Shakespeare’s Women and Patriarchy: a Complex Dance
Words: 798 Pages: 3 12753Gender's intricate dance weaves through Shakespeare's plays, reflecting and challenging his era's patriarchal assumptions. Patriarchy, defined as a societal system where men hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege, and control of property, was a defining characteristic of the Elizabethan period. Shakespeare's works often illustrate these oppressive structures, while simultaneously offering glimpses of female agency and resistance. This essay explores how patriarchal patterns manifest in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," "Hamlet," "Henry IV," "Macbeth," […]
