Gender Roles in the 16th Century
Melinda Grabowski
Dr. Courtney Beggs ENGL 241:002
February 23rd, 2014
Essay 1
Gender Roles in the 16th Century: Men on the Battlefield, Women in the Kitchen
One of the most fundamental themes while reading Shakespeare is the prominent reminder of women at the end of the 16th century and their roles placed under men, as women were a threat to the masculinity, and thus, power held by men. There are clear misogynistic elements in all of the works performed through Shakespeare’s plays, most predominantly appearing in The Taming of the Shrew. As quoted within texts and contexts of this play, the reader becomes aware that The Taming of the Shrew “participates in a tenacious popular tradition of depicting domestic violence as funny” (Dolan 244). In current times, the idea of domestic violence is contrary to what would be seen as humor, but in the 16th century people were accustomed to this as a value of their everyday life. Through the use of shrew-taming within the play, the audience sees the gender roles at their most obvious forms, where men are superior, and women, unless otherwise informed, should maintain to be seen and not heard. Using the ideas from contextual material is an important factor in understanding the play, to articulate an analysis of times where women were in no form of equality to a man and his duties. In a deeper analysis, one may see the role of masculinity take heed in this theme, the idea of a man acting as anything less than masculine is gruesome to a man and to his honor. The relationship between men and women are a continuous theme throughout all of Shakespeare’s works, focusing on the desire for power. Without the use of contextual material, one may not see the influence of society in 16th century homes, especially within the concept of divisions of labor. In the contextual resource, “Women’s Work: Gender and the Division of Labor” the reader gets a full related insight into the deeper meaning of what it meant to be divided by jobs and
Dr. Courtney Beggs ENGL 241:002
February 23rd, 2014
Essay 1
Gender Roles in the 16th Century: Men on the Battlefield, Women in the Kitchen
One of the most fundamental themes while reading Shakespeare is the prominent reminder of women at the end of the 16th century and their roles placed under men, as women were a threat to the masculinity, and thus, power held by men. There are clear misogynistic elements in all of the works performed through Shakespeare’s plays, most predominantly appearing in The Taming of the Shrew. As quoted within texts and contexts of this play, the reader becomes aware that The Taming of the Shrew “participates in a tenacious popular tradition of depicting domestic violence as funny” (Dolan 244). In current times, the idea of domestic violence is contrary to what would be seen as humor, but in the 16th century people were accustomed to this as a value of their everyday life. Through the use of shrew-taming within the play, the audience sees the gender roles at their most obvious forms, where men are superior, and women, unless otherwise informed, should maintain to be seen and not heard. Using the ideas from contextual material is an important factor in understanding the play, to articulate an analysis of times where women were in no form of equality to a man and his duties. In a deeper analysis, one may see the role of masculinity take heed in this theme, the idea of a man acting as anything less than masculine is gruesome to a man and to his honor. The relationship between men and women are a continuous theme throughout all of Shakespeare’s works, focusing on the desire for power. Without the use of contextual material, one may not see the influence of society in 16th century homes, especially within the concept of divisions of labor. In the contextual resource, “Women’s Work: Gender and the Division of Labor” the reader gets a full related insight into the deeper meaning of what it meant to be divided by jobs and