Friday, July 20, 2012
Are Shakespeare's women second-class citizens?
guardian.co.uk: Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita ("In the middle of the road of my life"). Dante's tolling words in the Divina Commedia echo in this old head as they never could before. I'm already past the middle of the road of my life, and have thus had a little time to reflect on my strange profession, a profession in which I am paid (mostly) to depict the lives of women who have caught the fancy of dramatists.
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Although I approve of the message Suzman is trying to send, I disagree with some of her arguments. She argues that the best women in the history of theatre were written by Shakespeare, and even those are not as well rounded as his male characters. There is some truth to her words, this world is still one run by men, for varied and long winded historical reasons. But I don't think that Shakespeare's female characters are the only ones to be applauded. Lorraine Hansbury's "Raisin in the Sun" is filled with strong women who are contrasted by Walter's weak nature. Sure, the play is about Walter's growth as a person, but without the models of his mother and sister he would never have risen. It is a fact that female roles in theatre (as well as most other entertainment) are more troped and less thought out than the men on occasion, but there are the gems to consider, let them not be forgotten.
Obviously, in today's society, many women in Shakespeare's pieces would be considered to be "second-class" citizens; however, I would argue that many of the female roles he wrote were quite progressive for the time. One of my favorite characters of his writings is Viola from "Twelfth Night". Not only does she she act on her own will, but dresses as a man and goes by the name Cesario, in order to provide for herself. She is very independent, despite her love for Orsino. She takes control over her own life after she loses her brother, Sebastian. In addition to Viola, other female characters in Shakespeare's works are much more powerful than most women in the 16th century. Some of these, such as Cleopatra and Lady MacBeth, as mentioned, are not completely reliant upon men. Therefore, I disagree with the thought that men dominate Shakespeare's plays, and that there are many independent women present in his works.
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