Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Y. Garza
English II-7
April 6, 2015
The Roles in Two Eras
The typical role of a man and a woman, throughout time, hasnt changed drastically.
However, when you are comparing the Elizabethan time era with the eighties, there is one
main difference. The amount of power that was distributed between a man and a woman
was significant during the Elizabethan time era. Women finally got a more powerful role in the
eighties.
The expectations that society had of a woman in these time periods were very different.
The job of a typical wife in the Elizabethan age was to cook all the meals, clean everything, and
basically be her husbands servant (The Goode and the Badde). In this era, marriage was seen
as a type of exchange. As seen in The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, a woman
was expected to do as she was told or there would be negative consequences. A woman was only
educated up until the time she got married. This situation continued until change arose in the
1980s. By 1984, 49% of undergraduate college degrees were being awarded to women (The
1980s and Its Most Influential Women). There was a dramatic fifteen percent rise in ten years
for this conversion (DiscoverySchool.com). The role of a woman in this time was to be the
housewife, and the one that earned less money; often the stereotype of the Weaker spouse.
But, an example of a positive change that occurred in the eighties started with a woman named
Sally Ride. In 1983, she was the first woman to safely travel into space
As seen in The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, women were greatly
underestimated in various aspects of life. Throughout time men have begun to let women utilize
the strength that they have, thus learning and gaining respect. The role of a man in Shakespeares
time, as you can see wasnt much different. The workload of the man, around the house was
relatively less during the eighties. The women began to carry more of the load. The biggest
similarity in regards to the roles of men and women in both time periods is that both spouses
were expected to be completely loyal to his/her significant other no matter what.