Shakespeare's female influences: his family and wife

 My focus of the last week or so has been the influence of Shakespeare's female relationships in his writing (in connection with my overall theme of Women and Shakespeare). I began by discussing his mother, Mary Shakespeare, and will now focus for a moment on his female relatives, and how they may have had an influence on the Bard, especially during childhood.


1. More Women than Men

The first thing that should be explained is that the world that William Shakespeare grew up in was not an overwhelmingly masculine one. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Says Phyllis Rackin, "Because most of the women in Shakespeare's family outlived their brothers and husbands, the family in which he grew up was actually predominantly female. In addition to numerous sisters and female cousins, Shakespeare had eight aunts, including one who outlived her husband" (33). It should also be noted that Mary Shakespeare also outlived her husband, like most of the other women in the Shakespeare family.

2. Financial and Legal Independence
As mentioned previously, women in Shakespeare's day were not as powerless as they might appear. For example, "Sixteenth century legal records show that the women in Shakespeare's family controlled considerable property both in land and in money. They also bequeathed property, served as executors of wills, and engaged in litigation designed to defend and further their financial interests" (Rackin, 33). 


Specific examples of women in Shakespeare's family who served as executors of the fathers' or husbands' wills were "Joan Hathaway, the stepmother of William Shakespeare's wife, and Margaret Sadler, the sister of his neighbor and lifelong friend Hamnet Sadler" (Rackin 33). 


3. Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway

Although not as many records remain of Shakespeare's wife as of his mother, we do know that she was an independent and financially secure woman. Since her parents had died before she was married, she inherited a sum of money from her father in his will. Also, since she was an orphan, we can assume that Anne made the choice to marry William independently, proving her ability to make decisions for herself. 


What we can gain form this general knowledge of Shakespeare's family is that throughout his life, he was surrounded by women who were independent and strong. After growing up in such a predominantly female society, it seems almost unthinkable that his upbringing did not in some way influence his writing. Since Shakespeare often wrote such self-sufficient and intelligent female characters, it appears that this is the case. 

Works Cited

Rackin, Phyllis. Shakespeare and Women. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print.