Phenomenal

PresenceofWomeni
nShakespear
e-

Per
vasi
veandVi
gor
ous:
ACr
it
ical
Appr
aisal
of

Shakespear
e'sPl
ays.

ABSTRACT:
Itisamostsi gnificantmat terandaspectofShakespear e’sar t
isti
c
geniusi npr esent i
nghi swomenchar act
er ,t hatI ’m now goi ngt odel i
ber ateand
contempl atet hrough my paper and t her eby br ing out a soci alpi cture of
Shakespear e’st i
me:i t’
spat r
iarchy,women’ scondi tionandt heirsoci alimpor t
ance.
Inourwayofdi scussingwomenchar acterinShakespear e’
splays, wehav et ocasta
view uponsoci alcondi ti
onofwomen,QueenEl izabeth’
si nf
luence,i tsst agepl ays
andmanyot her s.Int hisverypaperIam goi ngt opr oj
ectthreedi f
ferentt ypesof
womanandt rytodet erminet hem soci all
ydur ingQueenEl i
zabeth’sr eign.Amongst
the otherhuge numberof women char act er,f ew i mportantchar act ers are
categorizedanddi scussedbr iefl
y.Andmost lyShakespear e’
sintelli
genceandski lli
n
fi
tti
ngt hem inar i
ghtpl aceandi nar i
ghtmanneri sal soacent ralthemeofmypaper .
Thev ar i
ouschar acterswi t
ht heirfluency,t hei robst acl
es,theirdeal ingswi t
hmen
andabov eal lShakespear e's managi ngof t hem i spur posefull
ypr esent edonmy
discussion.Inawor d,Shakespear e’
sv i
ewuponhi sf emalecharact ers,weat heritis
glori
ous, j
ovialort i
mi dinvesti
gatedar gument at i
v ely.

KEYWORDS:Ar
ti
sti
c,Char
act
ers,
Men,
Pat
ri
archy
,Pl
ay,
Soci
ety
,Women.
“Ifwomenhadnoexi stencesaveintheficti
onwritt
enbymen, onewouldimagine
hertobeapersonofut mostimportance;veryvar
ious;her
oicandmean;spl
endid
andsordi
d;i
nfinit
elybeauti
fulandhideousintheextreme;asgreatasman,some
thi
nkevengr
eat er
”.

-
--
-Vi
rgi
niaWool
f,ARoom ofOne’
sOwn.

From t hebegi nningoft hetimewomenhav ebeenviewedasacr eatur

e
i
nferiortomal eandbur ntlikebeaconsi nall
thewor kofpoet s.Shakespeare’
s
womenchar actersareal solacksi nper
sonalit
yandi nsearchoft heiri
denti
ty.
Alt
hough, itisnotal way sthesamecase; Shakespeareevenpr oducessomef emal
e
characterswhopossessunf emi ni
neaggressionanddomi nanceov ermale
characters.Itisdiff
iculttodeter minewhatexact l
yShakespear ethoughtofwomen,
butitisinteresti
ngt olookathi sfemalecharactersandhowt heyfiti
ntotheimageof
womenatt hattime.

Thispaperi saf eministbasedreadingandcompar isonofwomenpor t

ray
edin
Shakespeareanpl ays.Thef ocusoft hestudycompr i
sesoft hesocialci
rcumstances
andthemi sogynisticact i
onsoft hemal echaract
ersandit'
si mpactonthel i
vesof
thefemalecharact ersinthepl aysofShakespeare.Therelati
onshipbetweenmal e
andf emalecharactersi soft
enchar acteri
zedbyt hephy
sical andpsychologi
cal
vict
imizat
ionofthei rfeeli
ngs.Shakespear eportr
aystwokindsofwoment hr
oughout
hisplays;

(
a)Womenwhor
efuset
osubmi
ttomenanddemandequal
right
sand,

(
b)Submi
ssi
vewomenwhocar
ryoutt
her
olesofanEl
i
zabet
hanwomen.

Thosewhof ol
lowedt heroleofanEl i
zabet
hanwomen, whichist obesubmi ssi
vet
o
men, demonstratethatbowi ngdownt opatr
iarchalr
ul esdoesnotguar ant
ee
happinessforwomen.I nf actitmayactual
lyleadtot heirdominationand
vict
imizat
ion.Furt
hermor e,all
t hef
emalechar act
er,weat hersubmi ssi
veornot
suffer
edtheconsequencesofmal edominati
onandv icti
mi zat
ion.Howev er
,the
femalewhol iv
edupt ot hewomenr ol
esofthepat ri
archal soci
etysuf f
eredmore
t
hant
hewomenwhof
oughtagai
nstmal
edomi
nance.

