Gender Roles In Taming Of The Shrew

Women are like, “pretty, skinny, perfect words that society chooses for us.” This quote comes from the poem, Backpack Full of Insecurity, which discusses how women and men will never be equivalent to one another. The Taming of the Shrew was written in 1592 by the English playwright, William Shakespeare. In consideration to the time period, women were not considered equals of men. Shakespeare’s play portrays gender roles set within society through the eyes of Petruchio and Katherine. Specifically, Katherine is unable to exceed these duties set during Elizabethan times.

The Taming of the Shrew was set in Elizabethan time where women had little to no influence. Moreover, the community was patriarchal, meaning it was controlled by men. Similarly,

Kate, the eldest daughter of Baptista, is known as a shrew and the protagonist of the play. Kate is an alpha female with a strong will and a hot temper. Surely, not many people can handle Kate’s personality, which is one reason why she is single. Kate exclaims, “I pray you, sir, is it your will/ To make a stale of me amongst these mates?” to her demeaning father, Baptista, who thinks lowly of her (17). Knowing of the way she is treated within the household, Kate takes hold of the situation instantly. As the play drags on, Petruchio makes several attempts to tame Kate’s lively personality through methods such as sleep deprivation and starvation. He declares his methods stating, “She eat no meat today, nor none shall eat. / Last night she sleep not, nor tonight she shall not” (73). Upon these methods, Kate becomes a docile wife to Petruchio. Petruchio justifies his accomplishments by making a bet with Hortensio and Lucentio saying, “ Let’s each one send unto his wife, / And he whose wife is most obedient / To come at first when he doth send for her / Shall win the wager which we will propose” (104). From the time Petruchio joined the bet until his victory, he was confident and collected, proving he was the ultimate winner of the play since he acquired a rich, subservient