Taming Of The Shrew Attitudes Essay

Men had the authority to say whatever they wanted to, no matter what it was. Although they were allowed to do a lot more that women, they were also allowed to say a lot more than women. Men did not really have boundaries when it came to speaking. They were allowed to speak their mind and have an opinion. Men could speak to and about women in a disrespectful and derogatory way. Women were also allowed to have an opinion, but they were not allowed to express it to others. Women were voiceless. They were deprived of their right to speak. The title itself, The Taming of the Shrew, already proves how strong men were compared to women during that time period. If a woman wanted to speak their mind, they would be criticized and judged. They would gain a bad reputation because women were expected to listen to men and follow their commands. However, Katherine did not like that. Instead, she spoke her mind and refused to do certain things. As a result, nobody liked her. They viewed her as a “fiend of hell” (I.i.90). A man would not be called that though. On the other hand, if a man did the same thing, no one would care. “Much more of shrew of thy impatient humour.” (III.ii.29) This proves that even the woman’s father would call their daughter a “shrew”. This was also normal

The Taming of the Shrew, written by William Shakespeare, is historical proof that flirting and temptation, relating to the opposite sex, has been around since the earliest of times. Because males and females continue to interact, the complications in this play remain as relevant and humorous today as they did to Elizabethan audiences. This is a very fun play, full of comedy and sexual remarks. It's lasting impression imprints itself into the minds of its readers, for it is an unforgettable story of sex, flirting, and happiness. The Taming of the Shrew remains as relevant today because of its relation to the age-old story of the battle of the sexes and dynamics of marriage, as well as the woman's struggle with both of these.

Gender Politics encapsulates the hierarchy that separates men and women on an imaginary ladder based off of class or social status. In ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ and ‘10 Things I Hate About You’, men are portrayed as superior to women. Whereas women on the other hand are portrayed as subservient servants, and in many cases, more like objects than people. An example of Gender Politics clearly evident in the play, The Taming of the Shrew is when Katherine is bargained for by Baptista, without her consent nor say. This can be shown during Act II, Scene I when Baptista is convincing Petruchio to “woo” Katherine over along with a bribe.

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.

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.

As mentioned above, Katherine was the elderly daughter of a wealthy merchant, who was known throughout the city of Padua for her scolding tongue and her fiery tempered attitude. Most men had excluded her when suggestions arrived in terms of marriage. Due to this situation, Katherine had set her mind to not getting married at all. “Good, Morning Kate, said Petruchio, as the haughty lady swept in. ‘my name is Katherine’, she pouted. ‘No is isn’t, you are called plain Kate and Bonny Kate and sometimes Kate the wild cat . . . . But I think you are the prettiest Kate in Christendom- gentle, beautiful, modest and kind. Yes I’ve heard all about you, and I’ve come to ask you to be my wife’. She slapped his face” (page 3) .This quote gives details in how arrogant Kate is towards Petruchio. It is known to be very disrespectful manners to answer back to an opposite gender, but slapping someone who has come to ask for your hand is revolting. But poor Katherine doesn’t remain in this high position throughout the novel. As soon as she and Petruchio are wedded she experiences many changes within her and around her.” All her life she had had everything she wanted. Now,

The Taming of the Shrew and 10 Things I Hate about You are very similar in a lot of ways and different as well. The main difference that stood out to me was the way the guy pursuing Kat treated her. A few other things were their father’s rule about dating and marriage, and they were at different events when they found out what was really going on. There were as many similarities as differences, though. Both of Kat’s suitors, who were Petruccio and Patrick, got something out of going on a date with Kat.

This story also depicts that a woman is not suppose to be strong and opinionated. Kate is viewed by most suitors as undesirable because she speaks her mind and doesn't let the male population walk all over her (Dolan 32). She is very precautious of the intentions of the men that claim they would like to marry her. Throughout the story it's made clear that Petruccio's objective is to "tame" Kate so that she will be suitable to be a wife. It's not that it's in her nature to be mean but she has a different that on the role of a wife. She indeed believes that she should be good to her husband and do all that things that are expected of her but feels that it should be deserved. Her husband needs to be worthy of all of her affection and attention. Not only that, he needs to love her in such a way that makes her want to be a good woman to him (33).

