Women In Taming Of The Shrew And Cyrano De Bergerac

Imagine you being a woman during the time of The Taming of the Shrew and Cyrano de Bergerac. A man comes up to you and says that you are beautiful. He grabs you by the arm and says that you would be a perfect wife for his cousin. You try to retaliate, but he is much more stronger than you, no one helps you out because they don't think anything wrong is happening. Both Shakespeare and Edmond Rostand portray in some way a patriarchal society in the 1500’s-1600’s. The status of women and gender roles during the place and time of these plays affected the characterizations of these characters. Women were treated like objects, looks determined whether or not someone was desirable and males were portrayed as more dominant.
During this time, women …show more content…
In Cyrano, de Guiche planned for Roxane to marry Vicomte de Valvert. He was like de Guiche’s second hand man. He was planning to take her for himself even though he was married. When Petruchio says, “The poorest service is repaid with thanks, and so shall mine before you touch the meat.” (43,45-46). As a way to “tame” Kate, he doesn't let her eat, sleep, or drink. He wants her to thank him for the food. Kate doesn't understand it at first, but since she was been starved, she thanks him for it. “I thank you, sir.” (4,3,47). She doesn't even call her husband by his name or a term of endearment. When we see her submit herself to him we see the position of authority he holds over her. During that time, rebellious and outspoken women were a concern because they posed a threat to the patriarchal model of a good household upon which Elizabethan society was built on. In modern day, you don't see this happening as often, modern day people have learned from before and know that it is …show more content…
The point that Katherine doesn't have any other choice in the matter. She has to give a speech if she wants any happiness in her marriage. Being a 16th century wife, she is basically her husband’s property. She has to be obedient and nice to Petruchio if she wants any food, sleep or to pick out what she would wear. Patriarchy happens unintentionally because we are used to things having to be a certain way. For example, asking someone to marry you. Today, males are always having the pressure to ask their beloved ones to marry them. You don't see women doing that quite as often. Besides that, people might say that Petruchio really loves Kate and doesn't just want her for her money. That is true later on however. Petruchio is a very greedy man, but the way he treats Kate as a way to tame her is still unacceptable. If you truly loved someone you wouldn’t want to hurt them. I feel that in Cyrano de Bergerac, it teaches us to be proud of ourselves. It teaches us to look past appearances and to try and see people for who they are. When you look past people’s looks you’ll be able to understand and love them. Later down in your life, if you end up with them, it wouldnt matter about their looks, but how happy you are with them. On a global scale, stories like these do not actually promote a patriarchal society. When people read the plays, they know automatically that it is wrong. Today’s society has learned and educated itself from the rights