Shakespeares Historic Plays: The Role of Women - Essay Example

Shakespeare’s Historic Plays: The Role of Women Section November 22, 2005 Shakespeare’s Historic Plays: TheRole of Women In Elizabethan times, the role of women was minimal. Women were not expected to be educated or to work. Only a tutor could educate girls because schools and universities were for boys. Women could work only in domestic services like cooks, maid, attendants, and hostesses. Women were expected to get married and have children. Women were pressured, especially if marred to a King, to produce a male heir. Other roles of women were to bee seen and not heard (women were not to speak out of place), to be subservient to their husbands (serve and obey), and to be a caregiver to the children and take on a wholly domestic role. The women characters in Shakespeare’s historic plays exhibit the roles of women while keeping an allure of identity, independence and strength. Richard II, III, Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI all have women characters that portray the role of women on a wide scale. In Richard II, Queen Isabel portrayed a subservient, obedient, and devoted wife to King Richard. In reality, Queen Isabel was very young when she got married to King Richard but Shakespeare writes her as a grown woman for the sake of her role. She first enters the play by the side of her husband and only says one line, “How fares our noble uncle Lancaster?” (II.i.71) (Bevington 755). Queen Isabel asked about the well being of Lancaster and not the affairs of country and state. Women at that time were to concern themselves only with domestic responsibilities and family. The workings of the country were not of a woman’s business and it was not her place to be involved. For this matter, Queen Isabel did not get involved letting her husband handle those affairs like an obedient wife should. As angry words were spoken between John of Gaunt and Richard she stood by quietly and let the men have their dispute until she was guided away from the unpleasant encounter. In Act 2 Scene 2, Busky (an advisor of Richard) is reminding the Queen that she promised her husband not to be sad about his departure to Ireland. The Queen replies, To please the King I did; to please myself I cannot do it. Yet I know no cause Why I should welcome such a guest as grief, Save bidding farewell so sweet a guest As my sweet Richard. Yet again methinks Some unborn sorrow ripe in fortune’s womb Is coming towards me, and my inward, soul With nothing trembles. At something it grieves More then with parting of my lord the King. (II.iii.5-13)(Bevington 758). These lines foreshadow King Richard’s fate but also suggest a deeper understanding of the role of women during Shakespeare’s time. These lines show Queen Isabel’s obedience to and reliance on her husband. She will tell him that she will not be sad to please him yet she is sad that he is leaving and she will be alone. The metaphor used also suggests that if she were to have had children then she would not feel so sad. This is because while her husband was away on his trip she would at least have the children to care for which is another role of women during that time. However, she does not have children to take and she will not have him there to serve him as an obedient wife and therefore will have “nothing” while he is away. As with most of Shakespeare’s plays, the women tend to have a moment of strong, outspoken independence to their identity. It is portrayed more in some of Shakespeare’s characters more than others. Queen Isabel is a typical women of the time and sticks with the traditional role of a women, however, she does speak up to her humiliation as to being the last to know about her husband execution. Queen Isabel then rushes off to see King Richard and falls back into her role as the obedient and subservient wife. The Queen shows devotion to her husband and tries to get him to fight for his life, which he refuses. The Queen then begs Northumberland to banish her and her husband both so the can be together, but he refuses. “Then whither he goes, thither let me go.” (IIIII.i.85) (Bevington 776). Queen Isabel replies to him. Her devotion and need for him is so strong that she would die with him then to be without him. The queen knows that without King Richard she is nothing and has nothing. Her fate without her husband is to be deported back to France and to live her life with nothing. The Duchess of Gloucester, in Richard II, was the widow of the Duke of Gloucester, who was killed indirectly by the actions of King Richard. The Duchess of Gloucester went to her husband’s brother John of Gaunt to convince him to seek revenge against those who caused her husbands death. As a woman, she could not seek justice herself. It was the responsibility of the head male of the family to take care of such affairs. However, John of Gaunt refused to take revenge against Richard. King Richard had a God given divine right to be king. To go up against Richard would be to go up against God and thus heaven should handle these matters. He suggests that she should lodge her complaint with God and let “heaven revenge” (Bevington 749) against those who harmed the Duke of Gloucester. The Duchess was not pleased with this suggestion but had to let go of the idea of revenge and just grieve her husband. The Duchess of Gloucester died essentially from her grief. In Richard III, Queen Elizabeth has the role of mother protector and caregiver to her children. At the beginning of the play she is concerned about the well being of her family. Her husband King Edward is on his deathbed and Richard is plotting to take over the Kingdome. Queen Elizabeth wishes everything would be all right but she knows that it is just wishful thinking. ” Would all were well! But that will never be. I fear our happiness is at the height.” (I.iii.40-41)( Bevington 655). The Queen sees that Richard is treacherous and lets him know this fact. Aiming, belike, at your interior hatred, That in your outward action shows itself Against my children, brother, and myself. (I.iii.65-67). (Bevington 655). She sees that he hates her family because of the power and prestige they have and plots against them. The queen’s