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Women In The Taming Of The Shrew

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The Taming of the Shrew gives the readers an accurate representation of society in Shakespeare’s times. In these times there was not yet racial equality, there was not yet women’s rights, and women were under control of their father until married. Men were seen as owners of women and not as equal counterparts when married. Shakespeare’s times were very different from what we have now, the roles of women and men, marriage was for different reasons, and the control on marrying was different. Throughout The Taming of the Shrew Shakespeare makes most of the struggles for women at the time a laughing matter for entertainment. The role of women in the Elizabethan times were very limited, most were expected to become housewives and mothers. On average,
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When it comes to the way modern society functions, somebody’s gender can influence the amount of respect given to them. This exact structure of power based on gender was in place during the English Renaissance era. This is when English poet and playwright, William Shakespeare, created his most famous works, where these ideologies of gender superiority are evident. He uses his plays to critique society and its flaws. In The Taming of The Shrew, the complex character of Katherine and her arranged marriage with Pertruichio makes a mockery of her true identity and develops the plot as well as the theme that misogyny and gender roles defined humanity in the English Renaissance era.

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This website gives many details about daily life in the Elizabethan Era. It tells about the roles of men, women, and children. The men were the head of the household. Women were to be submitted to their husbands. And children were to obey and serve their parents.

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During this time period women were expected to be at home and preform the daily duties while giving their ultimate respect to the men, as they were the money makers and were often given the authority over females

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Not only did men see women as unintelligent, they also saw them as weak and compliant. What made this worse was that women of higher status would have a lot of free time since they had servants to do everything. They would spend their time strolling around or doing ‘feminine hobbies’; this affirmed mens’ notion that that women were idle and did not do much, so they treated them this way. To see how dire their situation was, one must must only have to read A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While fictitious, this story does show one bit of truth, the way women were being treated during this era.

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In Shakespeare’s two plays, Othello and The Taming of the Shrew patterns of domination and submission are explored in relation to the shared issue of gender and power contained in each play. In Shakespeare’s time, women were expected to carry themselves a certain way to maintain the honor of their families. Shakespeare writes Othello and The Taming of the Shrew in the Elizabethan era which readers can see by the way the male figures in the plays see their women as property than human beings. By writing from the Elizabethan point-of-view, it effects the way each play is perceived as behavior previously seen as acceptable may now be viewed as unacceptable from a feminist perspective. For example, in The Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio dehumanizes Katharina’s character which results in Katharina’s submission to her husband, Petruchio.

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In the play “The Taming of the Shrew”, we see that society was very different from what is now. Back then the rules were much looser than how we are viewing them today. We see how the older men try to find themselves wives, but the age difference between man and woman are significantly different than what we see now. Back then, it was normal for men to marry young women or try to go after them while they were still fourteen or fifteen years old.

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Although the perspective of women in the Elizabethan era was much different from the perspective of manhood, it was also similar in a sense that manhood and womanhood both played an essential role during their era. The thought of men being the ones to do things such as commit murder and be ambitious is still prevalent today. In our society we view women as people who are soft and not quite as ambitious as the opposite sex. The notion that women are incapable of committing murder is obscure as they are physically capable of doing harm to any human body as well as being able to have ambition such as

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815 Words | 4 Pages

From Sexism to Social Reformation Many actions and ideologies of the characters in The Taming of the Shrew create an overarching conflict between comedy and sexism for most readers. Specifically, the relationships between the men and women introduce controversial topics such as obedience and love which must be questioned thoroughly. The conditions of Petruchio and Katherine’s marriage was more “traditional” in the sense that it was primarily patriarchal, and that Kate was expected to be subservient and obedient. While this is sexist, on the surface, this was not the intended meaning behind the works.

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The roles of women are immanently transcending as society continues to alter their perception of the female race. Since the misogynistic Elizabethan era, women exceed the expectations of encompassing subservient and docile characteristics to becoming respectable individuals capable of embracing their own beliefs rather than a man’s. However, equality for women’s rights only began with the recognition of society’s unequal treatment towards women. The Taming of the Shrew in its own sense stands as small step of recognition towards the early fight for the rights of women. Shakespeare uses this piece of literature to essentially reveal and criticize the manner in which male-dominated societies treat women as animals that are to be tamed.

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Ever wonder about gender roles in Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew? In Taming of the Shrew, the gender roles affect the characters in a rather negative way, and when they surface in the play, it’s rather shocking. This essay will discuss how gender roles affect the characters in what I believe is a negative way, and how they surface in the play. In this play, the men appear to have a particular idea on how all women should behave.

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‘What is a real woman?’ William Shakespeare’s : Taming of the Shrew and Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales : The Wife of Bath’s Tale deals with the Middle Ages or medieval period lasting from the 5th to the 15th century. beginning with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and emerging toward the Renaissance (14th to the 17th century) and the Age of Discovery.

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It is a story of how Petruchio, the money-grubbing wife hunter, transforms the aggressive and bad-tempered Katherine Minola into an obedient, honey-tounge trophy wife. Written by William Shakespeare between 1590 and 1594, it's one of Shakespeare's earliest comedies. It is also one of his most controversial works as well. The Taming of the Shrew has been criticized for its representation of abusive behavior and misogynistic attitudes toward women, and the play has pretty much been dogged since it was first performed. There is a lot of evidence that Shrew made, even Shakespeare's contemporary audiences more than a little squeamish.

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The three social classes during the time of the Renaissance were comprised of people who lived very different lives. The wealthy class were the people with most control. Men would be abusive towards their servants, and wives, however the only reason they would act this way, was because they wanted to give off the appearance that they were the ones with the money, the power, and no one was allowed to tell them otherwise. The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare revolves around the wealthy, such as Petruchio, Petruchio was abusive towards his servants, and his wife Katherine, he also made it his priority to find a way to “tame” his wife, thus having control. The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare celebrates male dominance in marital and social hierarchies and encourages abusive behaviors towards people of a low status.

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During medieval times, women were expected to be mothers, wives, and peace weavers, none other than that. They were required to be pure, good, and attractive in order to be portrayed as the “greatest gift to mankind.” Otherwise they would be looked upon as evil, witch-like, and monstrous. Women were expected to be adorned in jewels, well-liked, and respected by all. They shall cause no conflicts and should bow to their male authorities.

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Despite the government having a rather equal relationship in terms of class since the commoners are involved, the Elizabethan society was patriarchal; men were superior to women because they were the weaker sex, physically and emotionally. Regardless of social class, women were not allowed to vote, not allowed to go to a university, not allowed to have professions such as being lawyers or doctors; only domestic service, not allowed to act in theatres, and most certainly not allowed to inherit any of her father’s titles, except for the crown of course, and if the woman is the only heir of her father. Aside from all these limitations, women are expected to be fully obedient to their husbands, meaning never to question them; only obedience, for disobedience would mean punishment, to be dependent on their male relatives especially if they were single, to bear children as much as possible to keep the lineage alive, to maintain the household and manage everything, and still be presentable in terms of appearance, especially the women of the high social class. But, compared to the women of other societies, Elizabethan women exercise far more freedom than any women in world history. Especially those of the noble class, women were allowed education (from tutors) in subjects other than housewifery.

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