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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 6 page essay that argues that Shakespeare's portrayal of women in The Merchant of Venice and in Much Ado About Nothing shows that he considered women to be capable of showing intelligence and loyalty to equal any man. Beatrice through her loyalty to Hero and Portia in her dramatic defense of her husband's friend, Antonio, show that they possess intelligence, loyalty and courage equal, or superior, to the men in these plays, whom they overshadow in this regard. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khgenloy.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
capable of loyalty and honor, but women were thought to be weak, easily tempted and in need of a mans protection and guidance. Therefore, fathers chose their daughters husbands, and
supervised the lives of their wives. Schooling was not generally offered to women because it was argued that women were not, as a rule, intelligent enough to benefit from it.
However, despite these culturally defined gender roles, Shakespeare habitually created female characters that exhibited intelligence, courage and strength of will. This fact is demonstrated very well in his plays
Much Ado About Nothing through the character of Beatrice and in The Merchant of Venice through the character of Portia. An examination of Shakespeares characterizations of both of these women
shows that they are portrayed as extremely intelligent and that both demonstrate loyalty to a degree equal with any mans. Beatrice through her loyalty to Hero and Portia in her
dramatic defense of her husbands friend, Antonio, show that they possess intelligence, loyalty and courage equal, or superior, to the men in these plays, whom they overshadow in this regard.
From the beginning of Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare makes it clear that Beatrice is not a docile damsel who quietly accepts her place in society and
makes men the center of her life. In fact, Beatrice makes it clear that she has no wish to marry, and thinks very little of most men -- "Not
till God make men of some other metal than earth (will she marry). Would it not grieve a woman to be overmastered with a piece of valiant dust?" (Act II,
scene 1, lines 62-63). Later, her attitude is shown to be so much bravado, as she easily succumbs to Benedict once she believes her friends that Benedict is in love
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