Feminist Reading of the Tempest

Miranda’s character is used to represent the ideal woman of Elizabethan society. She is referred to as a “goddess” as is characterized as beautiful, naïve and innocent. She further exemplifies the ideal woman by being a virgin, as such a characteristic is exemplified by Ferdinand’s comment “O, if a virgin,

and your affection not gone forth, I’ll make you the Queen of Naples.” In association with Miranda’s character, the other female characters within the play are used to illustrate the desirability of Miranda. Submission and obedience further epitomize the ideal woman, as demonstrated in Sebastian’s reference to Claribel, the daughter of the King, Alonso “weighed between loathness and obedience”. Miranda is both submissive and obedient, as demonstrated in her actions towards her father; “Here cease more questions. Thou art inclined to sleep…I know thou canst not choose. Miranda Sleeps” Miranda’s mother “was a piece of virtue”, thus demonstrating the importance of women as both mothers and being virtuous. Caliban’s mother Sycorax however, is used in contrast with Miranda’s character to enhance the representation of Miranda as the ideal woman. Unlike the other women within the play, Sycorax challenges the stereotypes of women, by being a “blue-eyed hag was hither brought with child”. Her character further enforces the desirability of chastity and beauty, by her being condemned for such qualities. Sycorax is furthermore used in contrast with the other female roles within the plays, as she is also a witch and thus possesses great power. As Sycorax’s qualities are used in contrast to the ideal female, the power she possesses demonstrates the ideology that women were to be innocent and powerless, and thus submissive to males. Such characteristics expected of women of earlier times, can not only be interpreted as ‘ideal’, but also can be seen as sexist and derogatory from alternative perspectives.

As a Feminist’s understanding of The Tempest is able to use the representations of gender within Elizabethan society to compare and understand how the expectations and stereotypes of women have progressed over the years. The Tempest illustrates the importance of beauty as a characteristic of women within the 16 and 17th Centuries. Today, there is still harsh judgment placed upon women based upon their physical appearance, yet we are now far more accepting of those who aren’t considered ‘beautiful’. Women are not generally expected to be either submissive or obedient towards males today, whereas instead they are encouraged to be self-assured and forwards in their thinking and ideas. In today’s society, women are no longer regarded as having no worth or value if they are to lose their virginity before marriage, however sexist predispositions are still prevalent. A woman who has slept with many men is generally considered a ‘whore’ whilst a man is labeled a ‘stud’. This serves to illustrate the lack of progression in some aspects of society’s expectatio

Some topics in this essay:
Sleeps” Miranda’s, Duke Milan, England Feminist’s, Shakespeare’s Tempest, Tempest Prospero’s, Prosper Ferdinand, Claribel Miranda, Centuries Miranda’s, King Alonso, Ariel Caliban, ideal woman, inferiority women, women elizabethan, social expectations, feminist’s perspective, expectations stereotypes, expectations placed, placed women, elizabethan society, expectations placed women, perspective identify, woman elizabethan society, women elizabethan times, play written male’s, miranda ideal woman,