Throughout his comedies, Shakespeare allows his female characters to establish greater independence and freedom than would actually have been allowed for that period. This freedom is not necessarily a feminist action on Shakespeare's part, but primarily serves to disrupt the normal norms of society in order to create a comical situation. The very concept of feminist action was unknown in Shakespeare's time. Although its tragic heroines are more limited in their roles, it is the very nature of comic heroines stepping outside of their prescribed roles that allows comedy's unpredictable scenarios to occur. The first comedies present a more sober heroine than we see in later comedies; However, she is nonetheless the driving force behind the direction of her acting. The act of masking or disguising allows the comic heroine to express herself in a way that she would not be able to do if she did not hadn't pretended to be anyone other than herself. Under her mask, however, she retains her true identity. The comic heroine is not solely dependent on her male counterpart. In Shakespeare's festive comedies, there is a great dependence of the female characters on each other's friendship, which almost overshadows the male hero. Although Shakespeare used his comic heroines as a plot device, today they serve as examples of dynamic, independent women at a time when such a thing was barely imagined. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayThe heroines of Shakespeare's comedies act in ways that would be considered unseemly, inappropriate, or even vulgar in Shakespeare's time wrote them. He relied on this social upheaval to create the feeling of chaos that leads to comedy. When the chaos is resolved and the heroine is generally back in good social graces, the comedy ends. The possibility of betrayal in this world is very low. Women will not betray men, the comic world will not betray its chosen people, the playwright will not betray our expectations of a happy ending” (Bamber 21). No matter how chaotic the situation or the comic book heroine, we are assured that everything will resolve in a happy ending. The heroine will assume her place in society as a wife alongside the comic book hero, even if the hero is generally much less interesting than his female counterpart. The comic heroine does not always openly create discord. She has also been accused of using her sexuality as a form of societal disruption. A female character's supposed virginity and innocence can cause enough disruption to create a comical situation. Shakespeare's first comedy, The Taming of the Shrew, features a puzzling subject as its comic heroine. Katherine's role has divided today's readers into two factions. According to some, the play represents Shakespeare's misogynistic attitudes towards women. On the other hand, the play actually mocks misogyny, and Katherine remains in control of her independence throughout the text. John C. Bean, in his essay “Comic Structure and the Humanizing of Kate in The Taming of the Shrew,” argues the second view. He claims that Katherine's aggression at the beginning of the play is the misplaced element that creates the comedy; Yet, rather than being tamed or submissive by a domineering husband, Katherine learns to direct her fury into a form of joking or "play" that creates a relationship of equality between her and Petruchio (Bean 72). This newly subdued Katherine, Bean asserts, is no lessindependent as the Katherine of the first act; but by learning to direct her mind toward a socially acceptable form, she has ended the disruption she had caused in the first acts and allows the play to end with everything in its societal place. “If malice is a kind of rigidity, a behavior pattern locked in closed, predictable responses, then the chaos of the game is a liberating force, and Kate's initial bad mood is directly linked to her inability to accept it” ( Bean 72). Once Katherine understands her ability to perform, she is free to live blamelessly within the confines of society. The Merchant of Venice, another old comedy, features two slightly more independent female characters; although they are both still tied to their respective male oppressors. Jessica depends on her fiancé Lancelot to free her from her unfortunate situation as a Jew and make her a respectable Christian member of society. The character of Portia demonstrates a more independent heroine; however his life is still dominated by the stipulations of his deceased father. Jessica dares to go against her father's wishes by leaving him, stealing from him and marrying a Christian. Portia presides over her house of Belmont, but she does not neglect her father's wishes by simply choosing her own suitor. “Her will coincides with the terms of her father's will” (Bamber 117), and she is not obligated to choose her own will over her father's. Jessica's decision, while brave, does little to advance the plot. This reinforces the comic aspect of the play by further disrupting the social order of the Venetian world. In the end, it is Portia who becomes the stage manager of the play, taking charge at the end of the fourth act to save her husband's best friend. It once again eliminates the need to choose between maintaining social order through Antonio's death and letting the bad guy do whatever he wants and allowing the death of a respected figure in the community . “The course of the law is upheld and Antonio is saved; thanks to the comic heroine we can have it both ways” (Bamber 118). It is through Portia's decision to disguise herself as a man and enter the courtroom, a place that would not have been permitted to her as a woman, that the play manages to return to its original social order. It is through festive comedies that Shakespeare really lets his comic heroines shine; their character development is broader than Katherine's. “When the shrew challenges the social order, it reasserts itself in response; the comic heroine, on the other hand, comes into her own when and where the social order can be taken for granted” (Bamber 36). It is by taking the social order for granted that gives festive comedies their sense of play and cheerfulness. A Midsummer Night's Dream was written before the three traditionally accepted holiday comedies, but it shares more in common with them than with other earlier comedies. From the first act, scene one, Hermia decides to disobey her father and run away with the man she loves. She makes the choice that Portia was able to avoid in The Merchant of Venice. She chooses her own husband; she does not allow her father to choose for her, even though she must venture into the green world to make her desire come true. Helena completely upends social conventions by refusing to wait to be courted by a man. She knows she wants Demetrius and she pursues him completely and comically. It is because she breaks the social conventions of sitting quietly and waiting for a man to choose her that her pursuit of Demetrius becomes comical. The character of Titania is strong-willed without being capricious.The female heroine is best able to challenge the social order in the Green World, where chaos reigns supreme. Unlike the Green Worlds of other