Faculty of Arts and Humanities

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    The portrayal of women in selected Shakespearean plays : lessons for women emancipation activism in Uganda
    (Kyambogo University (Unpublished work), 2024-10) Tukamushaba, Denis
    This study set out to critically examine the relevance of Shakespearean works to the contemporary Ugandan setting by specifically examining the lessons that the Ugandan world could draw from the portrayal of women in selected plays by William Shakespeare. The major contention of the study was whether Shakespearean selected works adhere or deviate from the patriarchal stance of his time there by determine whether these selected works could inform the gender equality and women emancipation struggle of our time. The study had three specific objectives, namely: examination of Shakespeare’s presentation of Elizabethan women as victims of English patriarchy; analysis of the presentation of women as challengers of the oppressive English patriarchal norms; and identification of the key lessons that activists for women equality and emancipation in contemporary Ugandan society can draw from the bard’s depiction of women. The study used a qualitative research design and the analysis was informed by literary theories; sexual politics and reader response. The selected Shakespearean texts, included; King Lear, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar. The findings indicated instances of women oppressed by English patriarchal system. Contrary to the view that the Elizabethan and Jacobean society where Shakespeare lived was remote to the inception of feminism, a close reading of these texts reveal that there are Shakespearean women who dared to challenge certain English patriarchal norms that were very common during the reign of Elizabethan 1. In this way, the study contributes to critical scholarship that aims to bring to the fore such remarkable feminine exploits in a predominantly patriarchal society that always oppressed women and the lessons that could be drawn by contemporary Ugandan society. The findings also indicate that the selected texts represent Elizabethan women grappling with repressive patriarchal norms. The eventual protest offers vital lessons for activism, equality and emancipation of women in Uganda. As victims of English patriarchy, Elizabethan women grappled with untold male-centric violence and subjugation that impeded their socio-economic and political stature. The study recommends that given the numerous key lessons that can be drawn from Shakespearean drama texts in the quest for women equality and emancipation, Shakespearean drama should be a major component of the curriculum on Gender Studies in universities and other institutions of higher learning.