Women in Shakespeare, Dryden and Shaw

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This article aims to compare viewpoints on women in the works of Shakespeare, Dryden and Shaw. These three playwrights wrote at different times - the Renaissance, Neo-classical and Victorian Periods - with different ideas about women. However, they all wrote plays based on Cleopatra's story, so their ideas on women can be revealed by comparison of their Cleopatras. Shakespeare had two viewpoints on women, one was conservative and the other was progressive. His Cleopatra is very aggressive and active, but she did not overcome the challenge of succeeding in a man's world. Shakespeare accepted women's positive aspects but refused too much challenge for his society's safety and well-being. Dryden, with a conservative viewpoint on women, created a Cleopatra who was quite different from the historical one. His Cleopatra was very passive and submissive, which were considered as ideal women's qualities at that time. Shaw presented the development of Cleopatra from a girl to a queen in his work. He believed that women's qualities could be progressive, and that women could even be better than men if they were educated. He had positive ideas about women and acknowledged their possibilities. In conclusion, we can see three playwrights' women in their plays. Shakespeare's Cleopatra was progressive as well as traditional. Dryden's Cleopatra was a traditional one who was quite different from an original one. Shaw had a progressive idea of women, so his Cleopatra showed possibilities and potentials as a queen as well as a woman.