8-2HathawayEarlyLife&Education

Who was Anne Hathaway? //Answer Prepared By: Elka D.// Shakespeare is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time, his name synonymous with fine literature, but what about his wife? Who was Anne Hathaway? According to //Shakespeare: The World as a Stage// by Bill Bryson, there are few known documents about her birth or her life, however, we do know that she was much older than her spouse. It is thought that she was the daughter of Richard Hathaway, who had a daughter named Agnes Hathaway. These names were frequently interchanged so it is assumed that they are one person. The book goes on by saying that she was the eldest of seven children and lived with her family in a large farm-house in Shottery, about one mile from Stratford. There is little known about her life, but it is safe to assume that she was not educated and was illiterate.

Anne and William were married very young, with William being only 18. According to //Shakespeare: The World as a Stage//, her gravestone indicated that she was 67 at the time of her death in 1623, making her considerably older than her husband at the time of their marriage. There is absolutely nothing known about Anne and William’s relationship, whether they were inseparable or had a relationship of convenience. However, //Shakespeare’s Wife// by Germaine Greer states that William may have been in love with Anne Whately of Temple Grafton, but was forced to marry Anne Hathaway because she was carrying his child. There are no other known records of an Anne Whately, so researchers have decided that Ms. Whately never did exist. Even if this mysterious person truly is a fable, nothing more than a mistake, Anne Hathaway and William’s relationship situation is still very unknown, however he completely omitted Anne from his will.  In Elizabethan times, women were not educated and they were trained to run a household and “become skilled in all housewifely duties” says the website, __ William Shakespeare: The Complete Works.__ Any education would be for the sole purpose of training a girl to be a wife. It is believed that William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway were married at the Temple Grafton, however, it is also believed that William might have been in love with another woman but was forced to marry Anne because she was carrying his child. They soon had three children, Susanna the eldest daughter and Hamnet and Judith, twins. Anne was left to raising the children in Stratford while William became a successful poet in London. He occasionally went home to visit his wife and children. Anne lived a very sheltered life, and what also seems to be a lonely life, as her husband went on to become one of the greatest playwrights in history, and left her in the shadows.

Works Cited:

Bryson, Bill. //Shakespeare: The World As a Stage//. Eminent Lives, 2007. Print.

Greer, Germaine. //Shakespeare's Wife//. First Edition. New York City: HarperCollins Publishers, 2007. Print.

Thomas, Heather. "Elizabethan Women." //www.elizabethi.org/us//. March 19, 2009. 11 Apr 2009  Pressley, J.M.. "Elizabethan England." //www.bardweb.net//. February 18, 2009. Shakespeare Resource Center. 11 Apr 2009 .