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Essay / The complexity of female roles in The Merchant of Venice and Measure for Measure
In Shakespearean plays, female roles are systematically more complex than male roles, and although the protagonists are often men, the action is frequently led by a woman. Although female characters are often seen as having a certain aspect of cunning to their personality, the trickery that sometimes accompanies this cunning is used for causes that, it can be argued, are honorable both today and in the past. time when the plays were written. In the play "Measure for Measure", it is Isabella who sets the rapid pace of the play when she speaks to Angelo about her brother's sentence, and it is Mariana who takes charge of her destiny when she agrees to change places with Isabella in Angelo's. garden. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay In “The Merchant of Venice,” it is Jessica who steals Lorenzo and Shylock’s money. Portia immediately decides to help her husband Bassanio when he takes leave to help his beloved friend Antonio. Women are represented in these plays in several ways at once; it's as if many colorful spotlights are shining on them during a single performance. They are seen simultaneously in a sympathetic light, a noble light, an intelligent day and a determined day. These viewpoints sometimes blend together and create complicated and problematic characters, but generally offer a sense of verisimilitude that goes beyond the relatively simplistic male roles. One of these problematic characters is Mariana. Certainly, she is hardly a central character in "Measure for Measure", introduced only in Act IV, scene 1, and then appearing only briefly in two other scenes. On the surface, it seems like she's just a convenient way to move the plot forward. Once Mariana is introduced, Angelo reveals himself to be the villain he is, Claudio escapes death, Isabella remains a virgin, and Mariana herself wins the man she desires. Although she helps "capture" the villain at the end, and although she appears deceptively simple, Mariana is a fairly complicated character. Like so many of Shakespeare's female characters, she has been wronged by a man and she seeks justice by wronging Angelo. back. This contributes to the problematic ending, in which the only truly happy couple is Claudio and Juliette. The method Mariana uses to remedy the situation creates a sense of ambiguity about the very moral issues the play seems meant to explore. As a "solution" to so many characters' problems, his ambiguous actions make a clear interpretation of the text difficult. On a deeper level, however, Mariana is a female hero. It deals with the unequal position of women in Shakespearean society. Although today's readers may view Mariana's methods as problematic, she most likely garnered cheers from the women of the Shakespearean audience. Mariana loses her brother and her dowry at sea, and Angelo leaves her. She thus loses her two male supports in one discouraging blow. It seems she is doomed to suffer in isolation, as most women in her situation would do. However, Mariana is determined to win back her rights and her lost lover, despite her misery. It is an admirable display of independence and tenacity. In the final scene, the chastised Angelo falls under her control and Mariana is able to overcome societal conditions while saving Isabella's virginity and Claudio's life. Mariana isn't the only complex, complex female character in "Measure for Measure." If it is clear that Angelo does not wantnothing but sexual control and power, Isabella is much more complicated, and therefore more realistic. She is an innocent, sexually repressed idealist with a slightly twisted (albeit unconscious) desire for martyrdom. While the rest of Vienna stands idly by and watches Claudio parade through the city like Angelo's trophy, and even Claudione makes no attempt to save his life, Isabella springs into action immediately upon hearing the news. She goes directly from her convent to Angelo to plead Claudio's cause. It is here however that her true state of mind begins to reveal itself, and we see that she is not as innocent as we have been led to believe. Although she is too innocent to understand the implications of Angelo's words when he asks her if she would "give up [her] body to such sweet impurity / Like her that [your brother] has stained?" (II.4.54-55), his response reveals a mind in which pain and sexuality strangely mingle: If I were under the terms of death, The impression of sharp whips that I would carry like rubies, And undress myself until 'to death as to a bed for which I was sick for so long, before yielding my body to shame. (II.4.100-104) Although Isabella would rather suffer a terrible and agonizing death than renounce her chastity, her language fails to indicate real pain. Rather, she suggests that a martyr's pleasure lies in suffering; his blood would be precious and displayed for all to see, in the form of rubies. The potentially masochistic meaning of the whip is further reinforced by her choice of words: “lively,” “undress,” and “bed” (which she ardently desires). Here, Isabelle imagines that in the death of a martyr, she would find all the sexual fulfillment that would be denied to her if she entered the convent. When she consciously realizes Angelo's implications, her response is unambiguous: