Woolf

The expected role of women in Shakespeare’s time was to basically sit around, look pretty, and not say much. It seems like women at this time were more like property than an actual human being. Men had the right to abuse their wives, physically, mentally, and emotionally if they did not comply with them. Virginia Woolf talks about how young girls, who were barely teenagers, were married off at 13 and 14 years old to men who were older than them. Not only was that bad enough, but they could not even choose the man they married. The father chose the husband and that was it. The girl had no say in whether or not she loved the man or even liked the man. The bottom line was that she had to marry him because her father commanded her to do so. It is hard to believe that this was something that consumed women’s life at one point in time. They really had no rights at all. A woman was basically around just to provide a man with children and be his arm candy. She didn’t have any actual reason to be around besides that. It is also hard to believe that this is what the women at this time were used to. It was the only way of life they knew. In a time like todays, most fathers would be appalled if his daughter’s husband was abusing her in any kind of way. A father should always approve of his daughter’s choice in marriage, but should never decide for her. Yes, some inequalities still exist in today’s society, but generally nothing of this sort.