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Gender Roles In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

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William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet takes place in a society indisputably dominated by males. There is no such thing as an independent woman in Verona, as the men determine every decision. This is especially true in the case of the Montagues and Capulets, two formidable and influential families that have been in conflict for decades. In both the Montague and Capulet families, the men are the all-powerful breadwinners and decision-makers while the women truly serve no other purpose than conceiving heirs. Romeo and Juliet, the ill-fated star crossed lovers for whom the play is named, are forced into their desperate scenario because of this traditional patriarchal society. Due to the gender roles and oppressive conditions forced upon them, Romeo and Juliet experience feelings of great frustration and anger. Combined with the exhilaration and …show more content…

Contrary to what others may believe, the patriarchal society depicted in Romeo & Juliet is the primary reason for Romeo and Juliet’s death. In medieval Verona, the gender roles are perspicuous and inflexible. As stated in Text 2, “the men bear names and stand to fight for them; the women, the weaker vessels, bear children and fall backward to conceive them.” Due to these standards set by the patriarchal society, Romeo and Juliet are boxed into personal prisons. Romeo has no future except for a life of following in his father’s footsteps and defending the Montague name at any cost. Juliet has been groomed and conditioned since birth to act as a perfect society wife: someone who will supply heirs and smile at social events. She lives without hope, well versed in the knowledge that she will no have voice in whatever match her father forces her into. When these two equally discouraged and hopeless teenagers meet, the spark between them is as much about love as it is about rebellion. As asserted in Text 1, “a subjective feeling springs

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Immaturity can spread throughout things and people creating problems for the present and future. Similarly, Romeo and Juliet not only shows the development of love, but the development of immaturity that leads to the story being tragic. Often humans develop to become mature, but the totalness of immaturity in this story, makes the process go backwards. From Romeo and Juliet’s fast evolving relationship to the hate between the two family’s, the ignorance of thought in different characters is portrayed well in the story. Therefore, the theme of this sad story is to think more diligently and reasonably before taking action, and overall grow from the past.

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The portrayal of women in Romeo and Juliet is complex. On the one hand, the play presents women as passive and submissive, particularly in their relationships with men. Juliet, for example, is expected to obey her father and marry the man he has chosen for her, even though she is in love with Romeo. She tries to defy him so she can be with Romeo but it doesn’t turn out her way. Similarly, Lady Capulet is portrayed as a dutiful wife who defers to her husband's authority and does not challenge him.

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In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, we see people that either keep stereotypical gender roles or break those roles. A gender role is a set of societal norms dictating the types of behaviors which are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for people based on their sex. An example of a character who keeps the gender role is Capulet, who is arguably the character that keeps the strongest gender role by leading his household with a strong manner and wanting to protect his family, deciding what is best for his daughter without her input, and expecting everyone to be grateful for everything he does for them. We will also be looking at Juliet, who does not keep her gender role by rebelling against her family, expressing her own opinions, and standing up for herself and deciding what she thinks is best for herself. Finally, we will be looking at Romeo, who takes the submissive role multiple times throughout the play, down to drinking the poison to kill himself, which is viewed as a more feminine way of killing yourself.

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In society, gender roles play an important role as it helps in building structure and assigning certain roles. However, some may not agree with these roles and expectations, which can potentially lead to their rebellious attitudes. This is apparent during the Elizabethan era in Verona, a place in which gender roles play a huge role in society and is very emphasized. In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, gender roles are constantly shown throughout the play. The two protagonists, Romeo and Juliet display the consequences of circumventing gender roles as their actions later prove to result in external conflicts and tragic events.

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Today, in the 21st century, most women are fairly respected and have the freedom to make their own choices; but when reading Romeo and Juliet, from the Shakespearean age, I have learned that women were viewed very differently. Using clues provided by this book, it is clear that whether women were housewives, royalty, nurses, or children, they didn’t have equal rights to men. Men were very masculine; they ordered their wives around and expected women to obey. Whereas women were very obedient and unfortunately were often taken advantage of. In this paper, will be examining the stereotypical role of a woman in the Shakespearean age.

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The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare has toyed with the emotions of its audience members for centuries. The play’s main characters, Romeo and Juliet, love one another in spite of the feud between their families and later on, in the wallows of grief, each take their own life. While the characters both meet their end tragically, it was their choices that realistically led them down that path. The cause of the two “star-crossed lovers” final end is not due to fate or destiny, but by their own foolish hands.

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