by Huma Rashid

Created on: February 04, 2008

The portrayal of women in the works of William Shakespeare is particularly worthy of discussion because it incorporates important social, religious, cultural, and political convictions of historical concern. Particularly worthy of emphasis are the plays "Romeo and Juliet," "Othello," and "Hamlet." The greatest common theme in the portrayal of women in Shakespeare's entire oeuvre is the theme of silence.

In "Romeo and Juliet," there are few women of note. There is Juliet, her nurse, and Juliet's mother. Juliet's mother is shown as a hard, disinterested woman that has very little influence over her daughter's life. She lives her own and only interacts with Juliet when she absolutely has to. The nursemaid is of far more interest, and can be viewed two ways depending on how one views Juliet. If Juliet is seen as a virginal princess that falls in love with her beloved Romeo and dreams of their idyllic future together having conquered all the odds against them, then the nursemaid can be seen as the one that corrupts her just as Romeo does, by filling her pure thoughts with images of sexual display and intercourse that hasten her to her final destination of womanhood. But if Juliet is seen as a child temptress that seduces the unwitting Romeo into a doomed romantic liaison, then the nursemaid becomes one of her victims as well, the hapless subordinate that is a pawn in her game and handles all of her dirty work. Neither the nursemaid or Juliet's mother have any real control over Juliet, and are thus silenced. And of course, Juliet after being a truly vocal character throughout the play, is silenced in death.

The theme of silence in relation to women also plays a key role in "Othello." Desdemona is the good, upright Christian wife of a Christian-convert Moor. She is sensible and intelligent and chaste, and Othello values her opinions and presence so much that he allows her to accompany him to Cypress where the Venetians battle the Turks. Desdemona and Othello have several conversations throughout the beginning and middle of the play, but once Othello's baser nature (ie, the repressed, violent, lusty Moor, a representation of his Islamic character) begins to take over, she is forced to recede to the background. Where she was once the agent of her destiny and her choices, she becomes the subject of Othello's choices as he accuses her of infidelity. Desdemona grows quieter and fades farther and farther back until she is finally silenced by her husband once and for all when

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