Samarqand state institute of foreign languages faculty of english philology and translation studies mirzayeva ozoda

Dissertation presented to the faculty of the Graduate School of Yale University in candidacy for the
degree of doctor of philosophy), 1973, pp.5-6
wife’s honesty bring up the medieval idea of the woman as an object of temptation. Ford’s behavior represents the common male fear of being tricked by women, while Mistress Page and Mistress Ford represent the "perfect wife", respectful of and faithful to their husbands. The sexual charge in the comedy is also brought up by a feminine character: Mistress Quickly. She misunderstands other’s people words and hears sexual charged conversations were there are supposed to be none:²³
As an overview analysis, here genitive may suggests “genital”, as well as “Jenny”. “Case” is a slag word which means “vagina” and “hokum” has a really similar pronunciation to “whore”. There are many other examples that we could mention, but here the important fact is that the figure of the woman continues to be related to sexual connotations. Moreover, when the masculine character of Falstaff dresses up as a woman, we recognize a different pattern of sexual allusion within the play. Ford addresses a series of insults to whom he believes is an old woman: “ a witch, a quean, an old cozening quean” (4.2.149.The Merry Wives of Windsor. The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1997.). This sexual devaluation of a woman was common in those times. Old women were commonly considered as witches when they were not married, widowed or poor. Apart from this, the concept of travesties is introduced. In every Shakespeare’s representation on a stage, male actors disguised themselves as women to as we have already seen. Does it make any difference when it is within a play and not only on the stage? Why does Falstaff disguise himself as a woman? Maybe to hide behind a woman’s disguise was the only way he could avert.
To conclude, the character of Anne Page, is also a good example of the unimportance of the woman at the time of making decisions, and above all, in choosing a husband. In Shakespeare’s times women married the man her parents stated. Women had no say in the matter. As the play is a comedy, it has a happy ending and their parents
61 Shakespeare William, The Merchant of Venice
finally take notice of her will, so she marries the man she wants. Generally, this did not happen in real life. Women were considered as a mere instrument in social, politic and public life, as is clearly shown throughout Shakespearean works.²⁴
At first glance Shakespeare’s comedies seem to substantiate the view that during the Elizabethan period women’s and men’s espheres were strictly separated from each other. Men were the ones in power, the people who took all the important decisions, while the perfect woman had to be obedient and loyal to her husband/father, to trust his wisdom and ability to judge the situation rightly and then to take an accurate way of action. However, if we care to dig a bit deeper and go beyond the possibly deceitful surface, we realize that the picture of women as powerless and obedient creatures is far from being the whole truth. It cannot be denied that during Shakespeare’s times women were far from being equal to men and that this attitude is also reflected in many of Shakespeare’s works, which thrive with loving and loyal women such as Desdemona. Nevertheless, it would not be accurate either to deny that in some of Shakespeare’s works, women have the courage to take their fate into their own hands and subvert male authority, even if this occurs within a very limited space of action. The previous lines illustrate that Fenton has traditionally asked Anne’s father for her hand in marriage. Unsurprisingly for the Elizabethan time, Fenton’s financial interest swore a topic between him and Master Ford, who blamed Fenton of only being interested in Anne’s wealth. This belief gets even strengthened by Anne’s line ‘Maybe he tells you true.’ (III.4, l.11) in which she apparently also expresses some doubts about Fenton’s genuine feelings for her. However, Fenton manages to convince Anne as well as the audience that his intentions to marry her are not based on any financial prospects but on real love (cf. quotation on p.38). Fenton’s words strike the reader with their honesty as he admits that he was indeed
62 Shakespeare William, All’s Well that Ends Well
63 Wells Stanley, Shakespeare The Poet and His Plays, p.235
