Isabella is the strongest female character in “Measure for Measure”. She debates with Angelo on an equal footing and is not undermined by his authority. His strength as a character comes from several sources; her chastity being one of the most significant. Isabella's chastity provides her with a tool that most of the other women in this play lack, since they have all been sexually dominated by men. Her status as a nun also helps Isabelle convince others of the accuracy of her beliefs since she can appropriate Christian doctrine as her own. Despite these two powers, it is his ability to manipulate two sets of laws, human and divine, and apply them to his advantage, that truly allows him to continue to participate in situations typically attributed to men. Ultimately, Isabella manages to achieve her goal without compromising her values, but ends up bowing to male authority, in her implicit acceptance of the Duke's marriage proposal. Regardless of the male-dominated conclusion, Isabella's powers of chastity, speech, and interpretation of the law allow her to advance as far in the plot as freeing her brother and debating with male authority, two events in which the participation of a woman was inconceivable in this context. period.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay One of Isabella's most unique characteristics is her chastity. She renounced sex life to become a nun of the religious order of Saint Clare. This decision elevates Isabelle's status in society due to the importance placed at that time on chastity as a symbol of purity and legitimacy of birth. “In a patriarchal society, men enjoy privileged authority, but, somewhat paradoxically, this authority depends on the chastity of women” (Baines, 286). When an unmarried woman is chaste, she guarantees the legitimacy of her children, thus ensuring the patriarchy of the family. The purity of blood ties was an important issue in Shakespeare's time and so it was the woman's responsibility to be chaste in order to preserve the family's honor as well as her own. The Duke illustrates this mentality by confessing Juliet and declaring her sexual propensity "a graver sin" (37, 29) than that of Claudio, who was also responsible for her pregnancy. Excessive sexual license in Vienna leads the Duke to enforce chastity through a law that places chastity above human life. The new valorization of chastity in Vienna increases respect for Isabella's chaste status in Viennese society; this is evidenced in Lucio's praise of her as "a thing made and holy, by your renunciation of an immortal spirit." (17, 34) Isabella's position as a nun also allows her to challenge Angelo by using Christian doctrine to defend her brother's life. life. Doctrine is one of the few elements of authority that even Angelo must obey, since God's laws apply to everyone, including those of the highest authority on earth. During Isabella's first meeting with Angelo, she condemns the ease with which Angelo judges others and attempts to dissuade his harsh judgment of Claudio by asking: "How would you be, if he, who is the summit of judgment, were to judge yourself as you are? " (33, 76) Here, Isabella tries to get Angelo to identify with Claudio by implying that even Angelo himself is not free from sin. This view of all humans as sinners and therefore unfit to pass judgment comesdirectly from the Christian proverb “let he who has not sinned cast the first stone”. Angelo cannot refute Isabella's imposition of religious doctrine and defends himself by citing earthly laws as responsible for his brother's condemnation. Isabelle distorts Christian law and interprets it to her advantage. Although her brother has committed the sin of premarital sex, she tries to convince Angelo that exonerating him "is no sin at all, but charity" (42, 63). After Angelo proposes the idea of 'a forced sin' to save Claudio's life, Isabella changes her perspective on Claudio's death and attempts to use a religious justification to excuse him from giving up his chastity. "incest to take one's life from the shame of one's own sister?" (53, 138) Here, Isabelle uses the definition of all Christians as brothers and sisters to transform Angelo's proposal into a societal sin, that of Incest This could also be interpreted on a more personal level, since Claudio takes advantage of Isabella's sex to induce Angelo to forgive her. In both cases, the use of incest, a sin in Christian doctrine, is placed. in evidence an exemplary model of Christian worship gives him the opportunity to use Christian doctrine as laws that reinforce and validate his actions and opinions. Isabella, although wanting to be part of the religious world, continues to value the norms imposed by Viennese society. She uses these norms as arguments to defend her brother, referring to the power of authority since “that of the captain is only an angry word, which in the soldier is pure blasphemy” (35, 130). Isabella focuses on the ability of authority to corrupt the laws of society to their advantage, a common practice in this era, but a taboo subject to discuss. Her separation from this world because of the convent allows her to break away from such matters without fear of reprisal, since she does not seek to marry and become part of Viennese society. She knows