Let's take a quick step away from Germany and from Hamlet and look at something different for a while. In my other English class this semester we are currently reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, a novel, I will admit, I had not read before. Maybe it's the title or the fact that the author is a woman writing about a family of sisters, but it seems whenever this novel is mentioned it is discussed as a breakthrough work of feminism and of women's studies.
Because the protagonist, Jo, is such an independent woman through much of the novel, doing things that are not traditionally acceptable for women, such as writing and being at times the sole breadwinner for the family, this novel is often hailed as a progressive novel challenging traditional women's roles in society. Yet, as I read the novel I found an interesting similarity between the female characters in Little Women and the female characters in Shakespeare: they all end up either married or dead.
Specifically, I will compare two characters from Little Women, Jo and Beth, with two characters from Shakespeare, Katherine from Taming of the Shrew and Cordelia from King Lear.
Jo and Kate are indeed very similar characters. Both are headstrong, independent women who do not like to be dominated or controlled by men or the society in which they live. They take on roles that are not traditionally female: Kate as the shrew and Jo as the surrogate 'man of the house'.
And what happens to these two forward-thinking women? They end up 'tamed' and married. For all of their feminism, they conform to the societal norms and find themselves husbands.
Beth and Cordelia may seem like totally unrelated characters, but I see a similarity here. Both are believed to be the 'dutiful daughter', the perfect example of what women should be, obedient and rarely thinking of themselves. But where does this selflessness leave them? What is their reward for being 'good' women? They are both killed for their righteousness: Beth contracts scarlet fever while helping a poor, sick family, and Cordelia is killed for remaining loyal to King Lear.
So, what does this say about the role of women? In society can women be anything other than married or dead? Are these the only two options for a 'good' woman?
