Gender Roles During Elizabethan Society
In Elizabethan times, gender roles were dominant in society. Women were
regarded as the weaker sex and were taught from birth to cook, clean, and do
similar tasks so they could marry and their husbands would be proud (Ram, Pham,
Sok, Hamsafar, and Wilhemsen, Gender Roles in Elizabethan Society. ). Women
were expected to bear children and take great pride in being mothers (Ram, Pham,
Sok, Hamsafar, and Wilhemsen, Gender Roles in Elizabethan Society. ). They had
few rights; they could not vote, choose a profession, receive an actual education,
join the army or navy, or generally provide for themselves (Ram, Pham, Sok,
Hamsafar, and Wilhemsen, Gender Roles in Elizabethan Society. ). Men, on the
other hand, were to provide for the women in their families, make all decisions, and
have ownership of the family s land and home (Ram, Pham, Sok, Hamsafar, and
Wilhemsen, Gender Roles in Elizabethan Society. ; Petit, A Look at Male Gender
Roles in Shakespeare s Renaissance. ).. The men could vote and all actors on stage
were men. In general, men had every advantage in that time period (Ram, Pham,
Sok, Hamsafar, and Wilhemsen, Gender Roles in Elizabethan Society. ; Petit, A
Look at Male Gender Roles in Shakespeare s Renaissance. ). During the Elizabethan
age, marriages were generally viewed as a business relationship than anything else
(Folger, 5). Marriages were arranged only to increase the wealth of the families
(Folger, 5). Women were expected to have a dowry for this