Women In The Elizabethan Era

The Elizabethan View of Women Women in Elizabethan times had few rights or luxuries. Their entire lifestyles depended upon that of their husbands, picked out for them by their fathers. They had almost no say in their lives, and they were expected to be thankful for having someone to rule over them. This is made abundantly clear by Katherina 's famous speech in 5.2.137-180 of The Taming of the Shrew. She compares a woman 's proper devotion to her husband to that a subject owes a prince, saying that the man provides everything for the woman, and the least she owes him is her complete obedience. While the play is sometimes seen as man 's tyranny over woman, it is in fact representing the conventional role women played. In Elizabethan England it was almost
"Conceal me what I am; and be my aid/ For such disguise as haply shall become/ The form of my intent. I 'll serve this duke:/ Thou shalt present me as an eunuch to him:/ It may be worth thy pains; for I can sing,/ And speak to him in many sorts of music,/ That will allow me very worth his service."�(1.2.53-60) The clothing she wears and her somewhat modified behavior allow her all the privileges of manhood. Her doublet and hose act as her passport and provide her with a livelihood, a love interest, and friendship. We are led to believe that the only way she could survive would be to take on a male persona.(Mullenix) Shakespeare 's works are not a commentary on the view of women, they are merely records of a time long past. Although Shakespeare appears to accept the role of women in his society, he is not so blind to human nature that he neglects their appearance in his works. Indeed, it is common for a woman to have a leading - or at least pivotal - role in his plays. Women were used to teach the men a lesson or to keep them on the right track. For example, the women behind the actions of Hamlet are Queen