Essay Questions

What was a courtier?

A courtier refers to a person, man or female, who lives at the palace and serves the King and the Queen through various means. In the past, the term courtier referred almost exclusively at knights but as the time passed, anyone who made a living out of working for the King and Queen were called courtiers. Sometimes, courtiers were also soldiers under the rule of the King or ladies in waiting for the Queen and depending on their status, they were expected to follow the Queen and the King to wherever they were going. Because they were working in close proximity with royalty and thus the prospect of gaining favors from the royal couple was extremely high, the courtiers usually had the habit of praising their rulers, thus in time becoming knows as men and women who would say anything to please their King and Queen. Many courtiers saw themselves as being slaves to an extent, having no power over their life and having to listen to the King and the Queen no matter what.

Why do the men in the play claim they need to have their father’s permission before they enter a serious relationship with another woman?

During the time when the play was written, it was custom for parents to choose a partner they thought was suitable for their children. This selection process was based on financial aspects and more than often it represented the financial union of two families, without caring for the young people who were to get married. The children had no say in the matter and had to accept the partner chose for them, no matter what. Otherwise, the children risked losing their inheritance and being shunned out of the family by their own parents. Because of this, many men and women from that time were afraid to admit that they did not want to marry the person chosen for them. Instead, they kept quiet and thus were often trapped in loveless marriages they had to suffer through the rest of their lives.

If marriage was described in such bleak terms, why did many characters still wanted to get married as soon as possible?

In those times, marriage was something arranged by the parents of the children, long before the children knew the true meaning of marriage. It was common for girls and boys to be weed as soon as possible and to allow them to start a family on their own. Women were generally more eager to marry than men for a number of reasons. First of all, a woman who passed her prime, that is passed the age of 25, and was still unmarried, was labeled as being a spinster, or an old and undesirable woman who will never get married. Second, a daughter inherited less from her father’s fortune that a son and so, with no other source of income and with no jobs available for women, it was necessary for them to get married in order to have a comfortable life. Third, girls were usually seen as burdens for the family and as such, many tried to marry them off as quick as possible, preferably to a man from a higher social point than the woman. This also meant that the family of the young bride would have been taken care off and many daughters saw it as being their responsibility to get married quick. Because of this reasons, many girls and boys were keen to get married, even if that meant being trapped in a loveless marriage for the rest of their lives.