The society of Ancient Rome was built by its first king Romulus in 754BC, and as the empire expanded, its culture flourished. Unfortunately within this culture featured unfair biases favoring men in society. Firstly, in the relationship, men and women were not equal. Of course, due to the misogynistic view of most of Rome, women were treated worse than men. The expression of masculinity was also an expectation of Roman society, something favorable over “womanly” qualities. Overall, men also had an advantage over woman in most ways, since they usually had the control over the woman in the family. In the play Julius Caesar, written by the famed Shakespeare, misogyny and gender expectations are featured in the words of Cassius and Portia (Brutus’s
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Shakespeare utilizes Brutus’ wife as a tool to exemplify the unfair gender roles established by Roman culture. According to Women as legal minors and their citizenship in Republican Rome, written by Aude Chatelard and Anne Stevens, “Ancient authors generally depicted women as a section of the population obliged to remain within the private sphere.” In Julius Caesar, written by Shakespeare, Portia seems to buy into the misogynistic viewpoint of the men around her, and stabs herself in the leg without flinching in order to prove to her husband that she deserves more respect. In this moment she says: “Think you I am no stronger than my sex, Being so father's and so husbanded? Tell me your counsels, I will not disclose ‘em. I have made strong proof of my constancy, giving myself a voluntary wound here, in my thigh. Can I bear that with patience, and not my husbands secrets?” (2.1.215-0315). One can infer from her words that she is aware of the gender roles she is confined to, and is aware that she doesn’t deserve to be disrespected the same way other women have been. By making Portia aware of this, Shakespeare can show this …show more content…
This expectation of men lies within the text of Julius Caesar. For example, in order to make Caesar seem womanly, a quality that was frowned upon in rulers, Cassius says this: “'Alas,' it cried 'Give me some drink, Titinius' as a sick girl. Ye gods, it doth amaze me, a man of such a feeble temper should so get the start of the majestic world and bear the palm alone.” (1.2.134-138) By referencing a time when Caesar fell sick and begged for water like a sick girl, making him seem like a weak and unfit ruler. Cassius then also says this: “For Romans now have thews and limbs like to their ancestors. But, woe the while, our fathers' minds are dead, and we are governed with our mothers' spirits. Our yoke and sufferance show us womanish.” (1.3.83-87) Here, he reflects upon Caesar's rule, speaking about how Caesar turned the Roman men into “womanish” entities. A journal article, Open City: An Introduction to Gender in Early Modern Rome by Elizabeth S. Cohen, addresses gender expectations like these. According to this article, men would have fear of not living up to these expectations, stating the following: “In a deeply hierarchical society, most men much of the time did not dominate those around them. This reminder has triggered interest in male anxiety, the fear of failing to live up to manly ideals.” This fear caused a fierce competition in the social
Shakespeare utilizes Brutus’ wife as a tool to exemplify the unfair gender roles established by Roman culture. According to Women as legal minors and their citizenship in Republican Rome, written by Aude Chatelard and Anne Stevens, “Ancient authors generally depicted women as a section of the population obliged to remain within the private sphere.” In Julius Caesar, written by Shakespeare, Portia seems to buy into the misogynistic viewpoint of the men around her, and stabs herself in the leg without flinching in order to prove to her husband that she deserves more respect. In this moment she says: “Think you I am no stronger than my sex, Being so father's and so husbanded? Tell me your counsels, I will not disclose ‘em. I have made strong proof of my constancy, giving myself a voluntary wound here, in my thigh. Can I bear that with patience, and not my husbands secrets?” (2.1.215-0315). One can infer from her words that she is aware of the gender roles she is confined to, and is aware that she doesn’t deserve to be disrespected the same way other women have been. By making Portia aware of this, Shakespeare can show this …show more content…
This expectation of men lies within the text of Julius Caesar. For example, in order to make Caesar seem womanly, a quality that was frowned upon in rulers, Cassius says this: “'Alas,' it cried 'Give me some drink, Titinius' as a sick girl. Ye gods, it doth amaze me, a man of such a feeble temper should so get the start of the majestic world and bear the palm alone.” (1.2.134-138) By referencing a time when Caesar fell sick and begged for water like a sick girl, making him seem like a weak and unfit ruler. Cassius then also says this: “For Romans now have thews and limbs like to their ancestors. But, woe the while, our fathers' minds are dead, and we are governed with our mothers' spirits. Our yoke and sufferance show us womanish.” (1.3.83-87) Here, he reflects upon Caesar's rule, speaking about how Caesar turned the Roman men into “womanish” entities. A journal article, Open City: An Introduction to Gender in Early Modern Rome by Elizabeth S. Cohen, addresses gender expectations like these. According to this article, men would have fear of not living up to these expectations, stating the following: “In a deeply hierarchical society, most men much of the time did not dominate those around them. This reminder has triggered interest in male anxiety, the fear of failing to live up to manly ideals.” This fear caused a fierce competition in the social