Shakespeare’s Women in Power
All illustrations on this page are from The Works of Shakespeare, edited by William Henley, published in Edinburgh, 1901-1904.
Shakespeare’s comedies, tragedies, and histories alike feature women in positions of power, often queens. Their nobility does not always translate into real personal power, but tracking the difference between personal, political, and superficial power leads to some new understandings of the Bard’s representations of powerful women.
Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra
Cleopatra was the empress of Egypt, and held a lot of power over her kingdom and in her personal life. She was often called “Egypt” because she was the embodiment of her country itself, as powerful as her civilization. Although her story ends with premature death, the way she dies expresses pride, self-control, and preservation; she kills herself in typical Roman general fashion rather than be captured. Her actions are more stereotypically masculine in nature than feminine, but she embraces her femininity as well. In this scene, she is clearly in command of herself and her surroundings. Her dress emphasizes her femininity even in the midst of a show of control that some may interpret as masculine.
Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Although Titania is queen of the fairies and has great sway and power over women, she has little to no control over her personal life; her husband Oberon manipulates her reality to prove a point, to exercise his power, and just to mess with her. This image emphasizes the ethereal, fairy side of her, which is the side that is probably least powerful - she is fooled by the magic of her fairy husband, and although here she is beautiful, this portrayal emphasizes one of her weaknesses rather than her power as queen.
Elizabeth in Richard III
Richard III is mostly about an evil man, murdering and lying to make his way to the throne. Elizabeth is one of few characters to go head to head with Richard and, to a degree, succeed. She uses intelligence and deception to outsmart Richard long enough to protect her young daughter from him. She fends off attacks from others while dealing with the intense grief over the death of her husband, King Edward IV. She shows great personal power even though she lacks political power.
Anne in Henry VIII
Shakespeare's Henry VIII includes one of the most famous divorces in history: that of Henry from Queen Katherine. Having rapidly gained the King's favor, Anne Bullen becomes Queen in Katherine's place. Anne, pictured here, rises to power due in large part to the machinations of Wolsey against Katherine.