Women In The Elizabethan Era

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Notably, the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in England marked the start and end of the Elizabethan Era which occurred from 1558 to 1603. Many trends and stereotypes were influenced by the ‘Virgin Queen’ herself (Elizabethan Women, Unknown). In comparison to the Renaissance, the perception of ideal women during this time period was purely based on the representation of a wealthy woman. The women of this era aimed to become an exact duplicate of the wealthy women in their society (Patricia, 2015). The female face has proven to arise controversy over the importance of features to both men and women. A female in the Elizabethan Era would go extreme lengths in order to achieve things such as a pale complexion. A pale complexion was an illustration of …show more content…
Since women were in the constant stages of child-bearing during this time, birth was seen to take a harsh toll on the expectational bodies (Weatherly, 2004). The women in this era generally took it into their own hands to wear various geometric clothing in order to create the illusion of a “perfect, more defined body.” Predominately, the Elizabethan era differed from the Renaissance because the women refused to accept their natural body shapes (Beautifulwithbrains, 2010). To be seen as beautiful, women were expected to have thin waists, large hips, and uplifted breasts which are seemingly an impossible task for a female’s natural figure. Therefore, women often wore undergarments such as corsets in hopes of achieving a flatter upper body and shrunken waist (Riordan, 2004). Wearing a corset could be detrimental to the human body but societal expectations overcame that fear (Lucy’s Corsetry, Unknown). However, women also wore harmless hooped contraptions known as Farthingales (Riordan, 2004). This contraption was worn under dresses or skirts in order to give the illusion of larger hips. This trend was evident because females wanted to flaunt their ability to give birth which was important to men of that time period. (Elgin, 2005), During this era, fertility was also a huge factor in the perception of a perfect woman. Overall, it becomes evident that the expectations of
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