8-4Hathaway

 WHO WAS SHAKESPEARE’S WIFE? WHAT WAS SHAKESPEARE’S RELATIONSHIP WITH HER LIKE? //Answer prepared by Nish K. // Anne Hathaway; not the astounding movie star, William Shakespeare's wife. According to www.pbs.org, she was born in 1556 and lived in a shottery that was within walking distance from Stratford, where Shakespeare lived. Anne shared the house with her brother following the death of both her parents. Hathaway was the eldest of the eight children that her father Richard had with his two wives. Hathaway is assumed to never attend school or learn how to read. Where she came from it was a mother's duty to manage the kids and be a skilled housewife. So she followed in the same footsteps that many of her friends did. Also where she came from it was a women's duty to marry and have children for the next generation. As always she obediently followed this rule and married Shakespeare. Hathaway remained compliant and always did everything that was expected from her. Anne died in 1623 at the age of sixty seven. She was buried next to Shakespeare in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford.

Anne Hathaway and William Shakespeare were said to meet somewhere between Stratford and Hathaway’s shottery. Since her shottery is within walking distance Hathaway must have visited the town and seen Shakespeare. No one really knows if Hathaway and Shakespeare fell in love or were forced to get marry, but they did marry. Shakespeare and Hathaway were granted a marriage license by the Bishop of Worcester and married at the Temple Grafton which was near to Stratford. Customary of women at her time she left her home at Hewland Farm to live with Shakespeare on Henley Street, Stratford. According to www.william-shakespeare.info after marriage, there was a time of separation between Hathaway and Shakespeare. Shakespeare was always away in London making a name for himself, while Hathaway was at home taking care of the children. According to www.pbs.org Shakespeare was "a man who believed that had Anne not come along and become pregnant, he might have done better?" This basically is saying that Shakespeare thinks he would have had a more prosperous career, had Anne Hathaway not come into his wife and became pregnant. Other opinions state that the only reason why Shakespeare was with Hathaway is because she provided him with the sexual passion that he desired. In his will, he left Hathaway "the second best bed..." Obviously Hathaway and Shakespeare did not share a very loving and fulfill marriage if all he left her when he died was the second best bed.

There was a big controversy concerning the legal documents of William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. According to __Shakespeare's Wife__ by Germaine Greer, on the marriage license of the couple it was written that Shakespeare was going to wed a woman name Anne Whateley of nearby Temple Griffin. Bill Bryson, the author of the book __Shakespeare__ believes that Anne Whateley never really existed. There has been hundreds of years of searching for Whateley and not even the tiniest record of her has been found. Bryson and many other historians believe that the clerk who wrote the license was not the most careful of spellers. According to __Shakespeare__ by Bryson "Elsewhere in the ledgers, in the same hand, scholars have found 'Barber' recorded as 'Baker', 'Edgcock' confused 'Elcock and 'Darby' put in place of 'Bradeley', so turning Hathaway into Whateley was by no means beyond his wayward capabilities." This is basically saying that clerks in the past have misspelled last names and that misspelling Hathaway into Whateley is not unrealistic. Other people and historians believe that Shakespeare might have been involved with two women. Some people believe that Shakespeare was intent on proposing marriage to Whateley, but was forced to marry Hathaway due to the fact that she was pregnant. There is no way this mystery can be solved because the actual marriage license is lost. What we do know is that when Shakespeare married, he was under the age of consent. Therefore he had to have his father agree to the marriage.

Works Cited "Anne Hathaway Biography." http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-anne-hathaway.htm. 7 Apr 2009 "Anne Hathaway."http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/players/player23.html//. 2003. MayaVision International. 7 Apr 2009//

Bryson, Bill. //Shakespeare//. 2. Great Britain: HarperPress, 2007.

//Greer, Germaine.// Shakespeare's Wife//. 1. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 2007.