major aim is to protect her family from this evil man. Queen Elizabeth has a brief moment of weakness when her husband, King Edward dies. She feels all is lost. Without Edward she has nothing and there is no reason to go on. “What stays had I but Edward? And he is gone.” (II.ii.77) (Bevington 666). This passes and she processed to protect her children from Richard as the play goes on. She takes her children to sanctuary to keep them away from Richard. However, this wasn’t completely successful and later Richard tries to convince the Queen to let him marry her daughter Elizabeth. The queen refuses. Children were a big part of a women’s role in the Elizabethan times. A woman was expected to have children and care for and protect them. This is exactly what Queen Elizabeth attempts to do for her children while this takeover of the crown was taking place. Elizabeth had a huge role in this place since her husband, the king, was dying and her son was the next heir. It made her role of protecting her children greater. Richard was eventually killed by Richmond who took the throne under the name of Henry VII. He intends to marry Queen Elizabeth’s daughter Elizabeth in order to reunite the two warring parties. In Henry IV part 1, Lady Percy was Hotspur’s wife and she portrayed the role of a typical woman. She does not handle affairs outside their private family life. Lady Percy is an affectionate wife who is very devoted to Hotspur. In Act 2 Scene 3, Lady Percy voices some concerns she has been having about her husband. For what offensive have I this fortnight. A banished woman from my Harry’s bed. Tell me, sweet lord, what is it that takes from thee Thy stomach, pleasure, and thy golden sleep? (I.iii.37-41). (Bevington 798). Lady Percy is wondering why he has been gone a lot, not eating, and not spending any time at home with her. She knows nothing of what is keeping him away. It is not her place to know his outside affairs but only to handle affairs at home. However, she does know that something is taking him away. “In thy faint slumbers I by thee have watched and heard the murmur tales of iron wars.” (I.iii.47-48). (Bevington 798). She is his devoted wife and is very worried about him. Lady Percy falls into the role of women by being a devoted wife and attending to the affairs of the house. She steps out of the role only momentarily to ask her husband what is taking him away. He makes a humorous comment and will not tell her his manly business. Lady Percy takes this as his lack of love for her. Do you not love me? Do you not indeed? Well, do not, then for since you love me not I will not love myself. Do you not Love me? Nay Tell me if you speak in jest or not. (II.iii.96-99). (Bevington 799). As Hotspur’s devoted wife, her identity revolves around him and if he does not love her then she can’t love herself. She needs him and his love, which is the only social standing a woman had, was through her husband. Hotspur swears that he does love his wife but tells her that she must not question him about where he is going and what business he is doing. He explains to her that even though she is wise enough to know that his business dealings are bothering him, she is his wife and she does not have to concern herself with these problems. He promises that she will always be with him and he will always be with her no matter what he is facing in his life outside the home. Lady Percy is that of a typical housewife. She loves her husband and stays out of his affairs although she worries about him and fears he might get hurt. Although she questions him on his business affairs, she accepts that he will not tell her as long as his problem isn’t that he loves her no longer. As long as he loves her and wants to be with her, then she is content and lets him handle his own affairs. Lady Percy is the ideal woman of the time. In Henry IV part 2, the tavern hostess, Mistress Quickly is a sharp-tongued woman who is widowed and has to work for a living. Very few women of the time had jobs although those who did worked in domestic services. Mistress Quickly served dinks to those who came into the tavern. In Shakespeare’s plays, Mistress Quickly usually served Falstaff and some of his companions. Pistol was one of the companions of Falstaff that she served and eventually married. Mistress Quickly has a dispute with Falstaff. He owes her a lot of money and she threatens to have him arrested if he doesn’t pay her or marry her like he promised. Wheenson week, when the Prince broke thy head for Liking his father to a singing-man of Windsor, thou Dist swear to me then, as I was washing thy wound, To marry me and make me my lady thy wife. (II.i.87-90). (Bevington 839). However, Falstaff gets out of his obligation without loosing his freedom or a penny from his own pocket. He borrows money from Justice Shallow with a promise to pay him back, although he had no intention to such an act. Although Mistress Quickly got her money, she probably would have preferred the marriage. Widowed women marring again to be taken care of by a man was of course the ideal in the social role of women. A woman usually worked only when her status forced her to work. Being a widow would force the hand of a woman to work so she can provide for herself at least until she found a new husband who would provide for her. Doll Tearsheet was the complete opposite of Lady Percy. She was everything a woman was not supposed to become. Doll Tearsheet was not the type of woman a man would marry. She has behavior problem and is a prostitute. Doll drinks excessively and uses fowl language. Like prostitutes of today, her profession was frowned upon. The following short conversation with Falstaff sums up her character extremely well. Falstaff You make fat rascals, Mistress Doll. Doll I make the? Gluttony and disease make them, I make them not. Falstaff If the cook help to make the gluttony, you help to make the disease, Doll. (II.iiii.42-46). (Bevington 884). Doll lacks the virtue admirable to men who seek to find a wife. Doll is confined to the brothel because it is unlikely that she will find a husband with her lack of virtues. With the character of Doll Tearsheet, Shakespeare portrays the extreme opposite of the typical social role