Almost everyone can recognize the saying, “the clock is ticking.” To anyone who hears it, it has a different meaning; be it because of the context of the phrase or the hour, it’s something that can be heard in a wide range of circumstances.
Often, it is an ominous phrase meant to tug at people’s fear of death. However, for many women, that saying is all too familiar when being referred to them. It is not a foreboding warning of demise but rather a patriarchal injunction about women’s worth.
“The clock is ticking,” your beauty will fade, and people will stop desiring you. You will lose your worth.
As I turn 20 this year, these whispers have been plaguing my thoughts as I realize, most simply, I’m getting older. Up until around the 20th century, I would have already been considered a spinster for being unmarried. Now, the marks of womanhood have become elusive, but the thoughts still stand.
This in itself sparked my spiral into comparing the roles of women in the Elizabethan era in England to modern Canada and the challenges of both; because identifying as a woman has, historically, never been easy.
Clothing
In the Elizabethan era, no matter the age, the clothing of noblewomen consisted of heavy brocade, long dresses with rigid skirts in the shape of a bell or cylinder embellished with intricate patterns and jewels, and supporting bodices. A multitude of differing neckline cuts, frills and feathered props often decorated the wealthy women, and children were dressed just like the adults.
Clothes were a show of status, like beautiful, parading peacocks. The commoners wore similar silhouettes and designs but much simpler in material and patterns. Regardless of who you were, however, showing too much skin was a scandal.
Today, women’s clothes are no longer one simply defined concept. Clothes consist of a variety of different fabrics, styles, backgrounds and meanings — being tied closer to identity than status. Gender itself can no longer be thought of as black and white, and neither can clothes. Whether to show skin or not to show skin is a question personal to each individual.
Interestingly enough, despite all the differences, judging others for their clothes is a practice that has persisted. Women will be shamed for not dressing to the societal standards of beauty or normalcy, and the older you get, the more you are judged. God forbid an adult woman dresses for their body and not for the eyes of the patriarchy. We may not have strict dress codes with tight dresses to suffocate us, but getting older means suffocating under the anxiety of how far to stray away from expectations.
Roles and Status
The roles and responsibilities of women in the Elizabethan era are roles that have stemmed from deep within European history and a misogynistic society built to serve men and only men — specifically the rich.
Education itself was a luxury, and rarely did girls get educated in the same way as men did. The role of women greatly depended on their status, and naturally, the status decided whether or not they’d be more than housewives or mothers. Spoiler alert: much more often than not, that was all their worth depended on.
In this era, women were considered to be weak, and it wasn’t anything new. They needed to be looked after. Whether by their husbands, fathers, brothers or other male relatives. Being in the professional fields of medicine, politics and law was forbidden, while if they had the education, working in literature was feasible. Typical jobs included of being a maid or a cook that didn’t require education and were always given to a commoner under the nobles.
Not surprised? Me neither. Even being an actor was thought of as dishonourable for women. In Shakespeare’s plays, the roles of girls were given to young boys.
The only exception to this was the titles of the crown. In all other circumstances, titles were passed down from father to son, but the crown could be passed down to a daughter. Hence the name “Elizabethan era.”
In the modern society of Canada, we no longer witness these restrictions on gender roles or restrictions of status. Women can be educated, and in fact, they are encouraged to above all else. Until, of course, they get criticized for not prioritizing family or children.
There are always those questions and comments on the tip of people’s tongues, dying to push these medieval standards onto women and push the heteronormative agenda — “When will you get married? When will you have children? No children? But they are a joy and part of being a woman!”
It really makes you wonder how far we’ve really come. These are stressful, poisoning thoughts that become more and more prominent as you turn 20.
Dating
This aspect is perhaps the most specific one of the three. In the Elizabethan era, as in many European countries and their colonies at the time, with Christianity or some branch of it being the dominant religion, purity culture prevailed and ruled over the status of women. No sex or any form of intimacy was allowed before marriage — it would ruin the girl’s value, and marriage wasn’t about love but gaining influence.
Women were pawns on a chessboard for their fathers or husbands and unfortunately, it was also the preferred state for them to be in. Single women could be suspected of being witches unless they were wealthy or were the Queen. On average, women were married between 17 and 21.
You may be thinking about all the progress we’ve made on this topic. Maybe feeling relieved things aren’t that way anymore, but I ask you to truly think and ask yourself how far we’ve really come. We are bombarded every day with commercials on women’s beauty, on how to be desirable and stay young.
There is pressure that comes with ageing. The pressure of being available and desired by men, whether or not that aligns with the woman’s inclinations; the pressure of being beautiful and datable, pure and perfect.
Turning 20 feels like entering a race you never wanted to be a part of in the first place.
The haunting ghosts of the Elizabethan era haven’t fully disappeared in this society built upon colonizer’s values. That is a fact that can be seen under the guidance of these three topics of comparing the Elizabethan woman and the modern woman in this western community.
The clock is always ticking.