CHALLENGE OR PERPETUATION OF GENDER STEROTYPING IN HAMLET, OTHELLO AND THE TAMING OF THE SHREW

Female characters in Shakespeare’s tragedies are portrayed as weak and feeble; however, a deeper reading of the text reveals that they are actually aware of their inferior position. All Shakespearean female characters are designed in such a way so that they fit into their social role, but what is also very significant is that Shakespeare gave hints of women who are not as fitting as they seemed. The purpose of this article is to look at a selected number of female characters in Shakespeare’s best known tragedies and his comedy The Taming of the Shrew in order to investigate his treatment of the female in the the patriarchal social context. This paper also aims at identifying the extent to which Shakespeare challenges the patriarchal gender stereotyping as a mode to criticize the same.