first interested in Anne’s wealth but he gradually fell in love with Master Page’s daughter. Fenton’s honest words also remove Anne’s remaining doubts and that is why she encourages her suitor to continue seeking her father’s consent for their marriage. Nevertheless, the question is inevitably raised if Anne genuinely loves Fenton or whether she is just willing to marry him because he seems to be a better choice than the suitors her parents have selected for her. Has Anne’s decision to marry Fenton really been taken out of love for him or out of rebellion against her parents, who are not willing to respect their daughter’s wishes? As a matter of fact, Anne is depicted as a rather strong young woman who wants to make her own decisions. She is also able to elaborate a precise plan which will eventually allow her to outsmart her parents in order to get her own will. This strong character trait is referred to in Fenton’s words to the host of the Garter in IV.6: Orsino’s words reveal that Olivia is perfectly capable of experiencing love. So far she has only had strong feelings of love for her brother but Orsino interprets her affection for her brother as a sign of her general ability to love someone. Thus, if she loved her brother so dearly, she will also be able one day to truly love another man. As a matter of fact, the love that Olivia experiences for Cesario helps her to gain more strength and to break free from her laming grief experienced after her brother’s death. In fact, Olivia’s character experiences an important change in the course of the play while her love for Cesario gradually grows. Viola alias Cesario has managed to win over Olivia’s heart. Consequently, Olivia’s grief has been replaced by infatuation which results in giving herself over to a certain shamelessness that is characteristic of this comedy. In some scenes she behaves in a very forward way like for example when she takes Cesario’s hand while they are talking to each other, an action which was very unusual for an Elizabethan noblewoman. All in all, Olivia’s growing love for Cesario
77 Shakespeare William, Measure for Measure
78 http://www.gradesaver.com/measure-for-measure/study-guide/section1/ [Date of access: 12-04-2012]
has a very positive influence on her as she forgets her grief and eventually breaks free from her hopeless position. However, her love for Cesario puts her into another difficult situation as it is not reciprocal. She can never be with him because he only exists as the disguise that Viola has taken on. Thus, although Olivia might feel better meanwhile, her initial problem is still not solved because she can still not be with the man she loves even if she no longer longs for her deceased brother to come back to her. As a conclusion, some of Shakespeare’s female protagonists cannot be with the men they have fallen in love with due to social or personal reasons. Moreover, the previous chapter has confirmed as well that the women in Shakespeare’s comedies are real fighters who do not simply accept their hopeless situations but who are mentally strong enough to fight in order to receive love. As far as friendship between Shakespeare’s female characters is concerned, one has to point out that Elizabethan women frequently had close bonds with each other because they were usually brought up together isolated from men. That is why most noble ladies were normally in the company of at least one lady in waiting. Ladies in waiting can be defined as ladies who lived at a royal court and who were expected to attend a queen, a princess or another high-ranking noblewoman. However, a lady in waiting was not exactly the same as a servant. She was rather regarded as a companion whose role consisted in advising the noble lady. In this context these relationships prove to be essential for an analysis of Shakespeare’s comic women trying to achieve more power and freedom. Relationships between a noble woman and her lady in waiting are represented in several of Shakespeare’s comedies. What is interesting is that the lady in waiting often gives advice but she is not necessarily listened to. This is for example the case of Julia and Lucetta in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. At the beginning of the play the audience witnesses a very tight and intimate bond between Julia and her waiting woman. Julia relies on Lucetta to give her advice on important
94 Shakespeare William, As you Like It.
topics. She even asks Lucetta with whom of her suitors she should fall in love. As a matter of fact, this is a type of question that you only ask somebody that you know well and that you trust completely. Consequently, Julia’s question can be interpreted as a sign of these women’s close relationship. When Julia asks if she should fall in love at all, Lucetta’s answer indicates that she is used to giving advice to Julia: Lucetta’s answer emphasizes that in her eyes rational love is better than passionate
love. One may wonder why Lucetta is so convinced of this idea. In fact, being a
waiting woman and belonging to an inferior social class has made her aware of the
practical nature of marriage. She knows that marriage can be compared to a business
transaction which does not respect a woman’s feelings. In Lucetta’s eyes falling in
love passionately is useless because eventually the woman has to accept the man that
was chosen for her. If by any chance, she has the choice between several suitors, it is advantageous to choose the man that offers the best financial prospects because in that case the woman can at least enjoy a certain financial stability even if she does not experience true love. It is obvious that Lucetta has a very realistic view of an
Elizabethan woman’s position in the marriage business as well as in her society in
general. Lucetta’s realistic attitude to life also becomes obvious when she tries to slow down Julia’s enthusiasm for Proteus’s infinite love for her.