Role Of Katherine In Taming Of The Shrew

However, suitors who seek Bianca as a wife have to wait for her sister to be married first. Kate is seen as a shrew because she is strong willed and unlike most women of the time. In his 1603 play The Taming of the Shrew, William Shakespeare enforces traditional gender roles and demonstrates how little say women had in society. He accomplishes this through the strong personality of Kate, Baptista 's attitude towards his daughters as transactions, and

The play is, in fact, a comedy about an assertive woman coping with how she is expected to act in the society of the late sixteenth century and of how one must obey the unwritten rules of a society to be accepted in it. Although the play ends with her outwardly conforming to the norms of society, this is in action only, not in mind. Although she assumes the role of the obedient wife, inwardly she still retains her assertiveness. It is curious to note the role of women in Shakespearean li... ... middle of paper ... ...Katherine is being of a woman finally acting the way in which she is supposed to act, it is difficult to believe that a character as vibrant and strong-willed as Katherine is changed so easily. It would seem more logical that Katherine would simply be acting the part of 'the obedient wife' in order to be accepted in the society in which she lives.

Mrs. Bennet's main concern in life is to see that all her daughters are married, preferably to wealthy men. She doesn't even seem to care whether or not her daughters truly love the men. There are many times in the book when Mrs. Bennet tries to set her daughters up with men. For example, when Bingley first moves to Netherfield Park, Mrs. Bennet encourages Mr. Bennet to meet him and make friends with him before any of the other neighbors. Another example of Mrs. Bennet's attempts to marry off her daughters is when Jane becomes ill while at Netherfield.

Mrs. Bennet continues her crying and her lamentations until her brother comes and she explains that she fears that Mr. Bennet will be killed and they will lose their home. Mrs. Bennet understands the situation, but she tries to gain power by trying to convince Mr. Gardner to protect them financially if something does happen to Mr. Bennet, which means she and her daughters will be economically set for the future. Another example of Mrs. Bennet’s emotion put to the test is when Mrs. Bennet mood goes from depressed to jovial due to Lydia marrying Wickham and them having a wedding. “Mrs. Bennet’s joy when the news arrives of the impending wedding is not tempered by any reservation regarding Lydia’s immoral behavior during the last few

Through an elaborate charade of humiliating behavior, Petruchio humbles her and by the end of the play, she will instruct other women on the nature of being a good and dutiful wife. In direct contrast to Shrew, is Twelfth Night, whose main female protagonist is by far the strongest character in the play. The main character Viola, has been stranded in a foreign land and adopts the identity of her brother so that she might live independently without a husband or guardian. She serves as a courtier to a young, lovesick nobleman named Orsino. Throughout the play she plays as a go-between for him to the woman he loves.

Empowerment of Women in Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, and The Taming of the Shrew In Shakespeare’s comedies, many – possibly even most - of the female characters are portrayed as being manipulated, if not controlled outright, by the men in their lives: fathers, uncles, suitors, husbands. And yet, there are women inhabiting Shakespeare’s comedic world who seem to enjoy a greater degree of autonomy and personal power than one would expect in a patriarchal society. Superficially, therefore, Shakespeare’s comedies appear to send mixed signals regarding the notion of female empowerment. Some women are strong and independent, others are completely submissive, and the behavior of either seems to be influenced more by theme or plot than by any qualities within the characters themselves. A closer look, though, should make it evident that this is not the case; as in many of Shakespeare’s plays, appearances can be deceiving.

In jest they mentioned their plan to a friend, Petruchio, who surprisingly agreed to marry Katherina. All her beauty and wealth were enough for him. Katherina reluctantly was wed to Petruchio and she was taken to his home to be tamed. With Katherina out of the way, Bianca was now allowed to marry Lucentio, who offered her father the highest dowry for her. In the final scenes of the play, Katherina proves that she is tamed by winning an obedience contest at a dinner party.

Further more without Katherina getting married, Bianca would also never marry. Within a family the eldest daughter must be married off first and in this play turned out to be a bonus. “Her father keeps from all access of suitors and will not promise her to any man until her elder sister first be wed.” This is the main an... ... middle of paper ... .... She now obeys what is asked of her by Petruchio like such as when she is told to lecture the other wives about how to be a good wife, “Katherina, I charge thee, tell these headstrong women, what duty they do owe their lords and husbands.” Without arguing and saying a word against what is asked of her she gives her advice, “Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee.” Women in the Elizabethan era were presented as very obedient to their husbands and respectful to them also. They had no power and no say, they were treated badly and nothing would be done to stop the behaviour. In modern society most women have as much say as the men, they are not expected to stay at home and clean etc, and instead they go to work as well.

Second, in the matching of Bianca we have aspects of the mercenary modes of betrothal often practiced in Shakespeare's own day, though Bianca finally marries for love, not money. Third, in the marriage of Hortensio and his widow we have what looks like an unabashed marriage for money on Hortensio's part, and probably for physic... ... middle of paper ... ...He agrees to marry Katherine sight unseen At the banquet following Hortensio's wedding to the widow, the three new husbands stage a contest to see which of their wives will obey first when summoned, everyone expects Lucentio to win. Bianca, however, sends a message back refusing to obey, while Katherine comes immediately. The others acknowledge that Petruccio has won an astonishing victory, and the happy Katherine and Petruccio leave the banquet to go to bed.

Then there is the tale where we find the answer to the question, “What do women want?”, sovereignty over their husbands. Finally we see the Wife’s idealized version of marriage in her tale. The hag gains control over the knight by forcing him to marry her, then giving him control to decide her loyalty, he cant chose so he gives up all control to her just like that and it’s over, the end, they live happily ever after. We encounter the first issue of sovereignty when the Wife of Bath is telling us about herself in her prolog. She mentions that three of her husbands were good because they were old and rich.