Between the late 16th century and the mid-17th century, Europe had undergone transitory changes. From the beginning of criticism of the Catholic Church until the rise of the Enlightenment, Europe rejected hierarchical systems. Men and women were fed up with the hypocrisy of the Church, which used religion as a tool to control society. Women played an important role in society as their duties were mainly domestic. Men believed that women were unfit for leadership, yet women were often labeled as temptresses due to manipulative techniques that led men into sin. Therefore, women were only educated in housework, which made them ignorant and submissive. During Shakespeare's performance of The Tempest (1611), women were taking their first steps towards equality; fifty years later, Moliere's Truffle (1664-1669) represented a strong point for the women's movement. The perception of women changed in those years; in The Tempest the female character (Miranda) is portrayed as innocent and obedient, but in Tartuffe, the female characters (Dorine, Mariane and Elmire) are depicted as cunning and vocal. Since Shakespeare's work was written at the beginning of the 17th century, before The Woman gained complete credibility, the character Miranda is presented as a woman who ignores the cruelty of the world, a traditional woman of the 17th century. In other words, ignorance is a blessing to her as she needs her father (Prospero), a man, to protect her since Caliban, a slave, tries to possess her by force; “you tried to violate/ my son’s honor” (626). Since men consider women to be temptresses, the character Miranda has not even had sexual relations with her lover, Ferdinand; "you break her virginal knot in front of everything... in the middle of the paper... that rejection has made you intelligent, / It's little you know about [a] woman's heart, / Or what that heart is trying to convey / When he resists so weakly” says Elmire (239). The only way for Elmire to demonstrate Tartuffe's hypocrisy is through sex, unlike the Tempest in which Caliban tries to seduce Miranda by force women from the early 17th century to the late 17th century differ greatly as seen in Shakespeare's play, The Tempest and Moliere's Tartuffe; Miranda is characterized as a respectful individual towards her father, but has the strength to rebel against him at any time, meanwhile Dorine, Mariane, and Elmire are presented as intelligent and forthright as any man in the late 17th century. Works Cited Damrosch, David and David L. Pike, eds. PearsonEducation, 2009. Print