Theme Of Women In Taming Of The Shrew

Households were strictly patriarchal in which the man of the house made all the important decisions. Women's jobs at the time were mostly relegated to domestic service and occasional work at harvest time. The jobs were always of low pay, low status, and required little training. In addition to this females were not legally permitted to inherit land or property. This was the bleak life of a woman, with little hope or power, and always the subordinate of men.

Women were expected to do so much but at the same time so little. They had no power to do what they desire because men had all the power to control them. Society had an expectation of how women were supposed to act. For instance, Mary’s father cared for his sons education he wanted them to know how to read, write, and to do sums, as for his daughters he only cared that they knew how to read and sew. That is the basic that women were allowed to learn it was not important for them to know more since all they were going to work for is taking care of children. Here is an example, “…Gender roles within those families the reinforcement of gender ideals such as “helpmeet” and “notable housewife” by religious and civil authorities, and the simple

As time progressed, the roles of men and women were more defined by what usefulness they had and what society found appropriate. Women were not allowed to obtain education, travel, or go out in public

Women were considered to be the “weaker vessels ,” not as strong physically or mentally as men and less emotionally stable. Legally they could neither vote, hold public office, nor participate in legal matters on their own behalf, and opportunities for them outside the home were frequently limited .

These beliefs about the roles did not come out of nowhere. Confucius, the teacher of the religion of Confucianism, taught that women's roles were to look after the men in their families. Most did not question his teachings and continued to live with these “rules”. Not only the fact that they believed women were inferior to men and should stay at home, "people believed that women were both morally and intellectually inferior to men and thus needed men's control and guidance" (Tsai). While men were valued for their hard work and getting the money, women were disparaged because they “couldn’t live” without a man’s work.

In the play Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare includes several appeals of pathos, ethos and logos. In the last passage of the book, Katharina speaks out to all of the characters with a speech. Katharina describes how she has changed into a person who looks to her husband as her lord, her care taker. The characters who listened to her speech seemed impressed on how she has finally changed her rude attitude and how she obeys her husband Pertruchio’s every word.

“Most women had little control over the direction their lives took. Once widowed, they had autonomy over considerable financial resources” (Bovey). Women were weak and men had control over their whole lives unless they were widowed. “Women didn’t have political rights, and they didn’t get to choose if they got married or had children. Women didn’t have an education and only if they inherited land they would have the same rights as men” (C N). This was the only case where women had the same rights as men. This rarely occurred because not very many women inherited land, men usually inherited it. Women generally didn’t have an education, so there was little chance for them to be better than men or in a higher power. They were not allowed to know what men did so they were always at A disadvantage. “Women had to obey men but a lot of times they were treated well. Women were treated by their social rank” (Women During the Middle Ages). Not only did men control women, but women were also defined by their social rank. How much money they had determined when they got married, there clothes, there husbands, and where they lived. “Poor women lived in small houses. Wealthy women had servants to do everything for them” (Women in the Middle

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.

Women were viewed inferiorly compared to men. They were expected to do all household chores, bear children, and obey their husband’s wish

The dehumanization of women should not be shown in a play because it is against the common morals of today’s society. In The Taming of the Shrew, the objectification of women is shown

Women were expected to basically be merely an object, even a trophy for their husbands. They were expected to stay home and clean, as well as cook. With all these expected tasks, women hardly had any time to branch out and figure out what they wanted to do with their life. They had no time for leisure activities of any kind because, of course, their activities involved taking care of the house. Women were also seen as the weaker sex, always submissive to their dominant male counterpart. Although the women were submissive, they were held to a higher moral standard. Adultery was twice shamed upon if committed by a woman rather than a man. (Hughes par.3) A woman could be stoned to death, but people would turn their cheek for a man while the woman still was expected to stay beside the man.

Then in society, men were portrayed as “dominant figures” and women were the “nurturers”. Men not only filled the fatherly role but they also usually earned the “breadwinning”, went to work all day, and financially provided for the wives and

Many laws of this time and era disallowed woman to have the same opportunities as men. Women belonged to their fathers, and then to their husbands. If a woman came from wealth, often were allowed to marry from the starting age of 12. A reason Queen Elizabeth never married was so she wouldn't lose her power to man. Women were

of a man. Women were able to hold political positions, possess land, and overall enjoy a

In comparison with men, women didn’t have a lot of rights and freedom. Some argued that men and women were different species and that men were similar to gods and women were similar to animals. Men could vote but women couldn’t,