Shakespear ecreatedahugecanv asofpl aysandpoems.Hewr ot e37plays

wher ehepr act
isedhi sblessedart
ist
icskil
l i
npor t
rayi
ngav astnumberofv arious
femalechar acters.Eveninhissonnets,l
ast26sonnet sdedicat edtohi sdarklady
,
whosei dentit
yi ssti
llabiggestconcernforcrit
ics.Howev er,toenunci ateour
discussionfurthermoreweneedt ofir
stlookatt hehistor
ical backgroundoft heage,
i
tspat r
iarchalsy st
em andmosti mpor t
antlystageplaysdur ingt hi
sv eryper
iod.

Englandwasapat r
iarchalsocietyinShakespear e’sti
me, whichmeantt hatev ery
aspectofi twasdomi natedbymen.Al t
hough, t
herewasnoof fici
alpatriarchal
syst
em dur i
ngEl izabethanr eignbutj ustani nterl
ocki
ngsetofbel ief
s,assumpt ion,
tr
aditi
onandpr actise.Ther ewasgr eatinequal it
ybetweensexesandwomenwho
wererepresent ed.Manyacknowl edgedt hatsomewomenwer emor eintellect ual,
superi
orandspi ri
tualthant heirmalecount er part
,buthowev er
,thepatriarchal
str
uctureoft hesoci etyledt hem toobeyt heirhusbands, f
athersandki ngs.Dur ing
Shakespear e’
st i
meEngl andwasr uledbyEl izabethI,buti
nspi t
eofbei ngawoman
sheneitherat t
emptt ochanget hemi sogynistattit
udesinhersoci et
ytowar ds
womennordi dsheaccent uatewomen’ sstrengt handabil
it
ies.Sheev enher self
assumedt hatshemayhav eaweakandf eeblebodyofwomanbutshehav eat rue
ki
ng’shear t
.Herr eignwashai l
edasgl ori
ousbecausesheaccept edthepat riarchal
normsandr uledEngl andi nkinglymannerr atherthanaQueenl ymanner .

Todi scusst hismat t

erfurther mor eweneedt ocastagl anceupont heatrein
Shakespear e’sday .InShakespear e’st i
mewomendi dnotappear edont hestage.It
wasappr ehendeddi scourteousf orwoment oacti nat heatrebeforealargenumber
ofaudiences, sot heboyact orsagedbet weent enandsi xteenplayther ol
esof
women.Mat urechar act
erslikeCl eopat r
aandLadyMacbet hwer ealsoactedbyboy
actors.Therewer etwot ypesofaudi encetookpar tinplayhouses.Theaudi ence
knownast hecommoner slouts,pi ckpockets,ser vantsandpr osti
tut
e.Theot herpart
ofaudienceconsi stedofeducat edmenandwomen, crit
ics,scholar
sandt he
respectablemember sofroyal f
ami l
ies.Howev er ,
weneedt okeepf ocusedwi thour
concernaboutf emal echaractersi nShakespear e’
swor k.So, Iam goingtopresent
someoft hemostr obustchar actersf rom Shakespear e’splays.

TolookuponsomeofShakespear e’si mmor talandar ti

sticallypresent ed
femalechar acters,thecharacterofCl eopatrai soneoft hemostdi st i
ngui shi
ngone
thatwear egoingt ocul ti
vatei
nourwayofdi scussi on.Cl eopat r
ai spor t
ray edina
negativ
ewayi nal lthesourcesShakespear ebui lthispl ayon, butal thoughher
creati
onbyShakespear eisnotv erynegat i
ve.Cl eopat ra,inAnt onyandCl eopatra,
hasbeenv i
ewedasast rong,i
ndependent ,mani pulati
ve, r
esponsi bleandcunni ng
womanwhowast heQueenofEgy ptandconsi st edever ychar acteristi
csofat rue
Queen.Herpor trayalweakensmal echar acterlikeAnt onywhowasagr eatwar rior
.
Shei stheonlyr easonf orwhom Ant onybet r ayedhi sownpeopl eandev enf ought
againstthem duet ot heintoxi
cationofl ovepossessesbyCl eopat ra.Inthi sveryplay
,
wealsowi
tnessedherasatruewar
riorandl
oyalt
oherownpeopl
ewhoi
nspi
teof
bei
ngawomanchar gesint
obatt
lef
ield.Wehearhersay
ing:

Si
“ nkRome,
andt
hei
rtonguesr
ot

Thatspeakagai
nstus!Achar
gewebeari
’
th’
war
.

And,
ast
hepr
esi
dentofmyki
ngdom,
wil
l

Appeart
her
eforaman.Speaknotagai
nsti
t!

