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William Shakespeare analysis
Romance and marriage in a taming of the shrew
Romance and marriage in a taming of the shrew
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In William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, it is clear that marriage was an economic institution of which wealth and prestige were taken into account more than love or any other factor such as charm or desirability. When Petruchio states “I come to wife it wealthy in Padua, If wealthily, then happily in Padua.” (I, i, 76-77), it is evident that money was the driving factor in deciding who to marry back then and that wealth, not love from a marriage brought happiness. By the same token, when Petruchio asks Baptista “Then tell me, if I get your daughter’s love, What dowry shall I have with her to wife?” (II, i, 112-113) the parallels of marriage to an economic institution only grown. The fact that Petruchio's first question was about
In Geoffrey Chaucer's work, The Canterbury Tales, many travelers gather together to begin a pilgrimage. During their quest, each of the pilgrims proceed to tell a tale to entertain the group. From these stories arise four different tales, in which Chaucer uses to examine the concept of marriage and the problems that arise from this bonding of two people. In the tales of "The Franklin", "The Clerk", "The Wife of Bath", and "The Merchant", marriage is debated and examined from different perspectives. Out of the four tales, The Franklin's Tale presents the most reasonable solution to the marriage debate because the problems are resolved with the least amount of heartache.
Wealth and family status was a determining factor upon marriage. Women were expected to have a dowry from their family that would allow them to be auctioned off to suitors. The marriage market was much like the stock exchange in that it allowed
The idea of marriage and romance was demonstrated in The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare where that it was the father's right to marry his daughters off to the male who bided the "sufficient dower" and asserted the greatest masculinity.
The story of Januarie's marriage to May and her subsequent infidelity with Damyan allows for not only Chaucer's view of marriage to come through, but also includes the opinions of contemporary writers. Chaucer allows his views to be made known as the narrator and his views could also be said to infiltrate the speeches of the Merchant. Justinus and Placebo's views are also accounted for as the fictional characters also air their opinions on the institution of marriage. In this way, Chaucer has allowed for a fair deal of discussion of marriage.
Over the past 400 or so years since Shakespeare wrote _The Taming of the Shrew_, many writers, painters, musicians and directors have adapted and reformed this play of control and subjugation into timeless pieces of art. In _10 Things I Hate About You_ and Kiss Me Kate from two very different times in the twentieth century, and paintings of Katherina and Bianca from the late nineteenth century, the creators of these adaptations have chosen to focus on the role of the two main female characters in the play. The ideas surrounding these women have changed through the years, from Katherina and Bianca simply being young women who deviated from the norm of Shakespeare’s time to women who embody feminist ideals and stereotypes of the more modern world.
During the Middle Ages and Renaissance period marriage and love were idealized, divine and celebrated. Weddings were large events that included the entire families of both the groom and the bride. Reality was different; women were viewed as being fickle, inferior to men and a possession of men. Women had very little, if any, choice in who they would marry. Marriages were arranged so that both families would benefit in gaining wealth or power. Even though the ruler of England for over 4 decades was female, women were still not respected. Women were kept at home and not allowed to take place in public events. In Shakespeare’s Richard III, male and female relationships are displayed as deeply cynical and are based on lies, lust and political gain.
Katherine reveals this attitude in Act 2 Scene 1, lines 31-35, "nay, now I see she is your treasure, she must have a husband; I must dance barefoot on my wedding day, and for your love for her, lead the apes to hell." Talk not to me, I will sit and weep!.. " This anger is not concealed, 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 interested in her for ulterior motives other than love. Be it purse that the dowry will bring or the actions of an insincere lunatic who, "woo's a thousand.
Marriage is the joining of two people as husband and wives according to laws and customs. In our society today, women get married of their own free will and gain respect from their spouse. "A dream of the 21st century" is a story written by " Winnifred Harper Cooly". It is about a young women's dream. She imagines that women in the 21st century will have a better place in the society. Ideal marriages in the 19th century were very hard to achieve and most of the time, they were without true love. This short story portrays that women of that time would marry someone to overcome financial difficulties. It also describes the lack of respect between the married couples.
