In Shakespearean plays, female roles are consistently more complex than male ones and, although the protagonists are often men, the action is often directed by a woman. Although female characters are often perceived as having a definite aspect of cunning in their personalities, the deception that sometimes accompanies this cunning is used for causes that, arguably, are honorable both today and during the era in which women works were written. In the play "Measure for Measure", it is Isabella who sets the fast pace of the play when she approaches Angelo to talk about her brother's sentence, and it is Mariana who takes fate into her own hands when she agrees to trade places with Isabella in the play by Angelo. garden. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In "The Merchant of Venice", it is Jessica who steals Lorenzo and Shylock's money. Portia immediately decides to help her husband Bassanio when he takes leave to help his beloved friend Antonio. Women are represented in these plays in several ways at once; it's as if many colored spotlights illuminated them during a single performance. They are seen simultaneously in a sympathetic light, a noble light, an intelligent light, and a determined light. These points of view sometimes blur and create complicated and problematic characters, but generally offer a sense of verisimilitude that surpasses relatively simplistic male roles. One of these problematic characters is Mariana. Of course, she is hardly a central character in "Measure for Measure", not introduced until Act IV, scene 1, and then appears only briefly in two other scenes. On the surface, it seems like it's simply a convenient way to advance the plot. Once Mariana is introduced, Angelo reveals himself to be the villain he is, Claudio escapes death, Isabella remains a virgin and Mariana herself wins the man she desired. Although she ultimately helps "catch" the villain, and although she appears deceptively simple, Mariana is a rather complicated character. Like so many Shakespearean female characters, she has been wronged by a man and seeks justice by wronging Angelo in return. This contributes to the problematic ending, in which the only truly happy couple is Claudio and Juliet. Mariana's method of remedying the situation creates a sense of ambiguity regarding the very moral issues that the play seems designed to explore. Being the "solution" to many characters' problems, his dubious actions make a clear interpretation of the text difficult. On a deeper level, however, Mariana is a female hero. It deals with the unequal position of women in Shakespearean society. Although today's readers may find Mariana's methods problematic, she most likely elicited applause from women in Shakespeare's audience. Mariana loses her brother and her dowry at sea, and Angelo leaves her. She thus loses both of her male supports in a discouraging blow. It seems she is doomed to suffer in isolation, as most women in her situation would. Mariana, however, is determined to regain her rights and her lost lover, despite her misery. This is an admirable display of independence and tenacity. In the final scene, the chastened Angelo falls under her control and Mariana is able to overcome social conditions by saving Isabella's virginity and Claudio's life. Mariana isn't the only complex and layered female character in "Measure for Measure." While it is clear that Angelo wants nothing more than control and sexual power, Isabella is much more complicated and therefore more realistic. She is an innocent idealist andsexually repressed with a slightly twisted (if unconscious) desire for martyrdom. While the other residents of Vienna sit by and watch Claudio parade through the city as Angelo's trophy, and Claudio also makes no attempt to save his life, Isabella springs into action immediately upon hearing the news. From his convent he goes directly to Angelo to plead Claudio's cause. It is here, however, that his true mindset begins to reveal itself and we see that he is not as innocent as we have been led to believe. Although she is too innocent to grasp the implications behind Angelo's words when he asks her if she would like to "Surrender [her] body to such sweet impurity / Like her that [your brother] has stained?" (II.4.54-55), his response reveals a mind in which pain and sexuality are strangely mixed: If I were in terms of death, The impression of sharp whips I would wear like rubies, And I would undress myself to death as if a bed I was sick for a long time before I gave up my body to shame. (II.4.100-104)Although Isabella would rather suffer a terrible and agonizing death than give up her chastity, her language fails to indicate actual pain. It instead implies that a martyr's joy lies in suffering; his blood would be kept and shown to all, like rubies. The potentially masochistic meaning of the whipping is further reinforced by her choice of words: “passionate,” “undress,” and “bed” (which she desires). Here Isabella imagines that in her death as a martyr she would find all the sexual satisfaction that would be denied her if she entered a convent. When she consciously realizes the implications of Angelo, her response is unequivocal: she would rather give up her brother's life than give up her virginity. Although Isabella's decision may seem cold to a modern reader, readers of Shakespeare's era would empathize