Marriage in Elizabethan Times

because of your gender. Imagine having to marry a total stranger, meeting on the day of your wedding. This was life for most women in the Elizabethan Era. The roles of women in society today are much different from those in the Elizabethan Era, pertaining to social class, education, and marriage. It was normal for Elizabethan women to receive little education and were often only allowed to be housewives. In the Elizabethan Era, education wasn't a given for many of the women and girls. In order to be educated you had to meet certain requirements. A girl had to be from a noble or wealthy family to be taught, as "Elizabethan Women" explains. Even so, the girls were only taught music, dance, and a few languages. However, if a girl was not of a noble family she was to be taught by her family. Most of the things taught to them was by their mothers, and that wasn't much. Some things they learned were about how they inferior to men and where they were in the social class (Elizabethan Women). One of the only other things they learned was about how to be a good wife and take care of the house and kids. Social classes in the Elizabethan Era were very strict. Women were…

Literature is commonly viewed as a dramatic reflection of societal views and beliefs. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet illustrates a quarrel between two fighting families, both of which are ruled by men, with two starcrossed lovers forbidden to wed due to their family’s fighting. Traditional societal views, such as the belief that men dominated society and women should submit to their husbands, influenced gender roles in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. During the Elizabethan Era, men were…

The Elizabethan Era, also known as the reign of Queen Elizabeth, was considered the “golden age” of English history because it encompassed the English Renaissance, a movement that introduced literary and musical works. In addition to this, the English Reformation, a religious settlement between the Protestants and the Catholics, popularized the purpose of religion. Although the Elizabethan Era represented a modern age of artistic expression and innovation, courtship and marriage was simply…

many customs have changed, by either adapting in the different time periods, or changing completely. During Elizabethan times, marriages were arranged so that both families would benefit from the relationship. The age at which it was deemed legal for a person to get married has drastically changed as time has passed. Love was not a huge factor in a marriage, and a bride was required to give the groom and his family a dowry. After their marriage she would have to live her life subordinate to her…

I love you.” Elizabethan era love was once a beautiful; yet deadly mix of sin and impassionate love. Most of this misguided love, revolved around money, social class, and religion. (Mahabal 33) One could say that love back then was not like the fairy tales that Disney projects it to be today. Just like how today’s marriages are an exciting, and important time in a woman’s life, it was also back in the Elizabethan era, just in different concepts. Although in our present era woman are free to…

Ideal couple, gender and honour and marriage Hero and Claudio are very much the ideal couple in the Elizabethan period, hero a convention dutiful lady and Claudio a young Elizabethan lord who is romantic and falls in love at first sight. While Beatrice and Benedick do not follow the conventional courtly couple, who have views against love but ultimately falls in love in the end. Beatrice and Benedick would be seen as the ideal couple in a modern perspective, as Beatrice is independent and both…

Weddings during Elizabethan Times had many laws and customs surrounding them and a wedding service that is quite different from what occurs in modern day. Betrothals were the first step in a marriage: “At a betrothal, the two people join hands. He gives her a ring to be worn on the right hand. It changes to the left at the wedding.” (Ros1). A betrothal was like a contract for the bride and groom; however, a betrothal could be canceled by consent of both parties, so long as the marriage was not…

The roles of women in Elizabethan society were incredibly restrictive. The social constructs of Elizabethan society dictated that men were to be the breadwinners, whereas women were to be mothers and housewives. Childbearing was seen as a great honor to a woman as a child was a blessing from God, therefore women of the era took great pride in motherhood. Women, on average, would bear a child every two years—but due to the high infant mortality rate, families were not very large. Women could not…

Romeo and Juliet Essay Texts reflect the values of the context in which they are produced. Juliet, in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (1595), does not abide by the stereotypical values of women, from the Elizabethan era. Women had three main roles they could undertake in society; motherhood and being a wife, daughters or servants. Romeo and Juliet focuses a lot on the stereotypes of women in the Elizabethan era and how Juliet defies those values to be with Romeo. Romeo and Juliet looks at a few…

In the Elizabethan time period, weddings were a big part of the culture. They took place at a local church with a minister because it was a religious time period. Elizabethan weddings included many customs, people, and traditions; to make the wedding happen, a lot of planning, pre planning and preparations,were needed to make sure the wedding followed all the specific customs and so that it was legal. In an Elizabethan wedding the bride and groom had limited choice as to who and when they were…