2011.
This article analyzes female speech in The Winter’s Tale in order to prove female inferiority in Renaissance court and society. Van Elk explains that while wit and cleverness were commended in Shakespearean court, cultural norms connected purity and respect with silence, promoting female inferiority. His article explains that even though the queen is awarded with a degree of freedom of speech that is not usually awarded to women, a woman who speaks too liberally can easily be devalued or criticized. This is important to The Winter’s Tale because even though Paulina and Hermione speak with a large degree of honor, tact, and purpose, their words mean nothing when challenged by men and a patriarchal society. Van Elk illustrates how Hermione attempts to counter male dominance through the scene in Act 1, Scene 2 when Hermione attempts to interrupt her husband’s attempt to silence her. Hermione uses wit and provocative language to not only prove herself, but playfully entertain her guest. However, her language remains ambiguous and indistinct because even though she is trying to prove herself, Hermione’s duty as a woman still entitles her to entertain her guest. So while she steps out of her role to defend herself to her husband, she still remains bound by society. The author of this article also explores the scene in which Hermione is given the opportunity to put herself in the position of man and question her status in court. Hermione shows that the roles of women are open to interpretation, and their purpose is to keep woman in their “rightful place.” Van Elk explains that as Hermione engages in a courtly conversation with a queen, she subjects herself to suspicions of promiscuity simply through her straight-forward and uncharacteristic speech of a woman in Shakespearean era. The idea that Hermione is doing so to question her own status as a woman makes this even more dangerous. Van Elk explains later in this article that many times throughout the play, both Hermione and Paulina speak with language and freedom that is normally only common among men.
Despite their strong, courageous voices in the play, the ideal image of women in relation to men remains unchanged.
Works Cited Digangi, Mario. “Pleasure and Danger: Measuring Female Sexuality in Measure for Measure.” ELH. Vol. 60, No. 3 (Autumn, 1993), pp. 589-609. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2873406 Greenblatt, Stephen. The Norton Shakespeare. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997. Print.
Rosenfield, Kirstie Gulick. "Nursing nothing: Witchcraft and female sexuality in The Winter 's Tale." Mosaic [Winnipeg] 35.1 (2002): 95+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 Dec. 2011. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA84213190&v=2.1&u=lom_nmichu&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w van Elk, Martine. " 'Our praises are our wages ': courtly exchange, social mobility, and female speech in The Winter 's Tale." Philological Quarterly 79.4 (2000): 429+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 Dec. 2011.
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA89390060&v=2.1&u=lom_nmichu&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w
woman in these plays eventually remains a pawn to male authority, even if it never becomes obvious in the minds of the female characters.
In each situation, marriage and conformity to the ideal roles for women is the only practical solution to each woman’s predicament. The role of sexuality and marital in society is one of the strongest shackles that deter women from gaining power in society. From the beginning of Measure for Measure , it becomes apparent that a woman’s marital status, fertility, and sexuality define her status as a woman in the eyes of men. The degree of which she is physically attractive and desired in society is decided by whether she fits into the male generated idealistic system of maiden, wife/mother, and widow. The roles are strictly defined as virginity for maidens, fidelity and faithfulness for wives and mothers, and abstinence for widows. In terms of sexuality and sexual partners, women are expected to conform to the “virgin (one sexual partner), wife (one), and whore (more)” (DiGangi 591). This system allows for no exceptions or allowances for women to gain respect outside of this system. The women in Measure for Measure break these stereotypical ideals for females, battle against them, but still fall directly under the male-dominated system due to resilient male control. These plays and further research illustrate that even the accepted and conventional views of the ideal and model women can easily be destructed so women in all positions are lessened to shameful, dishonorable, unclean, suspicious and even evil figures in the eyes of men. The Winter’s Tale proves that even women customarily regarded as honorable and significant for acting as a loyal wife and mother can easily be thrown into a tempest of suspicion, distrust, shame, and notion of possible witchcraft when one central male figure develops a small but growing suspicion of wrong-doing. Isabella is the main female character in Measure for Measure that does not conform to the maiden/wife/whore system of sexuality. While Isabella remains a virgin, Isabella’s intent is not to ultimately lose her chastity to fulfill the desires of a man, but rather fulfill her faith in God and become a nun. Isabella is rebelliously and selflessly choosing to disregard her role and sexuality. This poses a significant problem throughout the play because she does not serve a purpose in the “maiden/wife/whore” paradigm or in the male constructs of society. The fact that Angelo puts Isabella into the difficult position of losing her brother or her chastity reinforces this idea. Isabella’s choice to remain chaste throughout her life gives her the image of being more than a woman in terms of her sexuality. Isabella’s choice to disregard her sexuality altogether gives Angelo the impression that she is more than a woman, even less human, but her inability to confirm to the male criteria for females makes her none. This is revealed in his dialogue with Isabella in Scene 2, “That is, a woman. If you be more, you’re none. (Greenblatt 2052, 134). Angelo desires to destruct Isabella’s resistance to conform by forcing her to lose her virginity or suffer the death of her brother, Claudio. DiGangi explains the posed problem Isabella presents when he says “Angelo’s doubt, discovered in his evasive grammar, reveals an anxiety about female autonomy (as the super-feminine virgin) and its threat to male desires for ownership and control,” (DiGangi 596). Angelo desires to force Isabella into the paradigm through fear, but regardless of Isabella’s audacity and careful planning, she eventually loses this battle at the end of the play through marriage (falling under the role of the wife) instead. Mariana breaks the set standards of the patriarchal society by not conforming to the role of neither wife nor maiden. Mariana loses her virginity to Angelo before marriage, but as her dowry becomes lost at sea when her brother loses her dowry at sea, therefore, ruining her opportunity for marriage. This situation is one of the most dangerous positions for a woman because Mariana is forced to face the possibility of never being desirable to another man and being labeled a whore by society because she is no longer considered a chaste woman. The description of Mariana’s brother losing her dowry at sea is also a very unsettling image of birth as the Duke describes her dowry as being “miscarried” at sea (Greenblatt 2057, 207). This line gives the reader a somewhat upsetting image of any chance Mariana had of a happy marriage and motherhood being “miscarried.” The fact that Shakespeare uses such a barren, disturbing maternal term to describe this event strengthens the idea that all situations that happen to women in this play are brought about by men and just as easily destructed by men. This gives the reader the feeling that men control the power to bring about or quickly end any power or opportunity to find happiness. Gloomy, melancholy references to maternity or female sexuality are used as an unnerving insight into the restrictive female condition of Mariana. While reproduction depends upon the female body, the imagery invokes the idea of an interrupted state of nature by male control – much like Mariana’s disheartened situation. Juliet is forced into a situation in which she is neither wife nor whore and pregnant due to fornication with Claudio. Juliet is criticized because she is unmarried and exhibits a pregnant belly – an apparent image of her unrestrained sexual desire. Once again, through the sexual image of the female body, Juliet is deemed undesirable both sexually and in the restrictive standards of society because she is neither married nor a virgin. Juliet is the embodiment of an unrestrained and unchaste female because she is not under the control of men and pregnant with child. Juliet’s pregnant body becomes the image of disgust and carnal sin because her sexuality is obvious through her appearance and obvious lack of marital commitment. DiGangi describes this “The pregnant woman is therefore an image of her own fulfilled sexuality, her belly an eloquent narrative of her illicit desires. Juliet’s expressive body, which is both the ritual object of public scrutiny and the subject of Claudio’s discourse, explains the silence of her toungue,” (DiGangi 593). Regardless of the truth of Juliet’s condition, she will continue to be criticized and diminished to nothing by this patriarchal society because her pregnancy and marital status give her the image of a sexual object that has been used and taken advantage of by men at her own expense. While Claudio is publicly punished for his sexual indiscretion, his defense of Juliet reinforces the idea that women should be seen as property under a marital contract. In Act 1, rather than defend Juliet as a lover or equal in power, he mentions her only to claim his ownership of her and her bed. “Thus stands it with me. Upon a true contract, I got possession of Julietta’s bed. You know the lady; she is fast my wife,” (Greenblatt 2034, 123-124). Even if Juliet were to conform to the roles of women in this society, this statement confirms that she is seen only as a possession, in which her possessions become the possessions of her husband. Society makes it possible for Juliet to escape the criticism of being an unrestrained sexual monster only through her eventual marriage to Claudio, and because she is pregnant, this is a weighty topic in order for her child to be lawfully and rightfully born. Like the other women in this play, there does not seem to be a means in which a woman has a means to choose her own destiny and be an equal in the eyes of men. Juliet is forced to choose the life of a possession of her husband or the constant shame of a whore. Mistress Elbow is the only married woman in Measure for Measure. She defies all society’s attempts to conform women to a set of strict standards by being a married, pregnant brothel owner. The fact that she is a brothel-owner suggests the idea that