Throughout the play, Petruchio’s behavior illustrates his chauvinistic mindset to force Katharina into obedience. After the wedding ceremony, Petruchio wants to head home with Kate while she disagrees and he says “I will be master of what is mine own:/She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house,/My household stuff, my field, my barn,/My horse, my ox, my ass, my any thing;” (Shakespeare 52). Instead of treating her like a human being, he speaks of her as if she is an object that he owns and controls. Also, when the newly married couple prepare to leave for Baptista’s house, Petruchio claims that the time is different from what it actually is and when Kate argues, he states, “Look, what I speak, or do, or think to do,/You are still crossing it. Sirs, let ’t alone:/I will not go to-day; and ere I do,/It shall be what o’clock I say it is” (Shakespeare 69). Petruchio is basically saying that the only opinion

In the play, and the movie Katherine is the so-called shrew. To be a shrew is when you are a female who nags and is ill tempered. The way that Katherine is a shrew is that she has a sassy attitude towards people guys especially. In the novel women never really had a say in what they were allowed to do, and even who they were allowed to marry. Baptista says in the play “As you know, next Sunday my daughter Katherine is to be married” Women these days now basically are in charge of the relationship which is a huge leap from then.

Also, Katherine herself apprehended the error of her ways, making the women feel sheltered and making the men feel self-assured about their dominant position in society. The audience presumably went home contented, because such a shrew was tamed, and could be tamed so well. Katherine’s soliloquy reinforced the moral values of the Elizabethan era, making the conclusion of the play more enjoyable and entertaining. The final scene of The Taming of the Shrew shows ”the triumph of the unconventional over the conventional”, it shows that Katherina and Petruchio’s marriage, which has started rather unconventionally, seems to have better chances of being a happy. Shakespeare speaks out in clearly favors of the unconventional concept of love present in the relationship between Petruchio and

Wonder, for a moment, what Shakespeare means when he uses the word “love”, if it really does exist in any of the relationships in this play, particularly between Petruccio and Katherine. Is love not a certainty?

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.

Their arranged marriage, based on the agreement between Katherine’s father and Petruccio, bonds in the extreme sense. During the arrangement Katherine was present, but had no input in the matter. The fact that Katherine denies Petruccio to be her husband and they are wed anyways, suggests that it did not matter as much when a woman opposed her marriage to a man. In this time period a woman’s input was overlooked, especially living in a patriarchal society. From a 21st century perspective, having an arranged marriage seems to not make for a happy life, even in the time period of Shakespeare. At Katherine and Petruccio’s wedding, Petruccio arrived very poorly dressed, almost homely looking, he deprived Katherine of food, clothes, and sleep, and argued with her until she agreed with him. All of these circumstances do not call for a happy marriage. However, in the fifth act of TOS, Katherine brings hope to light that she can be happy, even in her situation of an arranged marriage. When she gives the speech to her sister, Bianca, and the widow, the reader gets the sense that she is now “tamed.” Although, the marriage was arranged and Katherine does not seem happy, she leaves the reader thinking that there can be hope for happiness when you meet in the middle. Petruccio has the pleasure of having an obedient wife while Katherine gets to keep her witty

The role of woman in the society has always been really controversial, whether it was 400 years ago or now. Shakespeare's two very famous comedy plays, The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice challenge a very serious social issue, the role and importance of woman in society. We all know the stereotypical image of woman in the society but Shakespeare questions the society on these thoughts through his plays. While Shakespeare expresses his ideas in a very unique way in each of his plays, this issue is common in both plays and is portrayed very similarly. Whether it is the way woman are treated, portrayed or judged, Shakespeare repeats the same idea through difference acts and events between the two comedies. There are some