Shakespeare's Presentation of the Female Character in the Taming of the Shrew

A principal theme throughout Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew is the battle of the sexes. The battle primarily focuses on the relationship between Petruchio and Katherine, otherwise known as Kate. They each struggle for supremacy in a classic confrontation between male and female until Kate succumbs to Petruchio's dominance for the first time during Act IV, Scene V when she states "What you will have it named, even that it is. And so it shall be so for Katherine." In this first act of deference to her husband it remains unclear if Kate simply decides to play along and behave as the traditional Elizabethan wife so they can continue on their travels, or if she has an epiphany and realizes her preordained role in the traditional

Kate has found that her responses to her situation have not made her situation better. She can't act out now like she did when she lived with her father. At the end of the play, she obeys Petruchio and even gives the other wives a scolding speech, preaching the belief that their husbands are to be their lords and their life. The reversal of Kate’s personality is paved by Christopher Sly’s story and his identity transformation. The transformation in Sly’s identity presents the idea of appearance becoming reality while leading the way for the complete identity reversal Kate has from being a headstrong shrew to an all obedient wife at the end of the play. This wasn't done by breaking her wit and will. Petruchio didn't break or tame her, he used her honesty, integrity, and straightforwardness to his advantage. Petruchio was never once physically violent but he did deprive Kate of her basic necessities until she bent to his will, in the name of love. They become fitting of the patriarchal ideals of their time but not once does Kate show signs of being weak. She uses the ability to be strong in a way that she needs to be. The scene when Kate finally agrees to play along with Petruchio’s game of make-believe, when she knows for certain that what he is saying isn't true, suggest that Kate doesn't really believe what she is saying. She is just telling Petruchio what he wants to hear, she is still the witty women that readers meet in the beginning of the play but she using her intelligence to her advantage. The methods that Petruchio uses to “tame” Kate are compared to holding a mirror up and letting the shrew see herself because anything that Kate did he did right back especially tantrums. When Kate was shown herself in an exaggerated form, the exchange took her out of herself and brought about a change to her. This is the prime example

In addition, Kate’s final monologue, also in Act 5, scene 2, tells the audience a lot; about the play itself, as well as the society in Shakespeare’s era. On face value, Kate’s final monologue seems to be a long lecture about serving your husband, no questions asked. “Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot, / And place your hands below your husband’s foot” (v, ii, lines 92-3, page 221). However, Shakespeare gave Kate the last word in the play, a sign of her consistent power and control. As well, her monologue can be perceived as quite ironic. Kate is aware of the beliefs about how women in the household should act and, as clearly portrayed throughout the entire play, the role Petruchio has been trying to get her to fill. By playing along fullheartedly with society’s expectations, in front of the large audience of guests, Kate becomes “truly tamed” - or just incredibly

In the play Taming of the Shrew, written by William Shakespeare, many characters are reshaped and given new personality traits. Petruchio is known as being a cocky man who intends to help tame a shrewish young lady named Kate. There are many critics that believe Petruchio is solely obnoxious and a bully but through out his interactions with Kate it is shown that he truly cares about the well being of others. Of course at the beginning of Petruchio’s plan to tame a young lady he is acting off of his confidence and trying to impress those around him but this soon changes once he begins to interact with Kate. Petruchio proves that his ways have changed and he is only taming Kate to make her feel better about herself, “Petruchio uses psychological methods, not aggressive or barbaric ones, to tame Kate, which alls her to still be witty and intellectual, but also happily married, at the end of the play”(Natale,98). Petruchio truly believes that by taming Kate he is preforming a good deed and helping her accept herself in this process.

Taming of the Shrew is a romantic comedy written by William Shakespeare in the 1500’s. It takes place in the city of Padua, presumably during the Italian Renaissance. The major conflict of the play is ‘taming’ a hot-headed woman named Katherine and to overcome the rule her father holds on his two daughters where the eldest marries first. The script brings up a lot of attention in the feminist theory. But, Shakespeare’s play reflects on the archetypes of characters, situations, and symbols. These connections are made in the play to make the audience familiar with the text and provide a deeper understanding.

Women in the era of Queen Elizabeth I were often portrayed through stereotypes such as, “The Good and the Badde” by Nicholas Breton. In this work women have desired traits such as loyalty, obedience, and innocence. Undesirable traits would be just the opposite, disobedience, raunchiness, treachery, loudness, and being outspoken. The play, “The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare, plays heavily to these stereotypes with the two female main characters; Bianca and Kate. Whereas Kate plays the Un-quiet one in the beginning, but transitions to more of a quiet one or the good wife while Bianca plays The Virgin.

In the play, The Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio is a foolish nobleman who tames the character of Kate because she is a shrew. A shrew is ill-spoken woman who has a negative reputation in the Elizabethan period. Petruchio tames Kate by abusing her physically and mentally, Petruchio starves Kate and deprives her of any sleep, finally he humiliates her. Kate is forced under submission because of Petruchio trying to “...cure her wild and willful nature...” (Act 4, Scene 1, Pg. 10). Petruchio explains that all his abusing is because he loves her and for her own good, when in fact he is trying to break her down. The Taming of the Shrew is about the conflict between Kate and Bianca in which their father’s rule which does not allow Bianca to get married

The Taming Of The Shrew by William Shakespeare is an introduction in the everpresent battle of women to be loving and caring wives, while at the same time holding on to our independence. Its plot is derived from the popular 'war of the sexes' theme in which males and females are pitted against one another for dominance in marriage. The play begins with an induction in which a drunkard, Christopher Sly, is fooled into believing he is a king and has a play performed for him. The play he watches is what constitutes the main body of The Taming OfThe Shrew.