she is also sexually unrestrained regardless of her marriage, possibly resulting in a bastard child. Even Mistress Elbow’s name (Mistress Overdone) suggests a sense of impurity and marital infidelity. The image of abortion is prevalent in relation to Mistress Overdone because of her continued presence at a “hot-house.” Hot-houses are known to refer both to brothels as well as saunas, which are dangerous because the extreme heat of these establishments have been known to expel unborn children. Her frequent and deliberate decision to continue visiting the brothel and/or hothouse suggests her unrestricted means of both ruining her own reputation, her husband’s reputation, and the life of her unborn child. This presents another significant problem in a male-dominated society because abortion is another means of female autonomy that men cannot control. Even though Mistress Elbow is occupying her rightful role as a wife and mother in society, her actions outside of her marriage indicate that she too refuses to be tied down or restricted by the set roles of women in this society. Once again, her reluctance to abide by these restrictions or reject them altogether leaves her hopeless in society. Like Juliet, her marriage leaves her as an object of control and possession by her husband.
While each of these four women exhibit many courageous behaviors that continually separate them from the idealistic image of women, their fate at the end of the novel is still put into the hands of dominant men. The fact that each of these four women ends up married at the end of play reinforces the concept that women need to fit into the standard mold set by males to contain their sexuality, remain under their control and become mere pawns in the game constructed by male influence. Each female moves slightly in the maiden/wife/whore paradigm, but only to fulfill the needs of the society. The fact that Isabella is left speechless at the end of the play leaves the readers wondering whether the marriages truly are the solution to each woman’s predicament throughout the play – or if instead it’s just a means of control by men. The fact that the play closes with Isabella left speechless when forced into a situation against her own personal wishes and desires for her future leaves the many readers/audience members with an empty feeling – like there should be something more to come. Even though the women in Measure for Measure do not conform to the ideals of a patriarchal society, women who do conform to these standards still face uncertainty when male anxiety arises. In the Shakespearean patriarchal society, Hermione is initially the ideal version of a perfect woman. As a faithful wife, mother of one, and pregnant with her second child, she falls perfectly into the nurturing and loving wife/mother role. However, it soon becomes evident that any doubt or anxiety in a male’s mind, whether true or not, can quickly ruin her established position in this society. Leontes’ paranoia about Hermione being an unfaithful, deceitful wife mother destroys her marriage, motherhood, unborn child and reputation regardless of the beliefs of others or anything she says to defend herself. Female power and sexuality is linked to witchcraft in The Winter’s Tale due to the supernatural aspect of Hermione’s resurrection and the Bible’s representation of women through Eve’s corruption and sexual desire in the Bible. In this play, Leontes’ sudden and growing suspicion of his wife and Polixenes illustrates the male anxiety to control every aspect of femininity. References to witchcraft de-emphasize the natural and wholesome female involvement in the reproductive process. Any part of the mother-child bond that excludes the male is viewed as a supernatural, whorish and evil version of witchcraft. Rosenfield explains this notion further, “ The ideology of maternity that associates mothers with whores and the process of reproduction with witchcraft is exposed as the rhetoric of threatened masculinity, which is similar to the rhetoric that defines women as witches,” (Rosenfield). Much of the reason for women in Shakespearean society being labeled witches is centered on the double role associated with the female body. The female body is seen both as a sexual object and the source of nurturing and creation. Male anxiety grows in The Winter Tale when Leontes cannot separate Hermione’s image from a nurturing mother and faithful wife from her role as a sexual object. The fact that she may become the object of his friend’s desire causes a downward spiral of jealous envy and paranoia. Rosenfield defines the male representation of Hermione as “the construction of the nurturing mother and the nursing witch, insisting that the mother must universally be rejected for appropriate psychological development of the child,” (Rosenfield). The image of breast-feeding in Act 2, Scene 1 demonstrated when Leontes is thankful that Mamillius was not breast-fed by Hermione gives the impression that a part of Hermione’s evil, witch-like behavior may have been transferred to their son through her breast milk. The image of a mother is symbolized as creating “something” from “nothing,” much like the supernatural aspects of witchcraft. Hermione’s paranormal resurrection towards the end of the play confirms this symbolic connection between witchcraft and women. As male anxiety towards female roles in relation to their sexuality grows, men assert control over the situation by demeaning both feminine sexuality and the nurturing role of women by accusations of witchcraft and wicked, supernatural practices. Even though