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Taming of the shrew and gender roles
Taming of the shrew and gender roles
What is the development of gender roles in the taming of the shrew
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Breaking Kate's Spirit in Taming of the Shrew
In the play Taming of the Shrew, a man named Petruchio attempts to tame a mean spirited woman named Kate. Much to Kate's chagrin Petruchio convinces her father that Kate loves him so they will now be married. Through several maneuvers to try and squash Kate's pride, Petruchio is met with strong resistance at first when he finds she can equal him in verbal back and forth. The fact that Petruchio could match Kate surprises her as well. Eventually, Kate sarcastically gives in with her speech about the sun and moon on the way to her sister's wedding. Finally after all his calculating moves throughout Petruchio successfully breaks Kate's spirit which is evident in her final speech.
Petruchio undertakes to woo Kate before he has met her. He decides to recommend himself to her father as the dominant male that could tame her: "And so she yields to me. For I am rough and woo not like a babe."(II.I.136-137) Petruchio reports to Baptista that it is a match. Conclusively, he refuses any further discussion of the matter. If Petruchio were to speak more of the truth then his strategy to woo Kate may be revealed. His domineering attitude has limited Kate to express her thoughts of the situation.
From the moment Petruchio sets foot in her room, Kate is most abrasive towards him. Kate makes an effort to assert her dominance by developing a shrewish attitude. They engage in a lengthy verbal duel with elaborate puns. "If be waspish, best beware my sting."(II.I.209) Kate's puns are generally insulting or threatening, but Petruchio twists them into sexual innuendo. His persistence in breaking her spirit causes Kate to become more conniving.
Petruchio has employed a hawking metaphor to describe how he has begun his reign over Kate. "My falcon now is sharp and passing empty. And till she stoop she must not be full-gorg'd, for then she never looks up her lure. Another way I have to man my haggard, To make her come, and know her keeper's call, That is, to watch her, as we watch these kites That bate and beat, and will not be obedient.
Different Interpretations of the Relationship Between Kate and Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew
Kate and The Taming of the Shrew describes the progression of the outspoken and headstrong Kate, wife of Petruchio, as she gradually transitions into an almost perfect example of an archetypal loyal wife. This classic female archetype can be expressed through blind and ignorant support of their husband without any personal opinion or any priorities and objectives other than to satisfy the needs and desires of their husbands. While Kate begins possessing traits that oppose the loyal wife archetype due to her strong willed personality, her shift to obedience. However she continues to think with cunning strategy throughout the entire play, regardless of her weakened mental state caused by Petruchio limiting her food and sleep.
The scene starts off Katherine terrorizing her sister, the men all introducing themselves, and Hortensio being hit by a lute. Katherine is eventually brought out to met Petruchio and they are left alone. Petruchio takes to calling Katherine by “Kate”, wriling her up. Kate begins to insult her suitor without hesitation. They then engage in an argument, which was more along the lines of clever puns and metaphors thrown to and fro. It then ends in Kate hitting Petruchio and his response being they will be married on Sunday, “will you. nill you”.
In the play, Taming of the Shrew, this character is known as Petruchio. In act 1 scene 2, Petruchio insists on meeting Kat no matter who tells her of his behavior, for he was only looking at one factor – that she had a rich father. Upon meeting Baptista, Petruchio insists on meeting Katherine. “Lucentio” and Petruchio battle, promising this and that to Katherine until Baptista finally chooses Petruchio. Upon meeting Katherine, she immediately is biting at his heels. With his quick wit he is responding with equal amounts of insults which frustrates Katherine. Every insult Katherine throws at Petruchio he manages to throw back a sexual innuendo. further along into the story with Kate and Petruchio. Petruchio
The Cold War, which is said to have lasted from the end of World War II to the dismantling of the Soviet Union in 1991. Intrinsically, this Cold War was a tense political period between the Democratic and Communist blocs, the East and the West, and most importantly, the United States and the Soviet Union. Although this period has now come to an end, many disputes have been raised concerning the initial conference at Yalta near the end of the Second World War, and the actual causes of the Cold War tensions involving Communist and American aggression.
Tranio, Lucentio's servant, is perhaps the only man in this scene not to talk ugly about Kate, claiming she is either "stark mad or wonderful forward" (69). In Act II, Kate comes in, dragging Bianca with her tied up. When first reading this, the thought of one sister tying up the other and dragging her is pretty funny. But when you stop thinking about why Kate is doing this to her sister, you start feeling sorry for her. We see the immaturity of Kate and that she does not know how to deal with her feelings and instead of using words, she uses her physical actions....