Iwi
l
lnotst
aybehi
nd.
(I
II
,vi
i
,15-
19)

Cleopatraisremini
scentofElizabethI.SheisaQueen, l
ovedandr espectedbymany,
butdespi sedbymanyaswel l
,inthesamewayt hatEl
izabethwas.Ther eisnoiot
aof
doubtt hatShakespearecreat
edCl eopatrabei
nginfl
uencedbyQueenEl izabet
hI.
Cleopatrahadsuchast r
ongwi l
lthatsheprefer
st ocommi tsui
cideratherthan
capturedbyt heinvader
s.

Feministvaluesar ehi ghlypromi nenti nsomeofShakespear e’scomedi esas

well.TheMer chantofVeni ce,oneoft hev eryf ewplayswher ewef i
ndchar act erlike
Portiawhor ebelledagai nstt henor msofsoci etyandbyv irtueofherchar act ershe
centresourat tention.Por t
iahasbeenconsi der edoneoft hemostper fectl
y
devel opedfemal epr otagonists.Shei sintelligent,qui
ck-witted,nobleandcul tured.In
thebookChar actersofShakespear e’sPlay s,Wi l
li
am Hazlitthasaccusedherof
beingunf eminine, mascul i
neandpedant icbecauseofheri ntel
lectual abili
ty.Por tia
want edBassani ot omar r
yher ,sobyhercr afti
nessshehel pedBassani ot opi ckt he
ri
ghtcasket ,sot hatt heycanmar ryeachot her .Porti
aevensav esAnt oni ofrom a
Jewi shmoney l
enderShy l
ockbydi stinguishingher selfasal awy erandbyherl ogical
argument s.Thedescr i
pti
onshegi vesofher selfisveryinteresting:

“
..
.anunl
esson’
dgi
rl
,unschool
’
d,unpr
act
ised

Happyi
nthi
s,shei
snoty
etsool
d

Butshemayl
ear
n:happi
ert
hant
his,

Shei
snotbr
edsodul
lbutshecanl
ear
n:

Happi
estofal
l
,ist
hathergent
lespi
ri
t

Commi
tsi
tsel
ftoy
our
stobedi
rect
ed,

Asf
rom herl
ord,
hergov
ernor
,herki
ng”
.(
II
I,
ii
,163-
169)

Port
iai
shardl
y"unlesson’d"or"unschool’
d".Herstr
anger eferencestoherselfas
rai
sedf
orint
ell
i
genceandpossessedofa" gentlespir
it
"makehersoundasi fshe
wereadomesti
cani mal,givestheideathatsheismocki ngt hesocialnorms.
Romanti
cnovel
istJaneAust eninhernovelPrideandPr ejudice,por
traysherfemal
e
charactersinav er
yti
mi dmanner.Wef i
ndall
themai dengir
lswer etr
yingthei
rbest
andpr eparedthemselvestogettheatt
enti
onofel i
giblebachelorsandsecurethei
r
handsi nmar r
iage.HereJaneAustenhasmi rror
edt hesocialsetti
ngandmi ndsetof
t
h
1813, whereasShakespearehaswr i
tt
enhisplayson16 cent urywhent hesoci
ety
andset ti
ngwasst ri
cter
.Wehav eacleardi
sti
nctionofv iewsuponwomeni na
dif
ferencenear l
ytwohundredyears.

Af t
erobser vi
ngShakespear e’st womostnot ablechar actersf rom bot h
tragedyandcomedy ,Iwoul dli
ketoshi ftmyv i
ewsuponf emal echar act ersthat
Shakespear eportraysinhi sRomances.Whi l
einbot hAnt onyandCl eopat r
a andThe
Mer chantofVeni ce,womenhadapr omi nentrol
e, nTheTempest
i , weseem t o
glanceadi f fer
enttypeoff emalecharact erwhoi spr esent edmer elyasanobj ect
throughoutt heplay.Mi r
anda, t
hedaught erofProsper oi sal soinhabi tedona
deser tedisl and.Prosper ocapturedev erythi
ngandev erylivi
ngbei ngont hisisland
andest ablishedhi sdomi nanceupont hem andMi randa, hisownchi l
di snotf r ee
from it.Mi randai sthev icti
m ofProsper o’sdomi nating,aut horizingandpat roni zi
ng
attit
ude.I nawor d, Mirandai scol
onizedont heislandundert hesuper vi
sionof
Pr osper o,herf at
herandt hecoloni
zer.Shenev ermov esf rom t hei slandandf rom
thev isionofPr ospero.Mi r
andaevennev ersawawomanandshest ates:

Idon’
“ tknow

Oneofmysex,
nowoman’
sfacer
emember
.

