HAYWIRE Issue 2 Fall 2013
responsible for supporting the family. They had the say
regarding everything and women were to obey them.
There were some famous and powerful women in
England though, which is also why visitors from other
European countries were surprised by the freedom some
women enjoyed compared to the women in their home
cultures.
The most powerful woman in the Elizabethan age
was of course Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603). She never
married even though she got many proposals and Count
de Faria, the Spanish ambassador in London, even wrote
about her to Philip of Spain in 1558: “Everybody thinks
that she will not marry a foreigner and they cannot make
out whom she favors, so that nearly every day some new
cry is raised about a husband.”
Philip was considered as a suitor for a long time but
Elizabeth stood to the promise she made to herself when
she was eight years old that she would never marry
because she would have had to give the throne to her
husband and show him total obedience. Susan Doran
wrote that it was “Elizabeth’s ability as a woman to
exercise power successfully in a man’s world”, that
earned her respect then as well as today and what made
her so important.
In reflection to the powerful women in England,
Shakespeare based a few characters on them. Of course
none of his female characters really had power but for
example Lady Macbeth could care for herself and didn't
obey her husband which was unthinkable at that time.
But that specific case is mostly just “shown as a flaw on
part of her husband” (Glissade).
Shakespeare also created some strong female
characters that dress as men to get rid of boundaries and
obstacles women had to face. For example Portia of The
Merchant of Venice used that trick. But again, there
were not many women who had a say. Less than 1% of
women had any power in both English society and in
Shakespeare's plays. Most women had no rights at all.
Lower class women had fewest rights. They were
not educated and were only prepared for housewifely
duties. “Women in her greatest perfection were made to
serve and obey men.” (Knox) In Shakespeare's Henry
IV, he incorporates only one female character briefly in
two scenes. Women were just not that important. And if
looking at Shakespeare's whole collection most of his
plays just deal with the upper class.
Women from the lower class hardly ever get
mentioned except for as servants. And that's really what
they were. As a young girl they were their father’s
property and as soon as they got married they became
their husband’s property. All women were expected to
marry. Those who didn’t got looked down upon by
society and it was often the single women who were
suspected and accused of being witches. “With their
parents’ permission, it was legal for boys to marry at the
age of fourteen and for girls at the age of twelve,
although it generally was not usual for marriages at such
young ages. The age of consent was twenty-one and
Louise Mola
boys would not marry until then.” (Atkinson). Although
it was unusual for marriages at fourteen, arranged
marriages were not usual. Even in the lower class it was
common for arranged marriages that would make the
two families profit of each other in one way or another.
Additionally women had to bring a dowry in the
marriage. This was common thought Europe. After the
wedding the wife became the husband’s property. Even
though the man had to promise to love her and take care
of her, women were not treated as equals. In comparison
to the lower class women in the higher class and noble
women were treated significantly better.
Upper class women were still second class citizens
but they were allowed an education. The noble women
were taught by tutors starting at a very young age. They
learned math, literature and many languages such as
Latin, French and Greek. They were also expected to
learn to dance and sing but professional careers in law
medicine or politics were forbidden. That privilege of
being educated was very important to women but there
were still a lot of things they were being held from. For
example men believed that women were naive and
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