“She is changed as she had never been” (5.2.119). Is Baptista right? Is the Kate who wins the wager for Petruchio a new Kate, a shrew who has become a submissive wife? Or is she the same Kate, who once played the role of a shrew and now plays the role of a submissive wife? The Taming Of The Shrew by William Shakespeare is known as one of William Shakespeare’s earliest comedies, a comedy about an assertive woman by the name of Katherine living in Padua, Italy coping with how she is expected to act according to the role of traditional rules within her society. Shakespeare’s play consists of an evident sexist attitude toward women, in which a main theme that is presented is the gender roles of the male and female characters as they are set
…show more content…
Katherine is judged as a shrewish woman because she is independent, assertive, strong willed and can be violent. Petruchio is characterized as boastful, selfish and greedy for money. Petruchio agrees to pursue Kate in spite of her being known as a shrew because he is in search of good fortune and ultimately believes he can tame Katherine. Petruchio is unlike the other men in the play because he is blatantly honest about his intentions and is willing to accept of the challenge to tame Kate the shrew. Petruchio himself is called a shrew when Curtis learns of his behavior and says,“By this reck 'ning, he is more shrew than she”(4.1.79). Ultimately Katherine becomes accepting of Petruchio because she does not want to end up and old maid as she is married to him, their marriage is the most ideally honest marriage in the text, because in the taming of the shrewish behaviors they found love and developed a happy marriage. The play offers limited social roles to women unless the husbands define them, whereas a husband’s masculinity is defined by his ability to dominate his wife. Katherine is the only wife that has the ability to dominate her husband although she does not need too; she is the only female character that does not fit the stereotype of the conventional women, yet by Petruchio’s side she becomes the ideal model wife for the other …show more content…
This is proven through Katherine’s behavior in the entire play. By the end of the play Katherine supposedly has conformed to the expectations of her society in action, though not within. Although Kate acts the role of the obedient wife externally, internally she conserves her assertiveness and independence of mind. Throughout the play Katherine is playing roles be it the shrew that society cannot stand or the submissive wife that society admires, her character and personality does not change although her performance does. Shakespeare makes great use of the character Katherine as she played each part very well the clear sexist attitudes presented in the play, does not hinder the humor or comedy of the overall play because of the reasons stated
Katherine is judged as a shrewish woman because she is independent, assertive, strong willed and can be violent. Petruchio is characterized as boastful, selfish and greedy for money. Petruchio agrees to pursue Kate in spite of her being known as a shrew because he is in search of good fortune and ultimately believes he can tame Katherine. Petruchio is unlike the other men in the play because he is blatantly honest about his intentions and is willing to accept of the challenge to tame Kate the shrew. Petruchio himself is called a shrew when Curtis learns of his behavior and says,“By this reck 'ning, he is more shrew than she”(4.1.79). Ultimately Katherine becomes accepting of Petruchio because she does not want to end up and old maid as she is married to him, their marriage is the most ideally honest marriage in the text, because in the taming of the shrewish behaviors they found love and developed a happy marriage. The play offers limited social roles to women unless the husbands define them, whereas a husband’s masculinity is defined by his ability to dominate his wife. Katherine is the only wife that has the ability to dominate her husband although she does not need too; she is the only female character that does not fit the stereotype of the conventional women, yet by Petruchio’s side she becomes the ideal model wife for the other …show more content…
This is proven through Katherine’s behavior in the entire play. By the end of the play Katherine supposedly has conformed to the expectations of her society in action, though not within. Although Kate acts the role of the obedient wife externally, internally she conserves her assertiveness and independence of mind. Throughout the play Katherine is playing roles be it the shrew that society cannot stand or the submissive wife that society admires, her character and personality does not change although her performance does. Shakespeare makes great use of the character Katherine as she played each part very well the clear sexist attitudes presented in the play, does not hinder the humor or comedy of the overall play because of the reasons stated