Blurred Gender Lines And Elizabethan Fear Of Femininity

BLURRED GENDER LINES AND ELIZABETHAN FEAR OF FEMININITY IN SHAKESPEARE In the context of modern society, the concepts of gender are blurred due to an open approach on the subjects of masculinity, femininity and all that may lie in between. However, as William Shakespeare was writing within the Elizabethan era, the lines of being masculine and being feminine were clearly determined in society, yet the cross-dressing plots in Shakespeare’s As You Like It (1599) and The Merchant of Venice (1597) illustrate how even within this time period, the identity of gender were constantly being questioned. Rosalind and Portia demonstrate the concept of cross-dressing as both disguise themselves as men in their stories and in doing so, pose questions about the validity of femininity. In The Merchant of Venice and As You Like It, cross-dressing is central to both the complication and the resolution of the plots. It is strongly evident in these plays that in an Elizabethan, as well as a modern context, the concept of gender is not a definitive way to determine place in society. By analysing how early and modern culture define gender, how this then applies to the two plays and then relating it all back to a contemporary influence illustrates how there still is blurred gender lines evident in society. MODERN AND ELIZABETHAN THEORIES OF GENDER The modern theories towards gender is a more open interpretation to previous theories which believed in a clear distinction between sex and gender.