holiday comedies, in the Green World of A Midsummer Night's Dream, it is Oberon who plays the stage manager and controls the actions of the other characters. While Hermia and Helena ultimately succeed and receive the approval of Egeus and Theseus, Titania must ultimately submit to Oberon's rule after he mocks her by making her fall in love with Bottom. The three remaining party comedies feature strong, independent characters. comic heroines whose intentions and desires guide the course of their respective plays. Hero is the young and beautiful virgin from Much Ado About Nothing, but she is not the heroine of the comic strip. She is too passive, too accommodating; she is the recipient of the action of her play, and not the stage manager. Beatrice, with her wit, charm and commanding presence, confidently assumes the role of the comic heroine of this play. “Beatrice [is a woman] freed from her father, and [her] voice is that of the adult world, where Hero is still a child” (Dusinberre 96). Freed from any father figure, Beatrice also has the freedom to choose her own husband and reject such a royal suitor as the prince, while Hero was under orders from her father not to refuse the prince's offer of betrothal, if she was put in place. ahead. Beatrice has the same sharp tongue as Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew, and her uncle even calls her a shrew: “By my word, niece, you will never find a husband if you are so clever with your tongue. » (Shakespeare, Much 1397). Unlike Katherine, Beatrice is never punished for her insight, but rather is partnered with a man with as sharp a mind as she possesses. When Hero is slandered during his first marriage, Beatrice tasks Benedick with killing Claudio. Benedick initially refuses, but Beatrice manages to persuade him to change his mind with her words of fury and despair. “O God, I was a man! I would eat his heart in the market place,” (Shakespeare, Much 1429) cries Beatrice. As the heroines of later party comedies will understand, there are limits to being a woman. Beatrice cannot avenge Hero in her female form. Instead, she must persuade Benedick to act for her. Shakespeare gives his character enough verbal wit to finally persuade Benedick to agree to kill his friend. Beatrice may be limited in her actions, but she can manipulate with her words. Festive comedy As You Like It belongs entirely to comic heroine Rosalind. She takes the act of masking, a common comic element, to a new level by assuming not only the face but also the personality of the young man, Ganymede. Rosalind accepts her limitations as a woman in the same way as Beatrice; however, she does not depend on a man to carry out her projects. She simply assumes the identity of a man herself. This new identity frees Rosalind from the constraints of the court and allows her to move the play into the green world in order to achieve resolution (Claiborne Park 108). When she meets the object of her affections as Ganymede, she encourages him to court her as if Ganymede were Rosalind. In doing so, she is able to control how their relationship will ultimately take shape; she is not passive in her role as lover. She is the director of the play. Writer Claiborne Park states that "Rosalind's decisions control the unfolding of As You Like It, and it is through her that the four couples come together in the final wedding dance that...embodies for the audience the restored harmony that is the essence of Shakespearean comedy. (107).When the shepherdess Phoebe fallsIn love with Ganymede, Rosalind is able to manipulate the situation in such a way that Phoebe ends up marrying Silvius. Rosalind is also given the task of reciting the play's epilogue, which she recognizes is not typical of a female role. It is his strength of character that leads the audience to trust him enough to conclude the play. She resumed her role as a woman, submissive to her husband, although trained – by her – and social order was re-established. However, she manages to have the last word. The climax of the festive comedies features two intelligent and formidable heroines. Twelfth Night features Olivia, a countess subject to no constraints other than her own, and Viola, who is shipwrecked in an unknown city. Instead of accepting help from the ship's captain, she chooses to strike out on her own by assuming the identity of a man and enlisting the captain as her servant. Viola doesn't seem to enjoy her masking as much as Rosalind. The difference perhaps is that Rosalind, although disguised as Ganymede, was assured of Orlando's love, while Viola, disguised as Cesario, must convey messages of love from the man she desires to a another woman. Viola is the only heroine to be engaged in a duel and she bravely draws her sword, although she admits to the audience that she is afraid. “Pray that God defends me. One little thing would make me say how much I miss a man” (Shakespeare, Twelfth 1805). Olivia's character is strong, but she is overshadowed by Viola's spirit and tenacity. Olivia runs her household; she doesn't respond to her dead father or her brutal, living uncle. Olivia does not need to change sex to maintain her strength, but she masks herself with her mourning veil. She uses her brother's death as an excuse to avoid a marriage she does not favor, but abandons the ban when she falls in love with Cesario. She will only marry the one she chooses and she will not tolerate being courted by those who do not share her interest. Shakespeare devotes a significant portion of his later comedies to the close relationships between his female characters. Helena criticizes Hermia for mocking her pain after “all the advice they shared – / The sisters' wishes, the hours we spent” (Shakespeare, Midsummer 839). It is true that Hermia seems to abandon Helena as she flees the city with Lysander. The friendship in this previous piece only lasts as long as the love of the ideal man. When everyone is correctly matched, Helena and Hermia become friends again. Beatrice and Hero have such a close relationship that they sleep in the same bed. Hero knows Beatrice's nighttime habits, which include waking up laughing if she has an unpleasant dream. When Hero is slandered, Beatrice is enraged enough to demand Claudio's death. Rosalind and Celia “learned, played, ate together, / And wherever we went, like Juno's swans / We always remained coupled and inseparable” (Shakespeare, As You 1610). It is through these close relationships that the characters are free to truly express themselves. This expression is particularly important for Rosalind and Celia, hidden from the rest of the world. “In this open air, far from the court, where fathers laugh and let their daughters go, Ganymede and Aliena shape women's speech into a dynamic art form” (McKewin 123). Celia is the only person Rosalind can talk to about her love for Orlando while she is disguised as Ganymede. Shakespeare gave the heroines of his comedies strong voices and memorable personalities. They skillfully steal the spotlight from the unforgettable heroes; comedies belong to women. “Women are forced to police a world ruled by men, and the power of Shakespeare's heroines over the world., 1997. 1761-1821.