Cristina Okoniewski

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

(DiscoverySchool.com). An opportunity like this wouldnt have even been something a

woman could even have dreamt of in the Elizabethan time era.
The role of a man in the Elizabethan time era versus the nineteen eighties is a completely
different story than that of women. In the time of Shakespeare, the husband of the daughter
always inherited the land and property that the family lived on (A look at male gender roles in
Shakespeares Renaissance). This clearly wasnt the case in the eighties. However, one
common aspect between the lives of a man in both times is that they were expected to be the
decision makers and the politicians (A look at male gender roles in Shakespeares
Renaissance). By politicians, it means that the men were the ones that were in charge.
Regardless of what era you were to look at, a man has and always will be expected to take care
of and protect his family. However, in just these two time periods the men always had to be the
stronger more resilient spouse for his family.
This last paragraph is going to compare and contrast the way that women and men in both
eras were treated unequally and how they started changing that. In the Elizabethan time, women
were more often than not unable to have jobs. Even in 1988, women were still paid at least 32%
less than men (The 1980s and Its Most Influential Women). But, men and women began to
work better together in the eighties. A prime example of this was in 1981when President Reagan
appointed Sandra Day OConner to be the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court (The 1980s
and Its Most Influential Women). Men discovered that women too had a lot to offer not only in
the house but in business. On a different note, in Shakespeares time, if I woman verbalized her
opinion and she didnt agree with her spouse, there would once again be negative consequences.
An Unquiet Woman is the misery of a man (Goode and the Badde). Also, during the
eighties women were able to vote. Their opinion began to matter.

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.