with her more easily. Giving yourself to Angelo would mean eternal damnation, and abstaining would only result in a clean death for your brother. It is extremely idealistic of Isabella, however, to assume that her brother will follow suit. His intelligence is revealed when he begins his conversation with Claudio by speaking humbly about Angelo so that Claudio can see the baseness of Angelo's request, saying that if his brother desired it, it would "...chain him to death. (III .1.66)"Isabella's sinister side is explored further when she reports to the Duke disguised as a friar, concealing the fact that she has planned to meet Angelo in his garden at night. Her tone suggests that she is, in fact, enjoying the masquerade: she expresses her amusement at Angelo's enthusiastic desire to show her "[the] way twice. (IV.1.38)" Likewise, she is satisfied with the fact who invented a waiting servant to explain the brevity of his visit. Like Mariana, Isabella is a savior of sorts. He takes matters into his own hands and, faced with failure, simply implements another plan. In this way Isabella increases the complexity of the work: there is really no response she can give to the Duke's proposal at the end of the play that does not alter the reader's feelings for her and seriously compromise her already questionable moral position. Rather than risk it, the play ends with the reader wondering what Shakespeare had in mind and leaves Isabella with her honor intact. He is a very realistic character, unsure of what he wants, but capable of hiding a few tricks up his sleeve. Isabella is portrayed as confused and a bit selfish, but, like Mariana, her heart is in the right place. In "The Merchant of Venice," the women's roles are equally layered. Females are complicated looking charactersimmediately what they want, without letting anything stand in their way. Jessica, Shylock's daughter, is an example of this. We learn in Act II, scene 3 how Jessica feels about her father: "Our house is hell, and you're a merry devil / You've robbed her of a little boredom. (II.3.2-3 )" Jessica begins her misdeeds as soon as her father is out of earshot, she gives Lancelot a letter to deliver to her secret love, Lorenzo, thus setting her plan in motion. Thus begins one of the many plots of the opera. Here, however, it is the male character who takes orders from a female character. Lorenzo tells Graziano and Salerio how Gessica "directed / How I will take her from her father's house" (II.4.29-30). In fact, Jessica is the torchbearer, the one who literally lights Lorenzo's path. Not only does she escape unwanted male protection, but she also overcomes the social assumption that the male leads the way in a relationship. Portia also leaps over this huge obstacle without batting an eyelid. We begin to see the depth of her character from the first time she is introduced, in Act I, Scene 2. While she may seem flawed at first, complaining about the many suitors seeking her hand, closer examination reveals her true character. Portia's suitors are judged not on the basis of wealth or possessions, but in terms of personal and moral qualities. However, despite her feelings for these men, she has no control over the selection. Her father's will determines her choice of husband. Portia's apparent centrality is revealed to be false during a series of transactions with the princes of Morocco and Aragon. In reality she is only an object of exchange, passing from her father's hands to those of a lucky suitor. It is only when Bassanio is chosen as her husband that Portia begins to exercise her power of manipulation, helping her overcome her position of weakness. Portia's gift of the ring to Bassanio is more significant than one might imagine. The ring is a visual sign of his vow of love and submission. It is a representation of Portia's acceptance of her new place in society, which is characterized by her subjugation, loss of legal rights, and her status as a "commodity." Furthermore, it indicates her place in a male-dominated hierarchy. Initially, this declaration of love appears to show Portia's acceptance of woman's place in such a system. It's only with her final disclaimer that we begin to see that she may not be tamed so easily. This ring, which when you part, lose or give away, let it be a harbinger of the ruin of your love, and be my advantage to exclaim over you. (III.2.171-174) The gift of her ring is the beginning of Portia's plan to gain control over her life after many years of oppression at the hands of her now deceased father. When Bassanio leaves for Venice to help his friend, he has no idea what to do, unlike his wife, who already has a plan in mind. Portia embodies the traditional woman when she promises Bassanio that in his absence she and Nerissa will live as "widows," and tells Lorenzo that they will leave for the convent immediately. This fits the conventional ideal of femininity of the time; Women were expected to be chaste, silent, and obedient. Portia first evokes the ideal of a true woman, and then transgresses it. She leaves for Venice dressed as a man, engages in a public discourse suited only to males, and, most significantly, actively participates in a trial. Portia practices a profession that depends on knowledge, logic, reasoning, and rhetoric, all areas of education not easily accessible to women. Exceeds woman's expectations,.