Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus’s Titus Andronicus’s Women play very distinct roles in the respective stories. Women in both plays play different roles and have different responsibilities. In Titus Andronicus the women rarely get a look in from the male characters; they’re often seen as accessories to Aaron’s crimes. Love’s Labour’s Lost has more women who are intelligent and take on major roles. Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus portrays women very differently than Love’s Labour’s Lost.
Women in Titus Andronicus are treated with little respect. Lavinia is a minor character in Titus Andronicus. She’s used as a prop in the drama; her role is to keep the plot moving for the other major characters. All of them are men, with the exception being Tamora. Tamora’s actions in Titus Andronicus are not acknowledged or rewarded like Lavinia. Men dominate Titus Andronicus. Tamora does not have a monolithic character. She seeks revenge against Titus, who killed her child. She marries Saturninus for power and to avenge Titus’s death. Aaron is ultimately the one terrorizing Titus and Titus’s family. Aaron is more active than Tamora, and he appears as more evil. Aaron is credited with the tragedy of the play. Marcus refers to Aaron as an irreligious Moor who was the chief architect of all the woes. Titus is the house where the villain lives (Tit. V. iii 121-123). Marcus does not believe that Tamora can be such an evil person.
Lavinia is objectified in Titus Andronicus. Titus’s daughter plays a minor role and does not take any major decisions. She is only important when she’s used by men. Lavinia was a man’s object from her very first introduction. Lavinia is beautiful, but her audience knows little more about her than just the physical attributes. Bassianus shows this one-dimensional perspective of Lavinia by saying, “And gracious Lavinia Rome rich ornament. To her my thoughts humbled me all.” I. i 51-52). Her intelligence is not acknowledged and her skills remain hidden throughout the entire play. Demetrius’s statement, “She is female, therefore is subject to wooing, She is female, therefore is subject to winning” (Tit.) further objectifies her. I. i 82-83). Demetrius suggests that Lavinia is just a woman and is there for a suitor to win. Lavinia is only significant when she has been raped or mutilated. Lavinia is a mere prop in Titus Andronicus. Lavinia has a worse fate (although death does come) in the drama. Demetrius, Chiron and Lavinia rape Lavinia. She becomes socially rejected as a consequence. She would prefer to have been murdered than raped. After her rape was discovered, she would have been shunned by society. Lavinia, like Demetrius and Chiron had to deal with the consequences of their crimes. Roman society dictates a woman raped by a man must either commit suicide or be murdered. In Lavinia’s case, her father could kill her. Roman society justified a woman’s death despite Lavinia being innocent and abused. Shakespeare was not responsible for encouraging the deaths of rapes victims. Shakespeare didn’t advocate her murder, but it’s intriguing how he uses rape in Titus Andronicus to move the plot forward. Lavinia is miserable in this gruesome drama. The role could have been performed differently without the rape or death. Lavinia appears to the audience as a woman that is raped, has her tongue and hands severed. Shakespeare continues to use Roman cultural constructs for Titus Andronicus. However, he also chooses the worst aspects of Roman social structure.
Titus Andronicus’s women share many similarities with Love’s Labour’s Lost’s characters, and also have some significant differences. Lavinia, Tamora and the other male characters of Titus Andronicus play little or no part. However, the female characters of Love’s Labour’s Lost have a major role to play in the plot. Love’s Labour’s Lost’s woman have greater power and more freedom than Titus Andronicus’s women, despite not being considered equals. Love’s Labour’s Lost’s women are treated well, while Titus Andronicus’s women receive little respect. Love’s Labour’s Lost’s women are not only more powerful and important, but also less inferior than those of Titus Andronicus. Love’s Labour’s Lost’s main female characters (the Princess Rosaline Maria Katherine) are not only beautiful but also intelligent and witty. They use their beauty to gain power over King Navarre, his men and their men. It is evident that they are witty when they trick their suitors later by switching gifts. Love’s Labour’s Lost’s women have more intelligence and character than Titus Andronicus’s female characters.
Love’s Labour’s Lost is a play in which the women are completely independent and act without any help from the men. The Princess praises the women for their intelligence by saying, “We’re wise girls to mock your lovers so”(LLL V.ii 58). Rosaline also shows her strength over Berowne when she says, “That same Berowne ere I leave I’ll torture.” O I wish I had known that he was still in th’week! How would I makehim fawn! And beg! And seek! And wait for the season to come, and pay attention to the times? Spending his prodigal wits on bootless rhymes and forming his service according to my plan and making me proud with that joking. Rosaline Maria Katherine is given more freedom and power as compared to Tamora. There are many differences between these two sets of female characters, but also some similarities.
Despite their greater importance and more developed characters, the Love’s Labour’s Lost women are treated in a similar way to Titus Andronicus’ women. The men see the Princess as an object that they lust for. The women are instantly smitten by the men, purely because they look good. The women’s interests and personalities seem to be of little concern to them. Both groups are very quick to get to know each other. Love’s Labour’s Lost’s male characters are more developed in comparison to its female counterparts. Each male is characterized by a unique personality. Even minor male characters like Don Armado seem more characterized and defined than female characters of all kinds. Shakespeare spent more time in Love’s Labour’s Lost defining the male character, Ferdinand, than he did the female counterpart, Princess. Love’s Labours Lost is more progressive, even though it does not empower women for equality.
Love’s Labour’s Lost is a play written a few decades after Titus Andronicus. Women are not portrayed in the early work as mainly supporting characters but as major players. Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost could not be called a feminist piece, but he did devote significant time on the stage and many lines to women. Shakespeare and the other Elizabethan Period Authors provide an insight into the culture and social order of that period. Titus Andronicus & Love’s Labour’s Lost are examples of how the English viewed women. They objectified them and lusted after their beauty. Shakespeare’s women characters could only be played by men dressed as females. Shakespeare’s plays, both historically and literarically, show the disenfranchisement of women in 15th and16th century.
To create a more positive future, one must reflect on the past. The audience can learn how far modern society has come in terms of gender equality by looking at Shakespeare and the objectification that English society did to women. Modern views on women are more positive, empowering and optimistic. Women today have more rights than at Shakespeare’s day. The fight for equality has made great progress. By comparing the perspective of another person with the present, one can see the history from a different perspective. In addition, reading about past societies and works will encourage you to reflect on the modern world and identify what still needs to be accomplished. In order to prevent future generations from viewing Shakespeare’s male-dominated period as a time of disappointment and negativity, it is important to look at the society in which one lives. Women are more equal than men but still have fewer opportunities. The fight for gender equity is not over. It is up to the reader to use the knowledge gained from literature to better the world. Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus presents two views on women that are contrasting. In the earlier play, women’s contributions are not recognized and they are often viewed as unimportant. In the latter, women are considered to be inferior to males but they make a direct impact on the plot. They also act intelligently. Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus differs significantly from Love’s Labour’s Lost in the way women are portrayed and used.