The Taming of the Shrew unravels to reveal a wild beastly Katharine lacking respect for her family, herself and others around her. Kate is a very outspoken and vulgar woman without respect to authority. Katharine, although depicted as a beautiful woman quickly becomes the talk of Padua. Kate has found that if she is loud and obnoxious she can have her way. She screams and grunts and pushes those who she does not get along with. The general character of Katharine seems to be that of a small child.
The Cold War stretched out from 1945 to 1990 and commenced during the time when Truman was the leader of the USA and Stalin the leader of the USSR. The USSR and the USA never went to war on their own soil but fought ‘proxy wars’ through allied countries. The first of these was in Korea. After the end of World War II both countries were keen to establish their strength in Europe and Asia. Both were interested in maintaining their markets and controlling the military might of the other side. Both were also committed to winning the battle of ideas: communism vs. capitalism. In an attempt to prevent communism taking hold in Korea general McArthur quadrupled his forces there. The USSR responded by sending over 1 million soldiers. Today Korea is still divided into the communist north and capitalist south. . Further proxy wars were fought in Angola, Nicaragua and Afghanistan. This was particularly shown during the USSR’s occupation of Afghanistan. This occurred in 1979. In response the USA supported the Mujahedeen or Afghani ‘freedom fighters’ dragging out the war. What would have been a fairly easy takeover for the USSR became a long and protracted war due to the USA involvement. The USSR was finally defeated by the Afghanis ten years later.
The United States and the Allied Powers faced many challenges at the end of WWII. America's policy was one that contained the spread of communism in Eastern Europe. Russia, under Lenin's rule called for a world revolution and brought the United States into it. It was not until after WWII, that the cold war really began, when the political power of the world shifted from the center of Europe to Moscow and Washington. The Cold War began after the collapse of Germany in May 1945(http://www.coldwar.org/indexrus.html). The creation of the cold war came from the disagreements for postwar Europe and the Far East. Each superpower, the United States, Britain, France and Russia had their own idea of how postwar Europe should look, and many of their ideas clashed. The Cold War arose not from one isolated event, but from the different ideologies and interests between the Soviet Union and the west. Also the Russian government was seeking revenge on the United States because the United States did not enter the war effort soon enough and that caused for more Russian casualties.
Much responsibility lies with readers, actors, and directors. Remember, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Katharina and Petruchio are both victims of their social situations, their passions, and their egos, and by Kate’s final speech, it is clear that she doesn't really believe what she's saying – she's just telling Petruchio what he wants to hear. The final speech, then, can be seen as an extension of Kate's newfound ability to "role-play," or act. Katherine’s motivations for giving this speech (fear, exasperation, amusement) and whether or not Kate derives any power in her new relationship with Petruchio
that it is up to the individual person to make the right choice and to
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 loves her for that reason. Petruchio cleverly weaves the relationship into the framework of society without compromising the integrity of the relationship. Petruchio does this by comparing Katherine’s attitude to repulsive clothing. Carefully and calculatingly, Petruchio forges a relationship that is envied by all who witness it. Called "cursed Kate" throughout the play, Katherine is openly jealous of the attention her sister is receiving, whereas she, because she speaks her mind, is being bypassed and even avoided in the wooing process.
Ever since people started to settle into their way of living, certain expectations over a certain culture is shaped by what the elders pass down. Over generations, the culture slowly changed yet it shapes to what makes society for what it is and what is expected to come from people in that certain time period. So how does this change occur within these generations? In The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, it becomes evident that the older generation influences the younger generation and proves what is expected from its time, especially when it comes to family.
The end of World War II did not end the disputed but unexpectedly causing the conflict between allied countries, led to an era known as the “Cold War”. Roughly lasted from the close of Second World War (1946) to the end of 1980s, this is a stage of political conflict, proxy wars and economic competition rather than military combat between the Communist represented by Soviet Union and the powers of Western world primarily United Stated. Although many times it appeared that both military forces would engaged in a major battle, turning the war into “hot”, the two sides just expressed the conflict through military coalition, arms races and technological competitions. Going through four long decades, it casted a shadow in the second half of 20th century and left a scar that still feel today.
of life. Death is inevitable. Why should each of us not have the right to