Sav
e,f
rom mygl
ass,
mineown”
(I
II
,i
,50-
51)

Mi r
anda’sl
ove,emot i
onshav enoi mpor t
ancet oPr ospero.Pr osperoev eneavesdrop
hisownchild’
slov eaffair
.Thet hemeof“ Doubl eColonization”ri
ght l
yfitswit
h
Mi r
andawherei tconveys“ t
hatwomenar esubj ectedtobot ht hecolonialdominati
on
ofempi r
eandt hemal edomi nationofpatriar
chy ”
.AndMi randaher e,bynomeansi s
subject
edbothphy sicall
yandment al
lyundert hecolonial andpatriarchaldominati
on
ofoneman, Prospero, herfat
hermostunf ort
unat el
y.Caliban,asav agei nthi
splay,
attemptedtorapeMi randawhi chshowsherhel plessnesst hroughoutt heplay.I
tis
oneofShakespear e’
sf undament alabi
li
tyt opresenthischar acters,bothmal eand
female,i
naway ,t
hatnoot herpoet scoulddoandher el i
eshi sbri
lli
anceasa
playwri
ght.

Shakespeareanwomeni ssuchat opi

ct hatwecan’ tdiscussev erycharacter
from hisplaysinthislimitedar ea.Howev er,
int heabove,Ihav etriedmybestt o
portraythreediff
erentt y
peofwomenchar acterfrom Shakespear e’spl aysandt hatis
nottheendofi twhilemanymor eimpor t
antchar acter
sarel eftout .ButIwoul dlike
toshar ethem herev erybriefly
.Incomedi es,Shakespeare’sf emalechar actersare
representedglori
ousl ywher eashi sfemalechar acter
sintragediesar esuf f
ereda
greatdeal ofviol
enceandev entuall
ydiesintheend.Howpower f
ul womenupset ti
ng
thenat uralor
derarecl earlydepictedinbothHaml etandMacbet h.Women’ s
i
nv olvementinpoliti
csandi tsconsequencesar eshowedi nt hi
stwopl ay s.
Gert rude’smar ri
agewi thherhusband’ smur dererandLadyMacbet h’sambiti
onl ed
them t otheirul
ti
mat um.Shakespear ehighli
ghtedanot hertheme,womenasa
possessi onwher ehi ghbor nladi
eslikeJuliet
, DesdemonaandMi r
andawer eunable
toexpl orethewor ldbyt hei
rown.Theyar emer elypassedbet weenthehandsf rom
theirf athertohusband.Ther eareanothert y
pesofwomenr epr
esentedin
Shakespear e’
splay s,knownasbawdywomen.Theywer eof tenl
owbor nandwor ki
ng
classchar acterl
ikeNur seinRomeoandJul iet,MargaretinMuchAdoaboutNot hi
ng
andmany .Now,thet r
agi candinnocentwomenl i
keDesdemona, Opheli
a,Juli
etand
Cor del i
awhosuf feredagr eatdealoflossduet othei
rmal ecounterpart
.Atthe
begi nningoft hepl ayt heyremainchast eandpur eandt r
agicall
ydieoncetheir
chast ityislost.

Shakespear eev ent ri

edhi shandi nportrayingf emmef ataleladi eslikeLady
Macbet hwhobyherv er balintell
igenceanddesper ateactionseducesMacbet hinto
av aulti
ngambi ti
on.LadyMacbet hi satruearchet ypeoff emmef atalebecauseof
herev ilmotives.Goner i
llandRegani nKingLearpl otstoinher itLear ’
spr oper ty
throught heirseduct i
v et onguei nthev erybeginningoft hepl ayandt heyal so
sufferedt hepenal tyofdeat h.Ther earefewwomeni nShakespear e’spl ayswhoar e
wittybutunmar r
ied,likeCat heri
nef om TheTami
r ngoft heShr ew isapr i
me
exampl eandBet ri
cef rom MuchAdoaboutNot hing.Theymar kedaswi tty, i
ntell
i
gent
andi ndependentf emal echar acters.Mi r
andai nTheTempestandHel enaand
Her miainAMi dsummerNi ght’sDr eam canbecat egori
zedasmar riedof fwomen
whogotmar riedi nay oungageandkeptsaf eandhappyi nthei rhusband’ shand.
Theypossessnor esponsi bili
tyint hecourseofev ents.Thenextt ypei st hewomen
whodr essasmen.Wef indRosal indinAsYouLi keI tandVi olainTwel fthNi ght
dressasman.Theycoul dactf r
eelyandenj oyf reedom ofamal ewhi chhi ghli
ght i
ng
thelacksofl i
bertyforwomendur i
ngShakespear e’stime.Ral eighhaswonder ful
ly
summedupi nhi sShakespear e:“ I
nt heComedi est heyarethespi r
itofhappi ness;in
theTr agediest heyar et heonl ywar rantandtokenoful ti
mat esal vation,thel ast
refuseandsanct uaryoff ait
h”.

