The women in Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost and Titus Andronicus play very different parts in their respective stories. The women in the two comedies have different roles, responsibilities and opportunities. Women in Titus Andronicus are rarely acknowledged by men; they are often complicit in Aaron's crimes. Love's Labor's Lost offers women more freedom; they are more intelligent and play an important role in the development of the plot. While there are some similarities, Shakespeare portrays and uses women very differently in Titus Andronicus and Love's Labour's Lost. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThe women of Titus Andronicus receive little respect. Lavinia has a tiny role in Titus Andronicus. It is used as an object in the work; he is simply there to advance the plot for the main characters, all male except Tamora. Like Lavinia, Tamora receives little respect or recognition for her actions in Titus Andronicus. Men dominate Titus Andronicus. Tamora is not an entirely one-dimensional character; seeks revenge on Titus for killing his son. She marries Saturninus as a way to gain power and ultimately avenge her son's death. Ultimately, though, it's Aaron who terrorizes Titus and his family the most. Tamora does some interesting things, but the male villain, Aaron, appears as the more active and more evil of the vengeful pair. Aaron also receives most of the credit for the play's tragedies; Marcus says: “An irreligious Moor, chief architect and conspirator of these troubles. The villain is alive in Titus' house” (Tit. V. iii 121-123). Although Tamora is an obviously evil character, Marcus prefers to place the blame on another man and, in a way, refuses to believe that a woman could act in such a heinous way. Lavinia, meanwhile, is objectified throughout Titus Andronicus. Tito's daughter makes no important decisions and only plays an important role when she is used by the men in the play. From the very beginning of her introduction as a character, Lavinia is an object that men lust after. Her beauty is remarkable, but the audience learns little about Lavinia beyond her exceptional physical characteristics. This one-dimensional view of Lavinia is seen when Bassianus says, “And she towards whom my thoughts are all humbled, gracious Lavinia, rich ornament of Rome” (Tit. I. i 51-52). His intelligence and skills go unnoticed and remain invisible throughout the show. She is further objectified when Demetrius says, "She is a woman, therefore she can be wooed, She is a woman, therefore she can be won" (Tit. I. i 82-83). Demetrius implies that there is nothing to Lavinia except her femininity, and she is only there to be won over by a suitor. Lavinia's only notable moments occur when she is raped and mutilated and when she later exposes the rapists. Lavinia serves little more than a support in Titus Andronicus. Lavinia suffers a fate worse than death (though even that comes eventually) in the play. Demetrius and Chiron rape Lavinia and as a result she becomes a social reject. She would have preferred to be killed rather than raped. Her society would have marginalized her once it was discovered that she had been raped. While Demetrius and Chiron would be legally punished for their crime, Lavinia would also face repercussions. Roman society dictates that a raped woman must kill herself or, in Lavinia's case, can be killed by her father. Roman society justified killing a rape victim, even though Lavinia was innocent and had been forcibly abused. Roman society, not Shakespeare,encouraged the death of rape victims. Shakespeare wasn't advocating his murder in Titus Andronicus, but it's intriguing that he used rape to further a plot. Lavinia leads a miserable life in the creepy comedy, a role that could have been played differently, without rape and death. The audience sees Lavinia only as a woman who is raped and has her hands and tongue cut off. Shakespeare maintains Roman cultural constructs in Titus Andronicus, but chooses to show some of the worst and most sexist parts of Roman society. The women in Titus Andronicus have many similarities and differences to the female characters in another Shakespeare play, Love's Labour's Lost. . Lavinia has almost no role and Tamora receives little recognition from her fellow male characters in Titus Andronicus, but the women in Love's Labour's Lost are central to the play's plot. The women of Love's Labour's Lost have more power and freedom than the women of Titus Andronicus, although they are still not considered equal to their male counterparts. The women of Love's Labour's Lost are treated with respect while very little consideration is given to those of Titus Andronicus. The women of Love's Labour's Lost, although still considered inferior to men, have far more importance and power than the women of Titus Andronicus. The main female characters of Love's Labour's Lost (the princess, Rosaline, Maria and Katherine), despite being beautiful women, display intelligence and wit throughout the play. Women successfully attempt to lure men away from their academic pursuits; they use their extraordinary beauty to gain a certain power over the king of Navarre and his men. Their ingenuity is also visible when women subsequently deceive their suitors by exchanging gifts received from men. The women in Love's Labour's Lost show much more character and intellect than the female characters in Titus Andronicus. While the women of Titus Andronicus could do little without men, the women of Love's Labour's Lost act entirely on their own initiative and do not rely on men to act for them and dominate the game. The princess recognizes the women's intelligence, saying, "We are wise girls to mock our lovers thus" (LLL V. ii 58) and Rosaline shows her power over Berowne, saying, "That same Berowne I will torture before go. Oh, if I knew that it is only in the week! How I would make him flatter, and beg, and seek, and wait for the season, and observe the times, and spend his prodigal genius in useless rhymes, and shape his service entirely to my heart's content and make me proud of those pranks! (LLL V. ii 60-66) The Princess, Rosaline, Maria and Katherine are given much more independence and power than Tamora and Lavinia female characters are significant, but there are also many notable similarities between the female characters of Titus Andronicus and Love's Labour's Lost The women of Love's Labour's Lost, despite having greater importance and better character development, are objectified in a way. similar to the women of Titus Andronicus. The princess and her friends are seen as objects that men desire. The king and his men immediately fall in love with women just for their looks. They seem to care little about women's personalities and interests. Members of the two groups spend very little time getting to know their counterparts. The men in Love's Labour's Lost are comparatively much more developed than the women. Each male character has a distinct personality and unique character. Even the minor male characters, such as Don Armado, seem to be more defined and characterized than the major and minor female characters. The,.