Gender in Twelfth Night and Volpone

Talking virtu on the whole(prenominal)y women in Shakespeares plays is talking nigh men too. Shakespeare absolutely rejected the idea of separating genders in all aspects; physically, intellectually and spiritually. Theres no simile with the transitional catch from the gallant time to the modern period (the Renaissance) when Twelfth Night was written, Ben Jonson on the other side did non invent cross-gender casting - priapic actors portrayed women in all Elizabethans drama; but the antics of lying-in Common and Pliant in The Alchemist reveal the womens identities as fictile to change as any. When ill-natured tells Pliant he has bring through her honor and preservd [her as] a fair sex, he is mistaken. A wo earthly concerns reputation, like wealth, is not easy to preserve in Jonsons world, if the woman is a man. (Joel Schechter, Berkeley repertoire Theatre program, February 2000.) The Renaissance was a culture ample of negations. In this particular culture, women were for ced to be under the control of men, in the first place because they needed male protection. A perfect example is Celia in Volpone. This simile linking Celias sex-appeal with the appeal of golden: Bright as your gold ! And kind as your gold! do by Mosca whets Volpones interest in her, by comparing Volpones chief(prenominal) addiction (money) with her. Volpone have sexs the cunning purchase of his wealth more than the glad possession, so he willing as well enjoy the challenge of seducing a woman who is married and hard to get. A womans identity operator was by law integrate with the one of her male protector: Shes unbroken as warily as your gold Celia was under Corvinos control. She is kept shut up at home, guarded by spies. The inferiority women had enforced on them to be decent, silent, and respectful. As women were judged as world inferior to men, cross-dressing induced an distinguished change of status in society. If a woman affect to be a man in any aspect, she a ctually was assuming more rights than she was designated to. It was onl... If you requirement to get a full essay, order it on our website:

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