"A Man for All Seasons", by Robert Bolt 1500 word essay on the position/role of women in Robert Bolt's play "A Man for All Seasons"

In the play, A Man for All Seasons, by English playwright Robert Bolt, the female characters are all restricted to the role as wife, mother and lover. Bolt constructs them as being constricted and disempowered, but also as being strong, intelligent women, showing that he does not endorse the idea of women being restricted to these roles. A Man for all Seasons is set during Tudor England, and at the time it was standard practice for women to be treated as only a wife, mother or lover, and they were never expected to be much more. Alice and Margaret More, the two main female characters, are both set up as being typical Tudor women, and are the wife and daughter of the protagonist Sir Thomas More, respectively. Although their roles are typical of the era, they are both strong minded women, and Bolt's use of characterization causes the audience to feel sympathy and respect for these two women, demonstrating Bolts attitude towards their treatment.

Meet Alice

Sir Thomas More wearing the Collar of Esses as Lor...

English: Margaret Roper, née More. Eldest daughte...

Alice and Margaret More are the two main female characters in the play, and are both created as being strong, well rounded women. Bolt is sympathetic to their position as the domestic women, only allowed to cook, clean and care for their husband, or in Margaret's case, father, and later in the play, husband. Bolt creates the females in a way that shows the audience he sympathizes with them, and challenges the way they are treated by society. By creating them as being strong intelligent women, he creates a character the audience is impressed by, and therefore the audience sees that these women are capable of leading a much better life than they currently lead. Bolt creates a patriarchal society in which the women are forced to adhere to these roles, and the audience...