The Knight Of The Burning Pestle Gender Analysis

In Renaissance England, identity was considered to be a rigid concept; once one has been identified as something, there is little that could be done to change it due to the emphasis placed on class and gender; one’s identity was defined primarily by their gender, and then by their social status due to the notions of class and gender roles which pervaded Renaissance society. Masculinity was associated with chivalry, bravery, assertiveness and physical strength, whereas femininity was characterised by physical beauty, chastity, obedience, and submissiveness; these attributes allowed for the construction of gender roles, wherein males were considered to be the superior, active sex and females were considered to be the inferior passive sex. The …show more content…
In the Knight of the Burning Pestle, Ralph is the servant of a grocer called George and his wife Nell, who interrupt the ‘original’ play. Despite their status as grocer’s, they make their way to the stage to sit amongst the nobility, which was against the theatre etiquette of the period. Ralph, George’s apprentice, is fated to become a part of the on stage play at the behest of his master as the titular Knight of the Burning …show more content…
Although each play explores the impact of social class and gender on the individual separately, they can both be said to utilise comedy in order to explore various ideas about identity, which is exemplified with the characters of Rosalind and Ralph; Rosalind transcends typified gender roles which pervade her culture in order to articulate what she wants, whilst Ralph’s transgressive social mobility is the subject of ridicule, but simultaneously seems to raise questions about the class