of women. In Henry V, Katharine is a young woman of fourteen who is betrothed to King Henry. The majority of the play has wars, but the introduction of Katharine into the play offers a break from the battles. Katharine is concerned that she is going to England but she does not know how to speak English. This would be common of most women of the time because women were not allowed to go to school. Most were uneducated and others were tutored. Katharine asks her attendant Alice, who has been to England and knows some English, if she can translate some words for her to English. Alice does her best to teach the young bride to be some English words until Katharine stops the session. Katharine’s desire to learn English to please her expected husband to be portrays another role of women to serve and keep their husbands happy. She is young, but she knows her role and does not question her expected betrothal to King Henry. Katharine is not seen again until the end of the play. King Henry sets up the marriage arrangement and starts to court Katharine. She is quiet and shy and not outspoken like a lady must be. She finds it difficult to understand King Henry because she does not know much English. She talks to the king in a mixture of broken English and French with Alice, her attendant, translating what was said in French. At the end of this short courtship, Katharine does agree to marry Henry. There marriage will combine both the kingdom of England and France and it is expected that Katharine is to provide the king with male heirs to rule both France and England some day. In Henry VI, Margaret eventually becomes Queen Margaret, King Henry’s wife. Margaret plays the role of a subservient woman but in reality she wants power and will overstep her bounds to obtain authority. This time of woman was not a desirable mate in Shakespeare’s time. In the play, King Henry was a weak-minded man who was easy to convince. Suffolk, knowing this and seeking more power, convinced King Henry to marry Margaret in an attempt to control Henry through his wife. Henry was convinced to marry Margaret. Upon Margaret’s first meeting with King Henry in his court, she showed her disobedience to the subservient role of women by speaking in his court breaking the rule of being seen and not heard. Margaret then apologizes for speaking out of turn and steps back into the subservient role temporarily. With you my alderliefest sovereign, Makes me the bolder to salute my king With ruder terms, such as my wit affords And overjoy of heart doth minister. (I.i.28-31). (Bevington 556). Not long afterward, Margaret oversteps her role as a woman again by making a decision about some petitioner’s grievances in Act 1 Scene 3 Part 2. It is the job of the King or the Lord Protector to hear and resolve the grievance of petitioners not the job of the Queen. Margaret’s desire for power caused her to step out of the traditional role and take charge. She ripped up the petitions and sent the petitioners away. Margaret shows independents and the disregard of the role of a typical woman of the time freely in the presents of those other than the King. In the presence of King Henry, Margaret plays the role of the obedient subservient wife but at the same time influences her husband’s decisions about affairs she should she should not be involved. In Act 2 Scene 1, Margaret does not have many lines but does manage to convince her husband that Gloucester is harmful to the nation. Her short “observations” of Gloucester, whether true or not, sway King Henry to see Gloucester the way Margaret wishes Henry to see him. Every line she says is an obvious attack against Gloucester. And thy ambition, Gloucester. (II.i.32)… Gloucester, see here thy tainture of thy nest, And look thyself be flawless, thou wert best” II.i.192-193)… I see no reason why a king of years Should be protected like a child. God and King Henry govern England’s realm! Give up your staff, sir, and the King his realm (II.iii.28-31). (Bevington 567-569). Each time Margaret makes a remark she is silenced by King Henry, however, those remarks manage to get to the king and Gloucester is eventually arrested and put to death. Margaret steps in and out of the role of a subservient and obedient wife. She uses her role as a woman to get the power and prestige that she wants and nothing less. Shakespeare’s character of Margaret displays that despite the social role of women at the time, there are women that disregard their role and control the business of a man from behind the scenes. In conclusion, the role of women has changed since the time in which Shakespeare’s historic plays were written. Regardless of the change in roles, looking at the role of women in these history plays can learn lessons. There are values hidden beneath each role that can be applied in today’s society toward the social roles of women. For example, starting a family within the boundaries of marriage can help diminish disease. Shakespeare played on the ideals and fears of men in his time when he characterized the role of women in society. The ideal was an obedient, subservient, and soft-spoken woman who lived for her husband and wanted to bear and care for the children and the family like Queen Isabel in Richard II or Lady Percy in Henry IV part 1. A harsh, ill-mannered, and controlling woman seeking her own needs and desires was not desirable of that time. A woman was not to be independent and unruly. Such a women was not fit to be a wife or mother like Queen Margaret in Henry VI. Not only are the plays of Shakespeare well written literary works, nut they mirror the social roles of society at that time in history. References Kehler, Dorothea, Baker, Susan. (1991). In Another Country: Feminist Perspectives on Renaissance Drama. New Jersey: Scarecrow. Bevington, David. (2004). The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Fifth Edition. New York: Pearson. Erne, Lukas. (2003). Shakespeare as Literary Dramatist. New York: Cambridge. Pearlman, E. (1992). William Shakespeare The History Plays. New York: Twayne. Camden, Carroll (1952). The Elizabethan Woman. Texas: Elsevier. Erickson, Peter. (1991). Rewriting Shakespeare, rewriting ourselves. Berkeley : University of California. Read More