Conventional stereotypical women in Shakespearean society were usually submissive and powerless. How do female characters in The Merchant of Venice defy that image? Compare and contrast to the women of the 21st century.
Answers
Answer:
Indeed this is a fact that in the time period which was described in Shakespeare's time was not considered modern.
Those women were said to be powerless and weak in nature, but in the work of The Merchant of Venice the characters are said to be strong,
How?
Explanation:
One of the characters is Portia who has the strength of loyalty towards her father and even though she honored the wishes of her father to marry the man who chooses the correct casket she still has a major role in Bassanio choosing the correct casket so that she can marry him.
In the story she dresses as a man and uses her strong will to manipulate situations.
She lives in a mans world still she doesn't give into Shylock's dealings but gets what she intended.
Jessica another character imposes her strong will by defying her father
Nerrisa's character doesn't does much because that character tends to play by what the laws of that time would allow.
In contrast some aspects match in regard to being strong to have the will of manipulation with that of women of the 21st century.
Explanation:
In Shakespearean society, women were treated as properties of men. They were owned by parents before marriage, and husband after marriage. But in Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare portrays three women Jessica, Portia, and Nerissa in a different light. Portia and Nerissa are friends who are mischievious, wealthy and beautiful, and are seen mocking men. Jessica is another girl who runs off from home to marry a Christian boy. Women in the 21st century are educated and independent, but still their life is considered to be incomplete without a husband. A girl would still think twice before running from home or marrying a man from another cast.