We see the girls in both “The Taming of the Shrew” and “10 Things I Hate About You” become very close to a boy, but for extraordinarily different reasons. This coincides directly with the idea that marriage was arranged during the time of Shakespeare, and now it is typically a mutual relationship between two people.
By looking directly at each girl's reason for getting with a particular guy the evolution is particularly evident. Katherine in “The Taming of the Shrew” is not happy when her father tells her that she has to marry Petruchio, but she does not have a choice. It is the exact opposite with Kat’s father in “10 Things I Hate About You”. At the beginning of the movie he states that Kat and Bianca are not even allowed to date, but then changes it to Bianca can when Kat does. Therefore, Kat gets a choice of when and who she would like to form a
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relationship with as opposed to Katherine who has no say in the matter.
However, it is the the effects of each of these situations that allow us to evaluate the two as a whole. Although Kat’s emotions go up and down about Patrick nonstop throughout the movie, in the end she is much happier than she was before she met Patrick. Similarly, Katherine ends up stating how submission has “made her heart great”, implying that she is content with the situation, but she does not appear to be truly happy with Petruchio. She is aware that she has no choice in regards to submission, and that her life will be better if she just accepts it. Thus, Katherine’s happiness is superficial as opposed to Kat’s which is real. Also feminism did not exist until the 19th century, so during the time of Shakespeare Katherine and Bianca did not even think of the idea that they could have a choice when it comes to men. Marriages were arranged, and that concept was accepted for many centuries,In fact, Katherine and Bianca are not even considered to be citizens because they
are women, so they have no rights whatsoever. Kat and Bianca in the play are fully aware of their natural rights as humans and exercise them rightfully so by telling Patrick, Joey, and Cameron their feelings towards them. If Katherine would have had these same rights she likely would not have chosen to marry Petruchio. Finally, the motivation behind each man’s decision to get with each girl is quite frustrating and selfish. Both do it for money, which is the complete wrong reason for doing so; the only difference: Katherine was aware of it and Kat was not. Petruchio was informed of the wealth Katherine possessed, and that’s why he wanted to marry her. Patrick was going after Kat because he was getting paid to do so by Joey. Both men began their quest for a woman for financial reasons, but they ended in completely different ways. Did Petruchio ever truly love Katherine for the woman she is? We will never know. However, it is very evident that Patrick falls madly in love with Kat and their feelings are mutual. Having a choice in regards to relationships has been a controversial idea for centuries. Women have been reluctant to state their feelings because they know that often their opinions are disregarded. You cannot force love onto a person; it will always be depthless and cause tension in the relationship. True love existed for both Bianca and Kat in “10 Things I Hate About You”, but quite possibly did not exist for either Katherine or Bianca in “The Taming of the Shrew”.
Twelfth Night, written by Shakespeare between the years of 1599 and 1601 (“Shakespeare-Online”), is easily one of his most well-known plays. A year after the assumed date of publication, on February the 2nd of 1602, Twelfth Night was performed for the first time (“William-Shakespeare)”. The location of the production is thought to have taken place in the Middle Temple, which was one of four law schools within London that were known as the Inns of Court (“Shakespeare-Online”). Though some would classify Twelfth Night as generic, it is laced with a sharp sense of humor and controversial concerns that can easily be applied to the issues of present day. Many of these issues, such as marriage, gender identity, sex, homosexuality, and social ambition, are relevant in today’s society, making them easy to relate to. The central theme of the play is romance. The characters all experience love, in one way or another, whether it be unrequited or shared between more than one person. The plot is intricately woven, sometimes confusingly so, between twists and turns throughout the multiple acts, but it never strays too far from the subject of adoration. Despite the hardships, misperception and deceit the characters experience, six individuals are brought together in the name of holy matrimony in three distinct nuptials.
Once the father had made this choice the daughters were forced to obey. The romance was seen as a pursuit of love to win the girl. In 10 Things I Hate About You, I chose to deal with the issue in The Taming of the Shrew in a similar fashion but with one significant difference. Marriage is the focal point in the play "not to bestow my youngest daughter before I have a husband for the elder".
Norrie Epstein has a dissimilar portrayal of the play related to Kermode’s. Epstein perceives this play as a “brilliant and dazzling romantic comedy”. She cogitates Beatrice to be one of Shakespeare’s “most loquacious and engaging heroines.” During the course of the play Benedick and Beatrice are frequently rude to one another when it is understandable that they are perfect for each other. Stated in not merely in Epstein’s analysis but as well as numerous scholars, in the Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare articulates the belief that individuals “love deepest” are frequently the ones most secured from it. Beatrice and Benedick absolutely encounter the necessities for that classification of hiding covering their sentiments.
Examine the different ways in which Shakespeare presents the attitude towards marriage in the play, ‘The Taming of the Shrew.’
William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew is an interesting story that demonstrates the patriarchal ideas of how a marriage is suppose to be according to society, what is acceptable of a woman's role in a relationship. It's a story that has many things to show for it's been remade, and remade, even slightly altered to better relate to the teenage audience.