Hermione represents a wife and mother, there are a few instances in which Hermione exhibits behavior and speech that is not common among women during this time. Hermione shows a powerful desire to remain a loyal wife and mother but exhibit her position as an equal in the face her husband. In the eyes of the audience/reader, this may appear as a power struggle many women have to face to exhibit authority but still fall into the rightful role of woman, nurturer and caregiver in the male-dominated system. Her power in court but eminent inferiority as a woman is represented through her speech towards her husband in the presence of her guests. At court, Hermione refuses to be silenced by her husband but still attempts to perform her duties as a woman through her entertainment of guests. She responds to her husband, “What, have I twice said well? When wasn’t before?/ I prithee tell me. Cram’s with praise, and makes/As fat as tame things. One good deed dying tongueless/Slaughters a thousand waiting upon that/ Our praises are our wages. You may ride’s/With one soft kiss a thousand furlongs ere/With spur we heat an acre,” (Greenblatt, 2887 94-98). This phrase “our praises are our wages” demonstrates that women (even the queen) gain power through the praise of men, leaving them dependent on male validation for their success and power status in society. Hermione’s effort to silence her husband puts Leontes in the position of a Shakespearean woman – he is given the opportunity to speak but then forced to remain silent. Hermione’s courageous behavior towards her husband is uncommon at the time because she is damaging the image of her virtue in the eyes of men through her bold exuberant speech and the use of her speech to silence her male mate. Hermione’s bravery is shown again when she is initially accused of infidelity by her husband. She handles the situation with control, tact and purpose while delivering her words. Her words appear to be logically thought out and presented to her husband without letting her “womanly emotions” take control of her speech and overall behavior. Hermione views the situation calmly without exhibiting fear and anxiety of what may happen in the future when she is, in fact, accused of adultery and infidelity. Hermione’s outward strength is shown through her words, “I am not prone to weeping, as our sex/Commonly are,” (Greenblatt 2898, 110-111) and “My women may be with me, for you see,/ My plight requires it. –Do not weep, good fools, there is no cause. When you shall know your mistress/Has deserved prison, than abound in tears, (Greenblatt 2899, 120-122). Hermione’s behavior shows strength normally exhibited in the speech of males throughout this play. While she is defending her position as a loyal wife and mother, she does not feel it necessary to fall to the feet of her husband even though he has accused her of a crime in which she has not committed. Speech is an essential part of Hermione’s defense and suddenly fluctuating position because in a patriarchal, male dominated society, a woman’s importance and place in society is many times dependent upon her speech both in and outside the royal court. Van Elk explains this, “..the connection between female speech and promiscuity, so prominent outside the court, becomes a catalyst for a crisis in which no one’s position is secure and even royal power is opened up to question – the courtly emphasis on rhetorical display and public performance leads to a situation in which upward and downward social mobility becomes possible for everyone, “ (van Elk). This explanation gives support to the fact that even though Hermione once held an important, stable place in her family, marriage and society, anything that is said for or against her, by her or others, can quickly change her position. This gives reason to believe that a woman’s place is never secure, both in and outside of court. While Hermione’s speech remains calm, controlled, and courageous, women in all situations are expected to remain silent. Once again, silence is an indication of chastity. The fact that Hermione defends her position rather than silently accept her fate as an adulterer gives reason for the court to accuse her of infidelity and have her executed. Again, a woman in Hermione’s position is expected to accept what is brought upon her as a consequence of her hypothetical actions by male authority or suffer the consequences of appearing unchaste and unfaithful, and therefore, unfit for respect and a secure position in society. In this Shakespearean, male-dominated society, women are forced into the difficult position of accepting the set criteria and ideals for a woman of the time or forced into a life of rejection, disdain and even alienation by other members of the society. Women who refuse to conform to these standards may even be accused of being unclean, evil, wild, or witch-like. Those women, like Hermione, who do find comfort and happiness in the roles of the wife/mother or widow, are still never secure in their position. In The Winter’s Tale and Measure for Measure, each woman ruthlessly fights for or against the male generated mold women are required to adapt to. These two plays illustrate that regardless of what women want and desire in their own personal lives, their fate is never theirs to decide. Male anxieties about the control and possession of women control every aspect of this society. Both plays demonstrate that regardless of what the female does to gain or maintain a position in society, the male ultimately holds the key to all happiness and potential authority in her life.
