Shakespeare the femenist?
Taming of the shrew
by Vedat Gashi
The taming of the shrew by william shakespeare is a play
which is ahead of its time in its views toward gender roles
within society. Katherine is a woman who is intelligent,
and is not afraid to assert her views on any given
situation. She is paired with another obstinate character
in Pertuchio. The Marrige formed between the two is a match
made in heaveanfor two reasons. First Because Katherine is
strong enough to assert her views, and more importantly,
she realizes when she should asssert them. The second reason
the bond survives is that Petruchio is strong enough to
accept the fact that Katherine has a mind and, more
importantly he lloves her for that reason. Petruchio
cleaverly weaves the relationship into the framework of
society without comprimising the integruty of the
relationship. Petruchio does this by comparing katherines at
titude to repulsive clothing.Carefully and calculatingly,
Petruchio forges a relationship that is envied by all who
witness it.
Called “cursed Kate” throught the play, katherine is
openly jealous of the attention he sister is recieving,
whereas she, because she speaks her mind, is being bypassed
and even avioded in the wooing proccess. Katherine reveals
this attitude in act 2 scene1, lines 31-35, “nay, now i see
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she is your treasure, she must have a husband;i must dance
barefoot on my wedding day, and for your love to her, lead
the apes to hell. Talk not to me i will sit and weep!….”
This anger is not conncealed, it serves to provide
motivation as to why a rational person would rebuke
petrucchio so rudely upon first encountering him. Katherine
surely realizes that petruchio is is interested in her for
ulterior motives other than love. Be it pursethat the dowry
will bring or the actions of an insincere lunitic who,
“woo’s a thousand… yet never means to wed where he hath
wooed” (act 3scene 2 lines 15-17).
In any event, Kate is
not easily won by the brash and brazen wouldbe suitor
petruchio. She percieves (correctly) Petruchio’s
motivation to be false so she fights his advances
vehemently. Unfortunetly, though, Katherine carries the
burden of havin a sister with a higher market value.
Seconds after he learns that katheine is betrothed,
Baptista wastes no time in auctioning off his younger
daughter to the highest bidder. “now i play the merchants
part, and venture madly on an open mart” (A2,s1,l319-320)
In this light Katherines resistance is justified.
After a forced marrige, Patruchio sets about wooing
Katherine in earnest. Petruchio realizes that there is more
to his “bonnie Kate”then her weighty dowry. He begins to
love and more importantly respect Katherine. Only when
Katherine is sure that petruchio is niether mad nor greedy
does she begin to fall for him.
Having mutual affection, thier problems are only partly
solved. The problem lay in the structure of society.
IN 16th century society a dainty, subsrvient, tame woman
posses the ideal qulities of her time. Petruchio realix=zes
this point. He realizes that if he has a wife who clearly
contradicts social norms, having a mind and expressing it ,
he would not be repected by his peers. This realization
searves to explain the scenes dealing with attire throught
the play, act III scene iii and Act Vscene ii, amongst
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others. Petruchio begins manipulationg Katherine asearly
as their wedding day. By choosing overty absurd attire
petruchio is making a point. He carries on this charade
in Act IV =scene III, when the tailor is brought in.
Petruchio secretly requests that a extremely elegant,
beautiful dress be made. when this dress is brought before
Katherine, she proffesses it is the most beautiful she has
ever seen. At this point Petruchio orders the dressmaker
away, stating that the dress is abominable. Here is where
the point is driven in most convincingly. “we will unto
your father’s even in these honest habiliments. our purses
proud, our garments poor, for it is the mind that makes
the body rich. And so sun breaks through the darkest clouds
so honor peereth in the meanest habit. (A4, sc, 3,
lns,167-173)
An analogy is being made, and within this analogy is
the point Shakespeare is trying to drive forth. If
Kaetherine does not care if her behaivior in public makes
her appear like a fool, then why should she care if her
clothes do the same but in a different manner. Both
Petruchio and Katherine dress squalidly as long as
Katherines behaivior is offensive. As her attitude subsides
, the garments that adorn the couple also become more
impressive. IN the last act of the play, Katherine finally
is recognized whena wager is placed by Petruchio counter
Hortensio and Lucentio. They wager as to which wife will
respond most obediently to her husband’s beckoning.
Petruchio wins this wage because Katehrine behaves as a
gracios wife would. To further reiterate this point,
petruchio symbolically comands Katherine to take off her hat
and step on it. She again abides as a gracios wife of the
16th century might. Ironically, Bianca, once once the
vision of the perfect wife, not only disobeys her husband
bvut she goes further and insults him in public. The mutual
respect of fot he relationship between Petruchio and Kate
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is contrasted with the superficial properness of the
relationship of bianca and lucentio.
In this play as as any other, shakespeare proves to be
a visionary. Petruchio achieves his goal through witty
persuasion rather than resorting to beating his wifelike
many a man before him has done. Though shakespeare does not
go as far as some feminists would like him to, Sahkespeare
does much fr the fight of equality of the sexes. Katherine
is as strong, or stronger than any woman in shakespeare’s
plays. The amazing thing is that she achieves this without
ulterior motives such as lady Macbeth. She is an honest,
bright independent woman. She is not underscored by her
subservience to petruchio in public, for “the sun breaks
through the darkest cloud” and so do Katherines asssets
braek though the public visage of subordination to her
husband.