By charming her with kind words, Petruchio is able to manipulate Katherine into marriage and woo her, but in an unaccustomed way, as Kate is not used to men being so nice and direct with her. Petruchio is able to achieve this end by manipulating Katherine’s words. He twists what Kate says and makes it seem as if she is coming on to him sexually, while in reality he is the one implying the sexual innuendo. This manipulation can be seen when they have an argument about whether or not the wasp carries his sting on his tail or tongue, and Petruchio says “What, with my tongue in your tail? Nay, come again, good Kate. I am a gentleman—” (II, 1; 230-231). By contorting the words he ...
From the beginning of the play, the differences between Katherina and Bianca are highlighted through their interactions via dialogue. Early in the second act, Bianca pleads with her sister to not “make a bondmaid and a slave of me” because, as deemed by society, Bianca is not supposed to marry before her older sister (2.1.2). Bianca asks Katherina to “unbind [her] hands” so that she can get rid of all the gawdy implements she is forced to wear as a polite woman of the time, because if she doesn’t want to follow one rule, she doesn’t see why she should follow any of them (2.1.4). This immediately sets up these two sisters by showing how one depends on the status of the other to be truly happy, or happy as deemed by the doctrines of society anyway.
It is well known that Shakespeare’s comedies contain many marriages, some arranged, some spontaneous. During Queen Elizabeth's time, it was considered foolish to marry for love. However, in Shakespeare’s plays, people often marry for love. With a closer look into two of his most famous plays As You Like It and Twelfth Night or What You Will, I found that while marriages are defined and approached differently in these two plays, Shakespeare’s attitudes toward love in both plays share similarities. The marriages in As You Like It’s conform to social expectation, while the marriages are more rebellious in Twelfth Night. Love, in both plays, was defined as
When someone is a female their first thought should not be weak or nurturing, just as when someone is male their first though shouldn’t always be powerful. Unfortunately it has becomes so ingrained in societies mentality that this is the way that things work. The Taming of the Shrew is a past writing piece that expands on a mentality that is modern. The male gender cannot be put into this same constraint. Petruchio is the epitome of what society would describe a male as. He thinks he is in charge and always the superior to women. He expects Katherine to always do what he tells her to do, because he believes that is her duty as his wife. Moreover he should not be expected to do that for her. Furthermore, Bianca is what many would describe as the perfect woman. She is nurturing and she does not speak out against what she is told. When she does speak she always speaks like a lady. She exists merely for decoration in the home and to serve her husband. Katherine is the inconsistency in this stereotype on femininity. Her purpose in the novel originally is to rebel against this biased thought on female gender roles. Katherine is not afraid to speak out against the things that she is told to do. If she disagrees with something she will act on it and she is just as strong as the men in the novel; which is why many of the men actually fear her. Katherine is not submissive and does not believe that the only reason that she exists is to serve a husband. Katherine does not want to be just the damsel in distress, she wants to be in charge. At the end of the novel there is a switch in the personalities of Katherine and Bianca. This alteration provides the purpose of showing that gender is not something that someone can be confined in just because they were born a female. A woman can have many different traits and still be feminine. It is impossible to put femininity in a box because there are no real qualities for what
Trickery and Disguise in Merchant of Venice, Taming of the Shrew, and Much Ado About Nothing
The second reason the bond survives is that Petruchio is strong enough to accept the fact that Katherine has a mind and, more importantly, he loves her for that reason. Petruchio cleverly weaves the relationship into the framework of society without compromising the integrity of the relationship. Petruchio does this by comparing Katherine’s attitude to repulsive clothing. Carefully and calculatingly, Petruchio forges a relationship that is envied by all who witness it. Called "cursed Kate" throughout the play, Katherine is openly jealous of the attention her sister is receiving, whereas she, because she speaks her mind, is being bypassed and even avoided in the wooing process.
The romantic love, incest, and friendship seen throughout Shakespeare’s Hamlet is important as it can help the reader to explain the seemingly inexplicable actions that the characters demonstrate towards each other throughout the play.
Love and Marriage in A Midsummer Night’s Dream There is something to be said for the passionate love of young people, and Shakespeare said it in Romeo and Juliet. The belief that any action can be excused if one follows one's feelings is a sentimental notion that is not endorsed by Shakespeare. Thus, Theseus' suggestion in 1.1 of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, that Hermia marry a man she does not love rather than "live a barren sister" all her life would seem perfectly sensible to Shakespeare’s contemporaries. Shakespeare writes for a public who views marriage unsentimentally. At all levels of society, from king to commoner, marriage is entered into for commercial and dynastic reasons.
She announces that, “And place your hands below your husband's foot, In token of which duty, if he please, My hand is ready, may it do him ease” (5.2.193-195). Katherine believes that it is a woman’s duty to serve her husband and his every need, which conflicts her original attitude from the beginning of the play. Katherine’s monologue about a woman’s role proves that Petruchio has successfully “tamed” Katherine to the point where she has fully embraced her constructed role as a woman in
While Petruchio is trying to woo Katherine he uses similes to compare Katherine to ideal women standards, “sweet as springtime flowers. Thou canst frown, thou canst not look askance,” (II.i.93). With this simile, Petruchio refers to a feminine image of a rose and helps convey that men of that time period expect women to relate to only feminine images. Petruchio also refers to Katherine as being happy and nice all the time, which is a strong oxymoron to what she really is like. By creating these scenarios Shakespeare is able to represent how vastly different Katherine is compared to the social standards for women.