Taming The Shrew Gender Roles

William Shakespeare is perhaps the most famous and prestigious writer in English literature and through his works has provided extensive insight into women of his time period. These masterpieces have provided the modern audience knowledge of the gender stereotypes and roles of that time. At times, Shakespeare’s representation of women in his plays are conventional and have hidden messages pointed towards women to restore the qualities and attractive attributes of a lady. Despite this Shakespeare is also radical, writing about women as powerful and influential people, opposing the gender stereotypes and values at the time. This constant contradicting of his plays challenges the both his Elizabethan era audience and the 21st-century audience.

He shows this through his character Katherine,who starts out as an aggressive and foul tempered woman who continually insults the men around her.Shakespeare shows that she is opposing society and doesn’t fit into her role as a woman in the Elizabethan era, who are usually silent and obedient. This can be seen in Act 1 Scene 13 where Petruchio is asking Katherine’s father to marry her and he tells him to meet Katherine first. The two are arguing and Petruchio is telling her how sweet she is unlike the things people say. He then asks her to walk a few steps and she responds with “Go, fool, and whom thou keep’st command” in which calls Petruchio a fool and tells him that her cannot give orders to her. This is shocking as women are usually submissive to men and are quiet, never talking back. Shakespeare also shows that Katherine’s independence and intelligence is what fuels her hatred of both society’s and her father’s expectation of an obedient daughter and a courteous and graceful woman who is expected to submit to