A Woman’s World, Not so Much
Throughout history women’s role in society has been
highly debated and deemed lower than that of men. Although this can be seen in many literary
works throughout time, it is particularly apparent in English literary works of
the sixteenth and seventeenth century. England set an interesting background to
explore the portrayal of women in its literary works because historically it
has gone through not only Kings but also its share of Queens. Considering these
authors’ exposure to higher female power their interpretation of women was
still negative. In literary works such
as, Lanval and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight women are conceived as
manipulative, seductive and malignant characters unless they are of
supernatural origin. In later literary works, such as the Duchess of Malfi and Twelfth
Night, there was a small shift in pushing women’s confined roles of
negativity, yet they still remained well under the rule and scrutiny of men.
In literary works, such as Lanval and Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight, where the primary subject was a man’s bravery, loyalty,
adventure women were written to be ones to try and destroy the man’s reputation
and test their chivalry. For example, in Lanval,
the queen tries to derail Lanval, who has shown to be a selfless and a man of
honor, when she reveals her fondness for the young kinsman, “Lanval, I have
shown you much honor/I have cherished you, and loved you. / You may have all my
love; / just tell me your desire/ I promise you my affection,” (263-267). Even
though she is a queen and should be of respectable actions she is made to be a
seductive, unfaithful woman who is willing to do anything to have Lanval’s
affection. However, when Lanval politely decline’s her bold offer she reacts by
turning into a vindictive fiend. Unable to accept that her manipulation and
seduction didn’t work on her beloved Lanval she replies in anger, “I am sure/
you don’t care for such pleasure;/ people have often told me you have no
interest in women,” (277-300). She
fabricates an explanation as to why Lanval has rejected her proposal. Probably
to make herself feel better, she suggests that Lanval does not “care for such
pleasure” of being with a woman; he must be gay to turn down the queen. Similarly,
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,
the queen seduces a young lad whose primary goal is to remain loyal to his
king. Even though, in this story, the king is the one behind the queen’s
seducing games, she is still seen as a temptress and negative character.
In both poems, and in other such poems, real life women were
portrayed as schemers, temptresses or revengeful women, if not all three,
unless the character originated from supernatural circumstances. For example,
in Lanval, the woman Lanval falls in
love with is a fairy. She is of fictional derivation, which may be the only reason
why she is depicted as a benevolent character. Although, a woman was the reason
for Lanval’s fall, it was a supernatural woman, fairy, who saved him. She goes
to the King and says, “I have loved one of your vassals […] He has been accused
in your court/ I don’t want him to suffer/ for what he said; you should know
that the queen was in the wrong,” (615-620). She saves Lanval by confronting
the king and confessing her love for Lanval to the court and unmasking the
queen’s lies. Had this been any other “normal” woman, the reaction may not have
been the same, but since she was a nonexistent fairy, who left all of the
characters in awe of her unimaginable beauty she was able to stand above
everyone else. This representation of women being evil in real life and only worthy
of being superior as a mystical creature is seen in many poems during this time
and really illustrates where women stood in society.
As time went on, the tone of women’s character began to
slightly change and although not fully equal to men, were at least depicted as
real life strong, semi-independent women in plays of the seventeenth century.
Great examples of improved female characters in literary work are many of the
plays William Shakespeare wrote. As Pamela S. Hammons writes in her article,
“The Gender Imagination of Property in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century
English Women’s Verse”, “Shakespeare represents the possibilities for early
modern women’s control over and ownership of property in his plays,” (Hammons, pg.
397). One excellent play to look at is Twelfth Night, in which, there are two
lead female characters that are bold in their choices and show to be brighter
than men at times. Olivia is a countess who has sworn off men after her
brother’s death, which most people think crazy, but shows a very independent
side to her character. Similarly, Viola, a lady, shows her independence from a
man’s rule by taking her destiny after a shipwreck into her own hands, “Conceal
me what I am […] I’ll serve this duke/ Thou shalt present me as a eunuch to
him,” (I.ii.51-54). Ironically, as independent as her actions may seem she
still ends up under a man’s rule because she decides to serve Orsino, the duke,
in disguise “as a eunuch.” Another short window of independence and keen action
on Olivia’s part is when she falls in love with Viola’s disguise, who is
supposed to be below Olivia’s social status. She tries everything to pursue
Viola, which is very bold of her, but like Viola is ironic to her initial
independent stance. She falls for a “man” and is consumed by trying to please
him, which is essentially what women were seen to be in society.
Furthermore, another female character in a different play
that pushes the negatively confined role of women is that of the Duchess in John
Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi. In
this play the Duchess is basically the only strong female character, who is
constantly trying to be shoved below her brother’s regime. Even though, her
brothers ultimately win over the Duchess’ independence and strong character
with her tragic death, the Duchess still manages to instill a few daring acts
to the audience. Though a widow, the
Duchess falls in love, much like our Countess Olivia, with a man who serves
below her social status, Antonio. Unconventionally, she is the one who takes
action in her desire to remarry. She surprises Antonio when she has everything
prepared, “Be not amazed; this woman’s of my counsel; / I have heard lawyers
say, a contract in a chamber […] is absolute marriage,” (II.i.177-179). After her brothers had strictly forbidden her
to remarry claiming it was immoral even though their true reasons were probably
solely monetary, the Duchess still went after what she wanted. She made her
marriage to Antonio as legit as it could be in those days by simply having a
witness, which was a woman of her counsel. She did not wait for her brother’s
to be accepting of her decisions she bared bravery and dignity. However, just
as a woman seems to gain independence from men rule (even if it is through a certain
rebellion) she is reminded she is simply a woman who can never be above a man’s
authority.
The struggle to push the confined roles women served in
society can be seen paralleled into the literary work of the time. Although
there wasn’t a huge breakthrough in the diminutive power women had, there was a
vast improvement where the authors at least explored the possibilities of women
shifting from their restricted roles of being temptresses and/or revengeful. By
the seventeenth century there was a more accepting set of writers, but also
audience for real life women actually displaying benevolent characteristics
without originating from a colorful imagination. Female characters were up
front and center making decisions about their own life and estate and even
though in the plays Twelfth Night and
The Duchess of Malfi the women still
withdraw to power of men either by love or force the advancement is still made.
This is a battle that women deal with even in today’s alleged equal society.