In modern day society, it is common for marriage to be an act between two lovers. However, historically many cultures practiced a marriage where love had no correlation. Murasaki Shikibu brilliantly presents this ideal in her book, The Tale of Genji. This work of Japanese fiction takes place during the Heian Period. In this time, marriage was often used to help people alter their social status. This is best demonstrated through the marriage between Lady Aoi and Hikaru Genji. The marriage bonding Aoi-no-ue and Genji, may have been a normality of the time, but that does not mean it was easy. Genji struggles with balancing his marriage to Aoi-no-ue and his true love, Murasaki-no-ue throughout the novel. Though the intentions of the marriage were pure, the unhappy marriage is the result of the unhappiness for both Aoi-no-ue and Murasaki-no-ue.
Sexism is an ever changing concept in today’s world. Every day the concept morphs a little bit, changing the entire definition of what is sexist and what is not. In The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare, the male characters lie to and abuse their women in order to have the women marry them. Lucentio come to Padua to study, but when he sees a beautiful girl, he pretends to be a teacher in order to marry Bianca. Petruchio on the other hand forces a woman to marry him and then trains her to follow his every command. Although the The Taming of the Shrew is frequently regarded as a particularly sexist play, it is not sexist and demeaning towards women.
Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, demonstrate many different attitudes and perceptions towards marriage. Some of these ideas are very traditional, such as that illustrated in the Franklin’s Tale. On the other hand, other tales present a liberal view, such as the marriages portrayed in the Miller’s and The Wife of Bath’s tales. While several of these tales are rather comical, they do indeed depict the attitudes towards marriage at that time in history. D.W. Robertson, Jr. calls marriage "the solution to the problem of love, the force which directs the will which is in turn the source of moral action" (Robertson, 88). "Marriage in Chaucer’s time meant a union between spirit and flesh and was thus part of the marriage between Christ and the Church" (Bennett, 113). The Canterbury Tales show many abuses of this sacred bond, as will be discussed below.
A Shakespearean scholar expanded on this, “The play enacts the defeat of the threat of a woman’s revolt; it does so in a comic form – thus so offers the audience the chance to revel in and reinforce their misogyny while at the same time feeling good” (Gay). The Taming of the Shrew at many points is just praising the men in the novel despite their behavior and putting down the women for being anything but perfect. The novel makes the actions happening comedic and the reader does not get upset at the things happening, but in reading further into it and comparing in to modern day, it is not hard to see the plain and simple abuse. Although gender roles are still prominent into today’s society they are toned back. In contemporary version of The
Gender roles is what really separated the two era’s from one another. Marrying a man just because of his wealth was what almost every woman wanted in the 1800s in order to evade an almost unavoidable poverty stricken life. This still occurs today, however these women have the same opportunity as men to become successful. Love is also certainly a reason in both time frames. However, many more marriages today take place because of love. Women should not have to force themselves to love a man because he is rich. It should be an emotion that happens on its own without factoring in the attributes of the marriage. Marriage will continue to take place for centuries to come and the reasons will never all be the
to put it in a very sarcastic way. The writer says, "it is a truth
Many of Chaucer’s pilgrims represent a kind of duality. The Pardoner gives a sermon while admitting he is one held captive by his sin. The Miller, of one of the lowest classes depicted of the pilgrims, tells a tale directly proceeding the Knight’s tale of noble valor. Many others, still, tell tales that do not necessarily contradict their prologues but rather round out their characters. The Wife of Bath is no different. While seemingly hardened by her life of “misery and woe,” that becomes the marriages described in her prologue, she is still able to tell a tale of dishonorable knights, powerful queens, and relenting kings with a type of grace unexpected from a character such as herself. (Chaucer, 258).