Michael Gorski

ERH 321WX-01

Short Assignment on The Merchant of Venice

25 February 2015

Help Received: EasyBib to Cite

Part A.

Kaplan brings together five different beliefs concerning the treatment of women and protocol for marriage during the Shakespearian and early modern English time periods. She highlights the patriarchal idea of that dominated that culture through Juan Luis Vives, Thomas Becon, and Thomas Smith. This view that a woman was a man’s property and treated as lesser humans generally accepted in culture during this time period. This reveals itself in a practical way through the beliefs of Smith and Niccholes concerning marriage relationship. Kaplan also observes a radical view in the form of Cornelius Agrippa and Alexander Niccholes’ view on the treatment of women. During the early modern English time period these were accepted cultural ideas and Kaplan presents an all-encompassing grouping of evidence to display these concepts.

The first and most common cultural belief of early modern English viewed women as lesser creatures in comparison to men. The dynamic between men and women in society was one of dominance. The man was in charge of the household and made the decisions. Vives states several characteristics of a woman’s role in this culture and primary one being inferiority. “To Vives, women’s inferiority necessitates their subordination to fathers and husbands (Kaplan, 312).” Women were least respected members of society. Major components of Vives’ opinion were, “wife does not even own her body (312, Kaplan)” and necessitates “silence in the presence of others (Kaplan, 312).” Vives reflects the traditional Catholic teachings and opinions that have women imprisoned by their gender. Becon’s approach adheres to the stringent guidelines that Vives upholds. He represents the dominant view of culture during this time period. “Wives should stay at home, bear with their husband’s bad behaviors, and seek to hide and extenuate his flaws rather than reveal them with chiding (Kaplan, 312).” Becon’s views only differ slightly from the views of Vives, in that he believes the child, regardless of gender, should have consent when it applies to marriage. Even with minute differences, the opinions and beliefs of the both Vives and Becon reflect the culture’s attitude and treatment of women during the early modern English time period. This patriarchal mindset translates into the patriarchal view of marriage during the time period.

Kaplan mentions the protocol for marriage concerning the views of Smith. Smith advocated for a strong male role in the marriage and that woman’s property becomes the property of the man upon being wed. He also states that woman’s life be separate from the man’s public image. “Smith prescribes a strict separation of the wife’s private sphere from the husband’s public one, but he argues that the English woman’s lot compares favorably to that of her European sisters (Kaplan, 315).” Smith reflected the prominent cultural belief of this time period that women were beneath the man.

Kaplan also observes radical opinions that clash with the concept of male superiority. Agrippa’s view is that women are superior to men and does not conform to the mainstream cultural standard. Also, she observes another clashing opinion concerning male superiority, but was not uncommon during this time period is seen in the opinions of Niccholes concerning marriage. Niccholes argues against the shallowness of marriage and that men should be relentlessly pursuing their prospective wives. This was a common practice for a man to pour out gifts for this woman he was courting. Niccholes reveals a part of culture that is rarely viewed. The focus was on the patriarchal dominance and subordination of women, but men valued courtship and exhausted money, time, and effort into the process.

Kaplan analyzes the treatment of women in early modern England through the beliefs and opinions of five different authors. She highlights the most prevalent cultural idea of male superiority in the male and female relationship through the ideas of Becon and Vives. The patriarchal protocol for marriage is described in the opinions of Smith. She also brings to light the lesser-known and recognized aspects of culture. This is seen in her description Agrippa’s belief that women are superior to men. Niccholes’ opinions concerning marriage also highlight radical and unknown concepts. Overall, Kaplan highlights common belief that men were superior to women that dominated the culture of early modern England.

Part B.

            Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice challenges the cultural opinions and beliefs of his time period, early modern England, concerning women’s role and treatment in society. The common and prominent view of women was that they were subordinate to men. The man was the lead role in the relationship. Shakespeare questions this throughout the course of the play through two female characters, Jessica and Portia. Their actions and interactions with other characters challenge the male superiority and cultural customs that accompanied the patriarchal mindset. Shakespeare’s plays continuously challenge the main facets of cultural belief during his time period and The Merchant of Venice seeks to questions the notions of women’s role as lesser creatures in early modern England.

The first character that Shakespeare utilizes to confront the concept of a woman being submissive is Portia. There are several instances that would be viewed as controversial by the audiences of Shakespeare in early modern England. The first is when Portia disguises herself as a man to act as a lawyer to defend Antonio against Shylock. According to Kaplan’s mention and description of Stubbes’ view, a woman cross-dressing was viewed as trying to seize a man’s authority. To the people of early modern England, Shakespeare’s depiction of cross-dressing would shock his audience and shatter many cultural ideas. Not only did she cross-dress, she argued against the opinions of a man and proved him wrong. During this time period, women were not allowed to speak out in public. The man acted as the voice between his wife and the public and for Portia to speak openly in a court further shatters cultural barriers. Portia’s superior logic defeats Shylock and causes him to lose the case and forfeit money. This instance alone destroys multiple cultural notions and challenges patriarchal beliefs.

The second instance concerns Portia tricking Bassanio into giving her his ring. Portia is disguised as a man at this point in the play and undermines her husband’s authority very deceitfully. Women were required to submit fully to their husbands, but here Shakespeare challenges that notion. Portia is questioning Bassanio’s faith to their marriage and a woman questioning her husband was looked down upon during this time period. Shakespeare utilizes Portia and more specifically these two instances to challenge the status quo claiming that men are superior to women and women are the lesser creatures.

The second character that depicts the challenging of male superiority seen in The Merchant of Venice is Jessica. She blatantly disregards the authority of her father and disowns his beliefs, steals from him, and leaves to be a Christian man, Lorenzo. Not only was she a female, but also she is still an unmarried child in Shylock’s household. Culturally, this was viewed as disrespectful, because the parents more often than not chose the husband for their daughter. For her to make this decision and without her father’s consent is a major violation of mainstream ideas and is another instance of Shakespeare challenging the societal traditions man being superior to female.

Shakespeare’s plays were revolutionary during the early modern era in England. He always sought to challenge long established traditions. The Merchant of Venice challenges the cultural notion that women are lesser creatures and therefore below men in societal ranking. Through many female characters, Portia and Jessica to be very specific, he blatantly attacks these notions and challenges the crowd to rethink long-established tradition. The specific instances fore mentioned highlight the concept that Shakespeare was always questioning mainstream ideas and The Merchant of Venice challenges women’s treatment and societal role in early modern England heavily.

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William, and M. Lindsay. Kaplan. The Merchant of Venice: Texts and Contexts. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2002. Print.