Kate Minola's Treatment Of Women In The Elizabethan Era

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Katherine Minola, in the play, is the ultimate female rebel of the Elizabethan era. Kate is different from any other woman of her time, working against the typical Shakespearean traits such as having a timid and quiet attitude. She played multiple roles throughout her life; one of which her father, Baptista Minola, forced upon her. Though Shakespeare never outwardly reveals Katherine’s reasoning for not want to be married, it is evident in the way she acts and speaks of marriage that she is utterly against the idea. When her father marries her off to Petruchio, her life changes completely. Living in the Minola household, Kate did not have to do any work around the house because of the multiple family servants. This type of life appears adequate, but with a sister and father breathing down her neck to get married, Kate continually lashes out at her family. …show more content…

Bianca, the younger of the two sisters, wishes to be married to Lucentio, a rich man who her father approves and loves, but there is a problem. In Elizabethan times, the older sister must be married before the younger sister can be wed. Once Kate and Petruchio are married, Bianca and Lucentio are finally able to be together, and Kate is whisked away from her family to live with her new husband. It seems as though life in this household is a culture shock to Kate; she is not accustomed to living with multiple men in what is essentially an Elizabethan era bachelor pad. As all other Shakespearean men, Petruchio wants Katherine to wait on him hand and foot, but this lifestyle is not sufficient for Kate. She wants to be her own person, free from any man who wishes to change her or hold her

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