Gender Roles and Rights in Love's Labour's Lost
Cristin Downs '03

When reading a Shakespearean play, many themes can be found and evaluated. These themes can be universally applied which is why Shakespeare is so appreciated hundreds of years after his death. One of the important themes that Shakespeare represents in his plays is the concept of gender roles. Gender roles involve how both men and women are treated by others and how this affects the individual or group. According to Gerlach, Almasy, and Daniel, not only does Shakespeare represent the Renaissance stereotypes of men and women, he also forces the contemporary critic to question these stereotypes (1). Brooke sees Shakespeare more as a paradox (102). He also believes that Shakespeare can focus attention by using "art by indirection" (Brooke 104). Shakespeare does this by focusing on several gender related issues, including: the aspects of gender, what is masculine versus what is feminine, the fact that both genders possess similar gender related behaviors and qualities at some points, the fact that we live in a patriarchy, the nature and the effect that roles can have on the lives of both men and women (Almasy et al. 1).

Several characteristics are looked for in the typical Renaissance man and woman. These characteristics for females include factors such as "obedience, silence, sexual chastity, piety, humility, constancy, and patience" (Almasy et al. 2). There are several classic female characters in Shakespearean plays. Some of these characters include Desdemona in Othello and Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet. In an effort to question Renaissance stereotypical beliefs, Shakespeare also gave certain males female characteristics and vice versa (Almasy et al. 3). An example of this would be the act of weeping by Laertes in Macbeth. After learning of the death of his sister Ophelia, Laertes openly weeps. Weeping and being emotional are actions that are characterized as feminine. Shakespeare compounds the situation for the reader by having Laertes say, "The woman will be out." His "tears represent his 'womanly' part that cannot be suppressed (or repressed) by his masculine strength" (Almasy et al. 5). Males are also represented in Renaissance society by a series of ideas. Males are believed to participate in politics (politicians, soldier, leader), to talk, to make decisions, to move events forward, to be bound by duty, to be aggressive, and to satisfy one's self (Almasy et al. 6). An example of this can be found in a popular comedy performed before the King (Gray 1). This comedy is Love's Labour's Lost, and the males in this play have characteristics similar to Renaissance male standards. The Prince and his friends are intellectuals who have made the decision to remove themselves from society for an extended period of time. During this time, they will study all areas from religion to politics. When it is first heard that the Princess of France and her entourage will be heading to the Prince's home, the gentlemen decide that they will send the women away, and that is all that can be done. The females in the play also begin following the standards set for Renaissance females. They do this by following the traditional passive roles that women are expected to play. The women are traveling around in a large group without much consideration for what could be going on in their native France. True to Shakespearean methods on presenting gender roles, Shakespeare also shows how males and females can reverse roles. The males are the ones who end up losing their sense to emotion after falling in love with the Princess and the other ladies. This is something that would normally be thought of in the context of a female. From that point on, the women take control of the situation. The women do this by plotting and scheming. They also anticipate how the men will respond in certain situations. This makes it easy for the women to trick the men in a variety of situations. The situation from this play shows how Shakespeare experiments with gender to question stereotypes.

Shakespeare's view on gender roles and rights were greatly representative of the whole Renaissance world. One un-authored poem written during the Renaissance helps to explain the issue facing men during the Renaissance. The poem describes how the persona wants to become a dog (Cohen and Wheeler 1). He sees the life of a dog as simpler than what he is doing now. By the end of the poem, the persona decides that he no longer wishes to become a dog. This is because he realizes how much freedom he has as a man (Cohen and Wheeler 1). This poem is interesting because it points out how men did not truly value their right to freedom under normal circumstances. By looking at Renaissance plays and literature, a critic can realize that women were far more aware of the opportunities given to men. In Shakespearean plays, women are given the chance to utilize the freedom that is given to men. The females do that in a variety of ways. In some plays, such as Twelfth Night, women turn to male clothing to get what they need done. This event takes place often in Shakespearean comedy. In Love's Labour's Lost, the females have a number of different of other ways to gain access to male freedom. One way the Princess and her entourage use male freedom is by having their male escort run errands for them. An example of a female having male characteristics in Shakespeare's every day society would be Queen Elizabeth. Queen Elizabeth was aware of the power of males and utilized her knowledge to keep the throne. Although it was a chief worry of male society members that Queen Elizabeth got married, she believed it would be far better if she stayed an unmarried Renaissance female prince. Elizabeth was also brilliant at playing up the angle of male and female. "In her famous speech to troops at Tilbury who had gathered for the landing of the Spanish Armada, Elizabeth said, 'I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king…I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field."(Almasy et al. 7). Through Shakespeare, Elizabeth shares her knowledge of dealing with a male dominated society with the female character in Shakespeare's plays, such as the Princess in Love's Labour's Lost.

By viewing Renaissance attitudes, situations, and stereotypes, a contemporary critic can realize the importance of Shakespeare's work on the gender issue. Shakespeare's plays can show current readers what was going on in society several hundred years ago. Perhaps a question that hits closer to current society's thinking is: What can Shakespeare tell me about today's society? This question is an important one to ask. During the Renaissance, women and men had definite roles that they were expected to live up to, but there was an overall observation that these roles were reversible. In an article in 1905, Henry Finck supports the idea that women are changing (464). He also states that these changes are evident in the new literature that was being produced in 1905 (464). The opening may strike the reader with questions about the changing women's rights movement that was occurring in the early twentieth century. Once reaching the thesis of this early 1905 magazine article, the reader becomes aware that the author is discussing the change in women's love relationships (464). Finck focuses on the insignificant question of whether or not women fall in love for wealth or do so blindly without much thought. Neither of these focuses on the real movement of women's rights that was beginning to formulate at the time. Both suggestions that he offers show a lack of understanding on the part of gender rights. In some cases, it seems that Shakespeare had a better handling on what should be offered men and women regarding gender human rights versus what they were currently offered than people that live hundreds of years later.

These experiments in gender rights tend to occur in comedies by Shakespeare that most often deal with gender issues in a comedic but serious manner. Love's Labour's Lost is said to be one of Shakespeare's most mature attempts at comedy (Gray 2). This play is said to be mature because it does not end happily, and has a more realistic ending. Typical Shakespearean comedies end with a wedding or series of weddings that help to return society back to being perfect. This does not happen in Love's Labour's Lost. Instead, the lovers do not get together at the end, and all parties have to deal with it.

Ultimately, gender and human rights is an important part to why we appreciate Shakespeare. In one respect, Shakespeare's plays give us a chance to see how gender rights have changed in the past several hundred years. In another respect, Shakespeare's plays allow us the chance to see where gender rights have remained rather stagnant. Most importantly, gender roles and rights in Shakespearean plays show people that there are no set gender roles. The breaking of gender codes is an important part to achieving a strong society. Hopefully as Shakespeare is continually taught in classrooms, people will continue to realize how he influences us to become aware of what is around us and how we can change it.


Works Cited
Almasy, Rudolph; Daniel, Rebecca; and Jeanne M. Gerlach. Revisiting Shakespeare and Gender. 2 Nov. 2000 .<http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/WILLA/fall96/gerlach. Html >

Brooke, Turner. "Shakespeare Apart." Yale Review. 22 Oct. 1921; 102-16.

Cohen, Jeffrey and Bonnie Wheeler, ed. Becoming Male in the Middle Ages. New York: Garland Publishing, 1997.

Finck, Henry T. "Love-Affairs of Heroines." Harper's Monthly Magazine. Feb. 1905; 464-67.

Gary, Terry A. The Great Globe. 1 Nov. 2000 .< http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/ Timeline/greatglobe.htm >

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