From Margins to Center: Female Protagonists in Shakespearean Select Tragedies

Abstract
In the Elizabethan era women are treated inferior to men, they are considered as a commodity
by the society. During the age, "Women are to be seen, and not heard" but Shakespeare's
women characters are intelligent and they play a crucial role to strengthen the plot. As John
Ruskin says "Shakespeare has no heroes; - he has only heroines". Especially in his major
tragedies Shakespeare treated heroes in the prime position while the heroines spin around the
heroes. They could never occupy the mainstream and they dwell in a secondary position. The
paper attempts to explore the female characters in the tragedies, Othello and in King Lear.
Desdemona in Othello is portrayed as being passive and subordinate. Meanwhile, Cordelia in
King Lear are depicted as lovable daughter in the play. The paper shifts the center from the
heroes to the heroines in the above-mentioned plays.
Keywords: Female Protagonist, Shakespeare, Tragedies. Margin