In 1558, John Knox, a Scottish reformer, publicly put forth his misogynistic beliefs. He was strictly against women empowerment and firmly believed that God barred women from authority but in the same breath felt women, given their essential nature, would be incapable of following that authority and hence, would illegitimately usurp it.
Similar mindset is predominant in this Jacobean play where the female characters have no authority whatsoever and even when they try to break away from these shackles they fail miserably to transcend any boundaries.
Stereotypical role of the female characters, class-consciousness portrayed by the brother, Ferdinand and The Cardinal and the lack of faith in one's own family are the major talking points of this …show more content…
Not once does she feel the regret of doing what her brothers warned her against. Hence, she only substantiates her brothers' view towards her of being driven by lust. Further on in the play, her pregnancies further strengthen their view of her being an oversexed widow who has no respect for her family's reputation and customs.
brothers
Ferdinand and cardinal's motives, as suggested by Christy Desmet in “ In Another Country: Feminist Perspectives on Renaissance Drama”,suggest that the brothers “ build their argument on a litany of common female faults, because women are all driven by lust, widows who remarry are not far removed from whores. Naturally shameless, women also neglect their reputation and weak in both mind and will, they succumb easily to amorous advances and smooth tales of courtship”.
The Duchess' body was merely viewed as an object of trade whose ownership shifted from the father to the husband. But after the husband's demise she will be the possession of the male members of the family, both her body and off-springs.
Thus, Ferdinand and Cardinal feel that it is their duty to ensure her chastity by controlling the manner in which she uses her body- it's ability to produce off-springs- since it was considered that illegitimate children would decrease her
Similar mindset is predominant in this Jacobean play where the female characters have no authority whatsoever and even when they try to break away from these shackles they fail miserably to transcend any boundaries.
Stereotypical role of the female characters, class-consciousness portrayed by the brother, Ferdinand and The Cardinal and the lack of faith in one's own family are the major talking points of this …show more content…
Not once does she feel the regret of doing what her brothers warned her against. Hence, she only substantiates her brothers' view towards her of being driven by lust. Further on in the play, her pregnancies further strengthen their view of her being an oversexed widow who has no respect for her family's reputation and customs.
brothers
Ferdinand and cardinal's motives, as suggested by Christy Desmet in “ In Another Country: Feminist Perspectives on Renaissance Drama”,suggest that the brothers “ build their argument on a litany of common female faults, because women are all driven by lust, widows who remarry are not far removed from whores. Naturally shameless, women also neglect their reputation and weak in both mind and will, they succumb easily to amorous advances and smooth tales of courtship”.
The Duchess' body was merely viewed as an object of trade whose ownership shifted from the father to the husband. But after the husband's demise she will be the possession of the male members of the family, both her body and off-springs.
Thus, Ferdinand and Cardinal feel that it is their duty to ensure her chastity by controlling the manner in which she uses her body- it's ability to produce off-springs- since it was considered that illegitimate children would decrease her