Appendix
DiGangi, Mario. “Pleasure and Danger: Measuring Female Sexuality in Measure for Measure.” ELH. Vol. 60, No. 3 (Autumn, 1993), pp. 589-609. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2873406 This research article states that much of what is defined and manipulated about female sexuality is controlled by male anxieties regarding what could happen if female sexuality is unrestrained. The writer suggests that “erotic pleasure, pregnancy, and abortion” are a few things that arise in this play when a woman has control over her own body.
This play highlights four very different female stereotypes in the Measure for Measure (Mistress Elbow, Mariana, Juliet, and Isabella) to illustrate the maid/wife/widow paradigm that continues throughout the play. Isabella is a chaste virgin, dedicated to her faith. Mistress Elbow is the only legal wife in the play. Juliet is a pregnant woman. Mariana is “nothing” because she is “neither maid, widow, nor wife.” As the author explains, this is a subversion of the paradigm because she does not fall into a central slot. The author explains this as a “coherent maleness.” The author explains that each woman’s marital status plays a big role in her sexuality as a woman.
The author of this article focuses on the “Virgin/wife/whore” paradigm throughout the play, explaining that it is crucial to maintain the distinctness of these measures. Each woman does not occupy one specific role in this paradigm, but straddle two different roles. Juliet occupies the “sexually charged” space between “wife” and “whore.” Isabella occupies the space between “virgin” and “wife.” These roles are simply defined in the sense that virginity is for maidens, marital chastity for wives, and abstinence for widows.
Not only is a woman’s sexuality determined through their marital status, this essay also examines physical characteristics of each woman’s body to represent her role in a patriarchal society. For example, DiGangi uses the description of Juliet’s body as ideologically described as “whorish,” and “ all th’ effect of love” to represent her body and sexual desires as undesirable or shameful. However, Isabella’s virginal body as sexuality that will “ripen” in time. Mistress Elbow’s body is blank and unrevealing due to her role as a wife.
The research in this article illustrates that the patriarchal society has set strict guidelines for the sexuality of women, but even when women do not conform to the stereotypical roles, dominance is still possible. Women expected are either to conform to the idea of a formal marriage or be cast out by society in the case of a whore. The virgin is still in a threatening position due to her lack of sexuality and denial of her assigned gender role. The author explains that this remains a threat to males due to the lack of ownership and control they exhibit over her. This point is supported by the fact that Angelo desires to sleep with Isabella at her brother’s expense. This research concludes that even though these women defy the “stereotypical” gender and sexuality roles of women in Shakespearean society, eventually, their fate is placed into the hands of men, and each woman is subject to fit the “virgin (none)/wife (one)/whore (more)” paradigm that is set up in this patriarchal society.
Rosenfield, Kirstie Gulick. "Nursing nothing: Witchcraft and female sexuality in The Winter 's Tale." Mosaic [Winnipeg] 35.1 (2002): 95+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 Dec. 2011
This research article focuses on the idea of female sexuality in relation to witchcraft in The Winter’s Tale. The information in this article reinforces the idea of unrestrained female sexuality being a forbidden and criticized notion in this play. Because Hermione is unexpectedly resurrected at the ending of “The Winter’s Tale,” many researchers have explored the magical or supernatural characteristics of this play. This research article connects both the supernatural and female roles in relation to sexuality, birth, and femininity in order to emphasize their evil, destructive and impure from a patriarchal viewpoint.