Shakespeare's works reflect the values andk of his era, with the theme of societal conformity and unity necessary for harmony. The rigid stratification of societal roles evident in Taming of the Shrew are directly derived from the Elizabethan hierarchy, with power dynamics based on wealth, family name and gender, and costuming defining one's role. Discourse arises in Shakespeare's plays when a character does not conform to the expectations and code of their prescribed societal role, evident in Katherina's outgoing nature and aversion to playing her part described as a ‘intolerable curst, shrewd, and forward’----. The play concludes once Katherina appears to have conformed to her position as an upper-class wife and daughter, and societal harmony is achieved once more. This social disharmony is repeated numerous times throughout the play, as disguise and role reversals appear initially established in Christopher Sly, ‘Sly’s called a lord, but still is not a lord’ 2.6.1, the disguise of both Lucentio the wealthy student into a tutor and Tranio his servant into Lucentio himself. The most interesting use of costume is in Petruchio’s marriage apparel, claiming ‘To me she’s [Katherina] married, not unto my clothes’ 3.2.113, as he wears lowly, poor attire. Petruchio illustrated both the inability to transgress one’s self through disguise and deception, and his inherit contradiction, attempting to change Katherina’s nature, she may act the wife, but she is still Katherina. Shakespeare’s use of disguise and deceit adds humor to the play and creates a conclusive ending as each character’s transformations are undone, with no one permanently transgressing their societal roles. Similarly, 10 Things I Hate About You utilizes characterization through contemporary American stereotypes to display a simplified social structure. This replicated Shakespeare’s use of traditional social structure, within the first 5 minutes of the film, a montage of each stereotype and their corresponding place in the social hierarchy’s displayed, with Michael listing each one. This archetype is prevalent throughout the teen film genre over the last 30 years, with one’s wealth, physical appearance, and alignment to traditional characteristic of

Kate’s ending monologue seems to show the audience how much she has changed, however some critics think this monologue could be seen as sarcastic, which, arguably, would fit in much more with her character than the apparent sudden change in heart. When Katherine speaks about being a wife she says “when she is forward, peevish, sullen, sour, and not obedient to his honest will, what is she but a foul contending rebel and graceless traitor to her loving lord?” it could definitely be construed as sarcasm, as she is largely describing herself or how she acted before, and in calling Petruchio her “loving lord” she seems scornful as he has been anything but loving towards her and earlier in the text she thinks of him as a fool.

Even though many people read the same exact material, they all could interpret it differently depending on who they are and how they think. When literary analysts review this concept, they believe that it is because we, as readers, are trying to find meaning where there is none, creating a plethora of possible interpretations. If one were to examine how often people analyze literature, this idea could make sense. However, authors actually create multiple layers of thematic material to connect with a differing audience like William Shakespeare does in The Taming of the Shrew. By putting many layers of themes into The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare makes his plays relatable and reflective to people from all classes with varying viewpoints.

All throughout Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare sends a clear message about power and gender, and he uses many literary devices to do so which helps the reader understand the text and empathize with the characters. Although an abundance of literary devices such as symbolism and genre are used in Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew to highlight the discord between power and gender, setting plays the most important role because it reveals the rules and expectations of both genders in Elizabethan England. To begin, the induction shows how people from Elizabethan England view masculinity as above femininity. For example, when the lord orders Bartholomew to dress as Sly’s wife, he finds it comedic. This is considered funny because for a man to want to dress as a woman was unheard of in this society, and it subconsciously makes

In Shakespeare's, "The Taming of the Shrew" the relationship between the sisters Katherine and Bianca appears to be strained with rampant jealousy. Both daughters fight for the attentions of their father. In twisted parallel roles, they take turns being demure and hag-like. Father of the two, Baptista Minola, fusses

Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew illustrates the relationship between gender and authority while defining its imbalance as simple social construct, suggesting that gender, more or less, exists merely in association and connotation. In characterizing masculine and feminine personality without regard to physical sex, he in turn reveals the illusion gender-roles cast in assumption and stereotype. Doing so, Shakespeare writes to comment on the position of women in Elizabethan society and their faculty of power in general. Given that inequality and the institution of gender-identity still exist and that current culture still clings to it, it follows that themes expressed within the play still presently apply. As adaptation, BBC renovates in modern version the Taming of the Shrew and keeps with it Shakespeare’s original themes, altering several other aspects of it, taking away detail from which the original play capitalizes.

As the play continues, we learn even more about Kate. For example, when Kate and Petruchio go back to Baptista’s, Kate begins to see how Petruchio operates. She learns that if she does what Petruchio says, even if she knows it is not true, she will get something she wants out of it, like going back to her father’s house. Petruchio test Kate when they meet the real Vincentio on the road and he asks Kate if she has ever seen a finer young women. Knowing what he is up to, Kate shows her amazing wit and decides to play his game. She has figured out that Petruchio has a method to his madness and if she plays her cards right, their relationship can be a partnership with a series of actions and rewards.