We talked briefly in class on Monday about the ways in which this text introduces the layer of gender in 1500s-1600s Europe that previous texts have not covered. Before reading “The Tempest,” we have come across both female and male “New World” natives; yet, the Europeans in these texts have primarily been men. Interestingly, though “The Tempest” has female characters, these characters notably lack a tangible presence in the story. Prospero’s wife and Miranda’s mother for example, is barely mentioned–Prospero discusses her briefly as a “piece of virtue” as he sets up the story of the betrayal that left them on the island. Sycorax, the mother of Caliban, ruled the island before Prospero arrived, yet, like Miranda’s mother, seems to have been long-dead before the play takes place. Despite Sycorax’s importance to the background and plot of the play, she thus does not assert any sort of firsthand power in the play. The only female character that actually sets foot on stage is Miranda, and, as we talked about in class, she is immediately positioned as Prospero’s subordinate. For twelve years, she has been in the dark about how she and her father even arrived on the island.  Shakespeare’s interesting “portrayal of omission” of women in the story left me wondering what his goal was.