SOCIETAL CONTROL AND WOMEN: A STUDY OF SELECT SHAKESPEAREAN PLAYS

Abstract

Shakespeare's women characters have influenced generations. But that was not a true representation of women. In fact as the new historicists claim that a writer is influenced by the times in which he lives seems to be true in case of Shakespeare. Not only Shakespeare but most of the Elizabethan period playwrights portrayed women in poor light. The Duchess of Malfi is tortured for selecting her own husband, Hermia and Helena had to run away to another country for disobeying their father in terms of choosing a husband. similarly there are so many instances that showed woman as a mere object of the society a, as a means of pleasure, as an entity that is ought to obey the laws set by men for her. The focus of the study comprises of the social circumstances and the misogynistic actions of the male characters and how these impacted the lives of female characters. This paper also tries to analysis the way Shakespeare tried to portraywomen as submissive characters however , in comedies he gave liberty to his women and many a times presented them as powerful characters by showing them disguised as male characters. In comedies he presented them as independent and not submissive characters to the patriarchal behavior of men during those times.