Towr apupourdi scussionaboutwomen’ sr epresentationi nShakespear e’s

plays,wemusthav et oal l
udeonet hingthatt herear enoclearev idencewhat
Shakespear ewant edt oconv eyt hr
oughhi sf emal echar act
er sandwhatwashi s
mainpur posewi t
hthem.Ev ent hought hewomeni nShakespear e’splayswent
againstt her ul
esofbei ngawomani nt hesoci et
yofhi st i
me, isitfairt
ocal lhi
ma
‘
femi nist’
, whenf emi nism wasnotev enat hi ngdur ingthespanofhi sl i
fe,nordidit
comear oundf orhundr edsofy earlater?Al though, itisoneoft hemost
dist
ingui shingt hi
ngst hati ndividualizedShakespear efr
om t heot herwritersduring
Eli
zabet haner a.Forexampl e, wecansay ,char actersofwomenappear inginhis
earl
ypl ayshowamar keddi fferencef r
om t heappr oachofMar lowe.JohnKeat swas
ri
ghti nhi slett
eraboutt heli
terar yqualityofShakespear ewhi chhet ermsas
“Negat iv
eCapabi li
ty”becauseofShakespear e’
suncer taint
ies,my steri
esanddoubt s
andhi sr epresentationofherf emal echar act ersprov esKeat s’argument .Thet hree
femalechar acterst hathavebeenpr ev i
ousl ydiscussedmar kagr eatdifference
amongstt hemsel v eswi t
houtanyhesi tati
on.Tot al
kaboutShakespear e’sarti
sti
c
genius, wemayquot eJohnWebst erwhocompl iment edhim asa‘ happyi mitat
orof
nature’ whose‘ mindandhandwentt oget her ’
.Apar tfrom thehorrif
icpictureof
Eli
zabet hanst age, audiences,cri
ticsandsomanyhi nderance, whathecr eated
duri
nghi sti
mei snot hinglessthanami racle.Inthewor dsofDr yden:“Hef oundit
bri
ck, andhel eftitmar bl
e”.Everywor d,ev erysentence, everygesture,everyacti
on
andev eryupshott hatwef i
ndint hef emal echaractersofShakespear e’splaysisjust
theartisticendowmentoft hecreatorhi msel f.Thecr eati
onofonemani ssomuch
unmeasur edt hatwear enowcul tivati
ngt hatmanar oundf ourhundr edy earsandit
hasnoconcl usion.BenJonsonwast rueaboutShakespear ethat:

"
hewasnotofanage,
butf
oral
lti
me"
.
WORKSCI
TED:
ABoardofProf s.Shakespear
essor eacompanion&OldandMiddl
eEngli
sh
Li
ter
atur
e.6A,ShyamaChar anDeStreet
.Debi
BookConcer
nPubli
sher
s.
ed.
2016.
Print
.

Al
exander,
Mi .AHi
chael stor
yOfEngl
i
shLi
ter
atur
e.Macmi
l
lanPr
essLt
d.New
Del
hi.
ed.2000.
Pri
nt.

Har
ri
son,G.
B.Granvi
ll
e-Bar
ker,Har
l .ACompani
ey ontoShakespear
eSt
udi
es.
Cambri
dgeUni
versi
tyPress.NewDelhi.ed.
1955.Pr
int
.

Hossain,
Akram.Anappr
oachtoShakespeareScholar
shi
pandCr
it
ici
sm.Ababi
l
Books.Repr
oKnowledgeCastLt
d.Kolkata.ed.
2018.Pri
nt.

ht
tps:
//www.
academi
a.edu.
web.
(assessedon05.
05.
2019)
.

ht
tps:
//y
out
ube.
be/
u1Nt
S-nCu14.
web.
(assessedon05.
05.
2019)
.

Proudf
oot,
Richard.Thompson,
Ann.Kast
an,
S,Davd.TheAr
i denShakespear
e
CompleteWorks.Bloomsbur
y.NewDelhi
.
ed.
2016.
Pri
nt.

Sanders,Andrew.TheShortOxfor
dHi
stor
yOfEngl
i
shLi
ter
atur
e.Oxf
ordUni
ver
sit
y
Press.Calcut
ta.
ed.1994.
Print
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