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The Vulnerability Of Women In King Richard III

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Secondly, Shakespeares’ ‘King Richard III’ explores the inability of women obtain independence and freedom, and are instead, limited with a heavily reliance on males in order to establish a steady life. The play conveys the fear that arises if a female loses male protection, deeming them as powerless and subjecting them to great vulnerability. This is portrayed in Act 1 scene ii, when Lady Anne becomes a widow after the death of her husband King Henry VI’s son, Edward, mourning greatly over his body. As Richard enters, he persuades Lady Anne into marrying him, and due to her circumstances, Lady Anne is forced to accept his hand or else will be unable to care for not only herself but her children. Richard gleefully begins to celebrate his conquest
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“Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper” This repetition exposed that as a woman in thet Elizabethan era must conform to her gender’s expectations, obliging to anything that men do, as she as a woman does not have the right to be in charge of herself and must need a man to guide her as a woman couldn’t do it

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In the novel, Shakespeare represents Richard III initially as dominant, Richard states ‘stay’, which implies that Richard is implying authority. In comparison, Lady Anne states ‘what do you tremble? This demonstrates Lady Anne’s confidence and that she is not intimidated by Richard’s presence. Richard III, doesn’t love Lady Anne however he wants to marry her and have children with her.

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Although the perspective of women in the Elizabethan era was much different from the perspective of manhood, it was also similar in a sense that manhood and womanhood both played an essential role during their era. The thought of men being the ones to do things such as commit murder and be ambitious is still prevalent today. In our society we view women as people who are soft and not quite as ambitious as the opposite sex. The notion that women are incapable of committing murder is obscure as they are physically capable of doing harm to any human body as well as being able to have ambition such as

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