Shakespeare’s Sister : Summary

Summary

Women were so neglected in the field of literary creation. They did not have the opportunity to enter the literary world as writers until the time of Virginia Woolf. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) addressed this plight of women by inventing a story about an imaginary sister of Shakespeare. This sister’s name was Judith (Originally, Shakespeare’s daughter was named Judith). Virginia Woolf was a short story writer, feminist, sociologist, and literary critic.

Shakespeare’s Sister is a persuasive essay. And here, not only in writing literature but also in social, political, economic, and psychological aspects, how women were left behind.

So Shakespeare’s Sister, (Shakespeare’s Sister) in this fictional essay mainly focuses on 2 things.

• Although Men were so advanced in the Elizabethan era, why did women lag behind in literature?
• Shakespeare’s story is told by creating a fictional sister. (Shakespeare’s creation of a fictional character shows what would have happened if he had a sister)

Although Men were so advanced in the Elizabethan era, why did women lag behind in literature?

Position of the Male: Virginia Woolf has shown that in the Elizabethan era, men were at the forefront of literary writing. Men who have never written literature in their lives have written at least one poem in their life. Many famous writers ruled literature during the Elizabethan era. But they were all men. Why is there no women’s literature in the Elizabethan era?  Did they write any literature? To know the answer to this, we need to know the family, social, political, economic, and literary position of women in the Elizabethan era.

Position of Woman: Queen Elizabeth herself ruled the whole of England even though she was a girl. And she was a patron of literature. That is why her period is recognized as the golden age of English literature. But even though Queen Elizabeth was a girl, she did nothing to advance women in society. Rather, male writers dominated everywhere. Again, in terms of position, women are shown at a lower level.

• God
• Male
• Woman

Position of women in literature: Women were highly glorified in literature during the Elizabethan era. They are shown as very intelligent, protagonists in literature. But none of their literary works were given prominence then. So, they published literature with men’s pseudonyms. George Eliot, Robert Galbraith, the Bronte sisters, Curer Bell, etc. They are encouraged to write literature. Barred from family. If anyone wrote any literature, she was criticized very badly, by male writers. Worst criticized, Oscar Browning. He said, “The most intelligent of women is inferior to the least intelligent of men”. That is, the point is that women are shown high in literature, but the position of women in society was exceptionally low. A writer who glorifies women in his writings dominates and devalues women in real life. 

Position of women in the family: At that time the position of women in the family was very fragile. Men were sent to school. But women were fooled and kept at home. They were not allowed to read any books except the royal family. They were even given in marriage at a very young age. Even then, if a woman went outside the family’s decision and started studying literature, she would have no place in the house. This essay shows the poor position of women in the family, through Shakespeare’s Imaginary Sister. If Shakespeare had a sister, how would she be? Could she be a writer like Shakespeare? Could she study like Shakespeare? Did she get freedom like Shakespeare? No, never? That is, here all the women of the Elizabethan era are presented as Shakespeare’s sisters.

Position of women in society: Women were highly neglected in Elizabethan society. They were harassed in various ways. Their writings were not read. Hence many of their literary works remain unpublished. which have been lost in the evolution of time. That is, even if a woman wrote any literature, she knew that it would never be well received by society. It will never be revealed. So a girl’s literary work in the Elizabethan era was limited to her diary. Again, the people of the society used to make bad gestures toward them. Critics interpreted them as the lowest class of creatures. This would make women lose interest in writing.

Position of women in politics: Queen Elizabeth herself was a powerful ruler during the Elizabethan era. But no other woman came to state power. They have no place in the important positions of the state. Everyone was under house arrest. The entire state was an open prison for women. Literature has shown women in various political positions and important positions of state. But in society, it was completely the opposite. There was no empowerment of women.

Economic status of women: At that time, the economic position of women was very dire. If the Men wanted, they would earn money by writing various literary works. If they were upset, they could go to different places. He could gain experience by seeing many things. But women did not have that chance. If their literature was badly criticized and they were upset, they could not go anywhere. They had no opportunity for employment and trade. However, if one went to work in the theatre, she would have to face various forms of physical harassment. Shakespeare’s Sister depicts Shakespeare’s fictional sister, who becomes pregnant by a theater manager and eventually commits suicide.

Shakespeare’s story is told by creating a fictional sister. (Shakespeare’s creation of a fictional character shows what would have happened if he had a sister)

This sister was born with the same talent as her brother. However, she was not allowed by her parents to attend grammar school with her brother or read the poetry of Ovid, Virgil, and Horace. When she read a few pages from her brother’s library, her parents asked her to mend stockings or mind stew and forbade her to rummage through books and papers.

She probably wrote some pages of literary works while sitting in Chilekotha. Then she hides them. And she was careful not to catch fire in them. She was to be betrothed to a neighboring wool stapler before she passed adolescence. They threatened to send her to a nunnery (to be a church nurse) if she objected. But the strength of her literary talent prompted her to run away from home. One summer night she was walking through the streets of London. She was only seventeen and had a voice like a songbird. Like her brother, she was gifted with lyricism (writing beautiful poetry) and theatre.

She stood at the door of various theaters and said that she wanted to act. The men laughed at her. A theater manager, Nick Green, laughed at such interest in her performance and said that a woman’s performance would be like a puppet dancing. But Nick Green felt sorry for her because she was young. But he waited for an opportunity and got Judith pregnant. Then Judith commits suicide in shame.

Finally some words: The sixteenth-century society in which Shakespeare lived was unfriendly, even hostile to female literary ambition. All the forces of law and custom conspired to suppress the genius of women at that time. Women did not have the right to education then. So Jane Austen, a woman writer, was fired the arrows of criticism. A very gifted girl, who tried to show her talent for poetry, was thwarted. This essay is considered a feminist essay. Virginia Woolf was one of the first women writers to address women’s issues in literature. Society stifled women in literature and life with many restrictions. If Shakespeare had a sister with the same originality and adventurous spirit, her parents and society would have silenced her. She was laughed at when she left the house to enter the theater world. The lives of Jane Austen, George Eliot, and the Brontë sisters reveal this. Literature had to be published under a male pseudonym. Even when a woman. (Shakespeare’s fictional sister Judith) challenged this status quo, costing her her life. So finally, Virginia Woolf said, a writer needs full freedom to express his talent.