Tanna Windham
English 3-1A
January 12, 2014
Roles of Women in Elizabethan England Women in Elizabethan England had limited roles in their society. They were thought of as the weaker gender, both physically and emotionally, and always had someone looking after them if it was a brother, father, or if they were married, a husband. A women’s role during this era was to be true and loyal to her husband or men in their family. As the Scottish Protestant leader John Knox wrote, “Women in her greatest perfection was made to serve and obey man.”(Alchin, Linda) Women were expected to be housewives and mothers in Elizabethan England. Many of the families during this era had multiple children because childbearing was seen as an honor to women.
Due to constant pregnancies, Elizabethan women aged quickly during this era and keeping up a women’s nice appearance was very important at this time. Women would apply face make-up to give themselves a pale look, which was much desired in this era. Elizabethan women were forced to, by law, wear a series of different and heavy layers along with uncomfortable corsets. This appearance was important so that women were desired by men since it was a women’s job to marry. Most women married at such a young age as well. They were legal to be wed at the age of 12.
In Elizabethan England, women were not allowed to attend school or go to a university, but they were allowed to be educated at home by tutors. Many of the professions that men were allowed to work in, women were not. Women were not allowed to go into law, medicine, politics, etc., but they were allowed to work as domestic cooks and maids. They were also allowed to write, but only translations and religious works. Women were not allowed to act in plays. In Shakespeare’s plays, the roles of women were often played by young boys which was shown in the play within a play in Hamlet.
In Hamlet by Shakespeare, Ophelia conforms to