how much authority lies behind the laws and therefore questions Angelo about the legal possibilities of freeing her brother, "but could you not do it and not harm the world..." (32, 53) The question of bastardy, key to Viennese society, is also important for Isabella. “I would rather my brother die legally than my son be born illegally” (55, 187). Although Isabella seems willing to ignore society's judgment, which would sentence Claudio to death, the dishonor of giving birth to an illegitimate child outweighs her affection for her brother. This shows Isabella's true respect for upholding certain norms of Viennese society; she wants to be held in an exemplary position by this society and is not willing to sacrifice this status for her brother. Isabella uses both divine and human laws to justify herself, usually invalidating one set of laws to further validate the other. His decision to "live chaste and, brother, die: more than our brother is our chastity" (47, 183) constitutes an example of his use of religion to validate his chastity, while invalidating the moral law which would encourage him to sacrificing her chastity for Claudio's life. The nuns participate in a “marriage” with Christ; by giving herself to Angelo, Isabella would be giving up the opportunity to join the sisterhood. She would thus pollute his soul, which should be the purest element of his being. Isabella thinks “that it is better for a brother to die immediately, rather than for a sister, by redeeming him, to die forever” (44, 106). Isabella decided to raise the value of her soul above that of Claudio's body. This position could be considered hypocritical. If the purity of the soul was greater than that of thebody, by giving herself to Angelo Isabella, she would save her brother's body and not put his soul in danger. This act would be a sacrifice of his body, similar to the bodily sacrifice of Jesus, imposed by others, without the participation of his soul. Despite Isabelle's repeated allusions to the death of her soul, it is her fear of dishonor and rejection from divine and Viennese society that truly motivates her to reject Angelo's offer. Isabella also rejects a set of laws in order to further her goal when Mariana begs her to forgive Angelo, in order to prevent his death. Isabella persuades the Duke to exonerate Angelo by asserting that “thoughts are not subjects, intentions but simply thoughts” (106, 451). Since Angelo has not been successful in his attempt to have illicit sex. Isabella believes he should not be charged. This reasoning, although permitted in human law, where charges are mitigated if the actual act does not take place, is unacceptable by Christian standards. In the book of Matthew, Jesus tells his worshipers that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Therefore, Christianity condemns thought as strongly as action, but Isabella chooses to ignore it and convince the Duke using society's laws regarding guilt. Isabelle requires the support of a given set of laws to persuade the male characters of the accuracy of her statements, but she is willing to use divine and human laws interchangeably to achieve the desired result, keeping her chastity intact and his honor. of chastity as a rare value in Viennese society, Isabelle neither understands nor recognizes the attraction of men towards her. She chose to dedicate her life to God, and it is this “marriage” that she considers holy, and not the union between man and woman encouraged by society. She could be seen as fearful of men, desiring a "stricter restriction of brotherhood" (16, 4) and telling Lucio that "alas, I doubt my power" (19, 77) regarding his ability to convince Angelo. to free his brother. This could be a factor in Isabella's decision to join a convent; isolation from men would prevent her from suffering the dishonor so widespread among the majority of female characters in this play, subject to men. At the end of the play, Isabelle begins to understand the power she holds over men and defends Angelo by asserting that "a reasonable sincerity governed his actions until he looked at me" (105, 444) . She now recognizes the power of her beauty and chaste nature to influence the actions of men. Isabella's new understanding does not indicate her acquiescence to the societal union the Duke offers her, "what is mine is yours and what is yours is mine" (109, 535). . The unusual silence that ensues after the Duke's marriage proposal marks Isabella's displeasure with the idea of ​​marrying him. The Duke is responsible for saving his brother's life, which makes Isabella indebted to him. Her initial duty, that of preserving her chastity and devoting her life to God, will henceforth be neglected as Isabella is subject to the authority of the Duke. This moment marks one of the most significant changes in Isabella's personality. The impending loss of her chastity, a characteristic that increased her power and value, destroys Isabelle. She must now succumb to the authority of a man, the very idea she has fought against throughout the play. Marriage represents both a loss of chastity and worth for Isabella, who must reject her religious ideals and thus lower her status from a pure worshiper of God to that of an ordinary woman prostrating herself under authority..