she would rather give up her brother's life than give up her virginity. Although Isabella's decision may seem cold to a modern reader, readers of Shakespeare's time would sympathize with her more easily. Giving himself to Angelo would mean eternal damnation, and abstaining would only result in pure death for his brother. It is, however, extremely idealistic of Isabella to assume that her brother will follow her example. Her intelligence is revealed when she begins her conversation with Claudio by speaking humbly about Angelo so that Claudio will see the baseness of Angelo's request, saying that if her brother wanted it, it "...would chain him to death." Death (III.1.66)" Isabella's sinister side is further explored when she reports to the Duke disguised as a brother, hiding the fact that she has planned to meet Angelo in his garden at night. Her tone suggests that she is in fact enjoying the charade: she expresses amusement at Angelo's enthusiastic desire to show her "[t]he way twice. (IV.1.38)" Likewise, she is pleased that She invented a servant to explain the brevity of her visit. Like Mariana, Isabella is a savior of sorts. She takes matters into her own hands and, when faced with failure, simply puts another plan into action. In this way, Isabella increases the complexity of the play: there is really no response she can give to the Duke's proposal at the end of the play that would not alter the reader's feelings towards her and compromise seriously his already questionable moral position. Rather than take that risk, the play ends with the reader wondering what Shakespeare had in mind and leaves Isabella with her honor intact. He is a very realistic character, unsure of what he wants, but capable of hiding a few tricks up his sleeve. Isabella is portrayed as confused and a bit selfish, but, asMariana, her heart is in the right place. In "The Merchant of Venice", the roles of women are overlapped in the same way. Women are complicated characters who immediately go for what they want, without letting anything stand in their way. Jessica, Shylock's daughter, is an example. We learn in Act II, scene 3, how Jessica feels about her father: “Our house is hell, and you are a merry devil / You have stolen from him a certain taste of boredom.” (II.3.2-3) » Jessica begins her misdeeds as soon as her father is out of earshot, she gives Lancelot a letter to deliver to his secret love, Lorenzo, thus putting her plan into action. Thus begins one of the play's many intertwined elements. But here it is the male character who takes orders from a female character. Lorenzo tells Gratiano and Salerio how Jessica "led / How I will take her from her father's house" (II.4.29-30). In fact, Jessica is the torchbearer, the one who literally lights Lorenzo's path. Not only does she manage to escape unwanted male protection, she overcomes the societal assumption that the man leads the way in a relationship. Portia also overcomes this enormous obstacle without even flinching. We begin to see the depth of her character from the first time she is introduced, in Act I, Scene 2. Although at first she may seem spoiled, complaining about the many suitors who ask for her hand, a Closer inspection reveals its true character. Portia's suitors are judged not on the basis of their wealth or possessions, but in terms of their personal and moral qualities. However, despite her feelings for these men, she has no control over the selection. Her father's will governs her choice of husband. Portia's apparent centrality is proven false during a series of transactions with the princes of Morocco and Aragon. In reality, she is only an object of exchange, passing from the hands of her father to those of a happy suitor. It is only when Bassanio is chosen as a husband that Portia begins to exert her manipulative power, helping him overcome his weak position. Portia's gift of her ring to Bassanio is more significant than one might imagine. The ring is a visual sign of her vow of love and submission. It is a representation of Portia's acceptance of her new place in society, characterized by her subjection, loss of legal rights, and status as a "commodity." Additionally, it signifies her place in a male-dominated hierarchy. At first glance, this declaration of love seems to show Portia's acceptance of a woman's place in such a system. Only with her final warning do we begin to see that she may not be so easily overpowered. This ring, which when you part, lose or give, may it portend the ruin of your love, and be my point of view to cry out over you. (III.2.171-174) The gift of her ring is the beginning of Portia's plan to take control of her life after so many years of oppression at the hands of her now deceased father. When Bassanio leaves for Venice to help his friend, he has no idea what to do, unlike his wife, who already has a plan in mind. Portia embodies the traditional woman when she promises Bassanio that in his absence she and Nerissa will live as "widows", and tells Lorenzo that they will leave immediately for the convent. This corresponds to the conventional ideal of femininity at that time; women had to be chaste, silent and obedient. Portia first evokes the ideal of a true lady, then transgresses it. She flies to Venice dressed as a man, engages in a men-only public speech, and, most importantly, actively participates in a trial. Portia exercises a,.