Rosenfield uses each of the play’s female characters to explain how The Winter’s Tale uses reproduction, sexual appetite, and the roles of women to link womanhood to witchcraft in order to enforce and emphasize the idea of male authority while reducing female importance and involvement in reproduction and sexual experiences. The author’s research states that this play views all women as witches that have been corrupted by Eve’s sin from the beginning of time. The idea contradiction of the virgin and the whore are also consistently discussed throughout the research article, reinforcing the idea that a whore is “nothing” and a woman can be “something” when she becomes a mother. Even female reproduction and childbirth is viewed as a corrupt and evil process rather than a natural, necessary and beautiful part of life. Rosenfield uses line 58 in Act 2, Scene 2 of The Winter’s Tale to illustrate Hermione’s child as a “prisoner to the womb.” Throughout the article, the author gives reasons that the play portrays mothers lessened to the image of whores and witches by a patriarchal society, rather than sexual beings and nurturers. This argument is supported in the play when Leontes (a male representing patriarchal society) accuses Hermione of infidelity. Hermione is transformed in the eyes of Leontes as a loving wife and mother to an adulterous, cruel, and unfaithful woman. Despite anything Hermione and Paulina say to defend themselves as women in this society, they are further accused of lying, witchcraft, and wrong-doing because their position in society does not allow them to have any authority over men. Like witches in a witch-hunt, the author explains that these women remain powerless in this society because their power is continuously threatened and destructed by men. van Elk, Martine. " 'Our praises are our wages ': courtly exchange, social mobility, and female speech in The Winter 's Tale." Philological Quarterly 79.4 (2000): 429+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 Dec. 2011.
This article analyzes female speech in The Winter’s Tale in order to prove female inferiority in Renaissance court and society. Van Elk explains that while wit and cleverness were commended in Shakespearean court, cultural norms connected purity and respect with silence, promoting female inferiority. His article explains that even though the queen is awarded with a degree of freedom of speech that is not usually awarded to women, a woman who speaks too liberally can easily be devalued or criticized. This is important to The Winter’s Tale because even though Paulina and Hermione speak with a large degree of honor, tact, and purpose, their words mean nothing when challenged by men and a patriarchal society. Van Elk illustrates how Hermione attempts to counter male dominance through the scene in Act 1, Scene 2 when Hermione attempts to interrupt her husband’s attempt to silence her. Hermione uses wit and provocative language to not only prove herself, but playfully entertain her guest. However, her language remains ambiguous and indistinct because even though she is trying to prove herself, Hermione’s duty as a woman still entitles her to entertain her guest. So while she steps out of her role to defend herself to her husband, she still remains bound by society. The author of this article also explores the scene in which Hermione is given the opportunity to put herself in the position of man and question her status in court. Hermione shows that the roles of women are open to interpretation, and their purpose is to keep woman in their “rightful place.” Van Elk explains that as Hermione engages in a courtly conversation with a queen, she subjects herself to suspicions of promiscuity simply through her straight-forward and uncharacteristic speech of a woman in Shakespearean era. The idea that Hermione is doing so to question her own status as a woman makes this even more dangerous. Van Elk explains later in this article that many times throughout the play, both Hermione and Paulina speak with language and freedom that is normally only common among men.
Despite their strong, courageous voices in the play, the ideal image of women in relation to men remains unchanged.
Works Cited Digangi, Mario. “Pleasure and Danger: Measuring Female Sexuality in Measure for Measure.” ELH. Vol. 60, No. 3 (Autumn, 1993), pp. 589-609. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2873406 Greenblatt, Stephen. The Norton Shakespeare. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997. Print.
Rosenfield, Kirstie Gulick. "Nursing nothing: Witchcraft and female sexuality in The Winter 's Tale." Mosaic [Winnipeg] 35.1 (2002): 95+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 Dec. 2011. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA84213190&v=2.1&u=lom_nmichu&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w van Elk, Martine. " 'Our praises are our wages ': courtly exchange, social mobility, and female speech in The Winter 's Tale." Philological Quarterly 79.4 (2000): 429+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 Dec. 2011.
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA89390060&v=2.1&u=lom_nmichu&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w