the whole and accepting what that commonwealth had established as its form and its law. However, as Shakespeare's work demonstrates, what these particular responsibilities entailed was much in question during Elizabethan times.
Also significant to a reading of Romeo and Juliet that considers the laws and social norms of the Elizabethan Age is an understanding of the perception of women. During Shakespeare's time, attitudes about women were in transition. Shakespeare spent nearly all his adult life during the reign of the Elizabeth I, who must have influenced his view of women. In contradiction to the traditional view of the woman's role in society, Elizabeth proclaimed her public career as her identity and shunned the traditional role of wife.
Traditional sources defined love as obedience in a woman's relationship with her father or husband, while in progressive discussions companionship in marriage was emphasized, and the wife was called a friend and "helpmeet." According to historians, marriage in
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