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Critiques of the taming of the shrew
Critiques of the taming of the shrew
Literature review gender role essay
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The Outdated Themes of Taming of the Shrew
The play, Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare’s comedies. It portrays the humorous events regarding the suiting of Kate, a shrew dwelling in the city of Padua. It portrays many ideas about love and marriage that do not quite fit with our current views and what we know about relationships.
It can be argued that the comedy of the play makes it universal, but it contains some themes that will not be received in the same light as they were during Shakespeare’s time. The comedy is still mostly universal. The visual comedy in the play, like Kate falling off of her horse into the mud, is still universally appealing. The comedy of actions is also equally universal. For example, Petruchio’s actions would be just as humorous now as they were in Shakespeare’s day. But, the situations that erupt from his actions are sometimes questionable in whether they are humorous or if they border into off-color disrespect for Kate, or females in general. The majority of the play is universal, but I feel the major themes the play puts forth are a little outdated and lacking of respect.
The major theme is portrayed by the attitude towards marriage shown in Petruchio and Kate’s relationship. First the relationship was started entirely against the wife’s will, and for the fiscal benefit of the husband, with no intent of love involved. This is especially shown when Kate walks onto the roof of her father's house. The first thing that Petruchio does is states his worries about loosing not Kate, but his "20 thousand crowns," that he was promised if he wed Kate. Petruchio used his wife only as a stepping block, and later after "taming" her, used her as a status symbol. His method of "taming" her was suppressive, and locked her into a position she did not willingly want to be in. After she was tamed, she stopped speaking of her feelings and misgivings honestly, and suppressed them. In a relationship, the second most important thing is to be able to openly share and reveal your feelings, which is not what the play of this play shows. In the play, Kate is forced to suppress her feelings just to get food, or to be able to visit her friends and family. Petruchio "tames" Kate by rewarding her for being obedient, and punishing her when she disagrees with him.
This play has many themes of patriarchy concerning the roles of males and females in a marriage, the authority of fathers over their families, husbands over wives, and men over women (Bloom 13). In the title alone, there's the indication of the husband over the wife, the "taming" of the shrew (16), and the word shrew that is chosen to describe Katherine is somewhat demeaning. In modern day society there is no such boundaries put on women. There should not be one party who overpowers the other one. It is a marriage, a bond that is shared, and each should be respected in the same way. Today, women and men are equals in a marriage, or at least in the United States. Women are no longer as oppressed as they once were. This play is rather primitive on the views of women in society.
The entirety of “The Taming Of The Shrew” is essentially a giant parody. Full of imitations and disguises itself, Shakespeare focuses on a typical situation in his society, several men trying to court a woman, and having to deal with an intolerable woman. Through this imitation, the ridiculousness of the characters can be seen. This absurdity is incredibly obvious to us today, because our society
"Women have a much better time than men in this world; there are far more things forbidden to them." -Oscar Wilde. This quote embodies the fight over gender roles and the views of women in society. Taming of the Shrew deals with Kate and Bianca, two sisters who are at the time to he married off. 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
Petruchio could possibly just be trying to get his woman the best food possible, or in the case of his wedding, the best tailored clothes for Kate. Petruchio brings in a tailor for his wedding, and when the dress doesn’t live up to his expectations, he lets the tailor know (IV.iii.113-121) “O monstrous arrogance!... that thou hast marred her gown.” Petruchio cares so much about getting everything for his wife to be perfect that he does not let one thing fall out of line for his wedding preparations. These things could be taken as sexist acts; however they were just acts... ...
...ironic use of manipulation before and after the wedding, Petruchio is able to tame Kate. Or so he thinks. The only real change is that Kate agrees with him, but she only does this to get her way. Therefore she is manipulating him by pretending that he has been able to tame her. He has not tamed her, because she also utilizes the art of manipulation. Before, Kate’s only defense against patriarchy is to be outspoken; now, she negotiates her own sense of power within patriarchy by using manipulation. Shakespeare’s critic of the patriarchal social structure is therefore just, because not only are women denied the same legal power as men, but their manipulative power is also disregarded and considered a weakness. Therefore women are not to be blamed for utilizing this powerful form of control, because that is what the patriarchal social structure forces them into.
Based on the a article “The Definition of Social Policy” my understanding of social welfare policy is law and rules that are set in place to develop the lives of people in the community and allow them to thrive. Social welfare is not only about programs and benefits provided by the government to assist disadvantaged groups. It is far more complex than that as Midgley states “This narrow meaning fails to capture the original significance of the term,
Isidore, Chris. “No Holiday Hiring for Walmart, Just More Hours for Its Workers.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, 20 Sept. 2017, money.cnn.com/2017/09/20/news/companies/walmart-holiday-help/.
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
These minor children need guidance and support in order to sustain a healthy lifestyle. By informing them of these programs, mental health awareness, and relational stability can have a positive impact on their mental health risks. Apa.org stated that “Psychologists have also designed programs that effectively engage families, schools and communities, that is, the critical social supports that can guarantee lasting well-being for children and youth” (2017). This can create positive factors that will help them engage in better mental health over all with their most common social
Meyerson, N. (2010) up some interesting point in research about the down fall of social security
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.
I learned about the importance of giving back at the age of 11yr old and putting the very important needs of others in front of my own. Volunteering in a homeless shelter at a young age opened my eyes. Where I was placed to give food, clothes, money & hygiene products to people in need. Where would I be right now without the help of God, my mother, family& friends and the church community”. Giving a helping hand to the people in the community is Something we should always do. In the ("bible Acts 20:35 says in everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the lord Jesus himself said: it is more blessed to give than to receive"). Having a compassionate heart for the community blesses the congregation.
Shakespeare, William. “The Taming of the Shrew.” Ed. Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, Katharine Eisaman Maus, and Andrew Gurr. The Norton Shakespeare: Comedies. By William Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Jay. Greenblatt. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997. 175-244. Print.
The 2004 Report of the Social Security Trustees is in; but the jury is still out ýarguing the findings of the report. Agree or not, the masses have a good idea of ýthe final ruling and they all agree that the current state of the social security ýsystem has suffered, for a very long time, from an ongoing deficit problem that ýwill continue to grow unless immediate steps are taken to address the problem. ýPeople, on both sides of the fence, argue in support or against the president’s ýproposed plan to save the Social Security system. Yet, they all concede and ýacknowledge that in reality a problem does exist; and unless calculated ýmeasures are taken, this problem cannot be controlled and will snow ball the ýSocial Security System into bankruptcy.ý
Coming from an underprivileged immigrant family and as a first generation college student, I see a lot of responsibilities on my shoulders. In addition to appreciating and helping my parents for all their hardship in supporting me through all the ups and downs in my life, my ultimate goal is to give my service to my community and the people in need. And what is the better way to serve and support the ones in need than by improving their oral hygiene and their overall health. No matter how big the challenge is going to be, I am willing to give it my all, because nothing in this world can replace the satisfaction of seeing your patients acknowledge your work in improving their oral hygiene and ultimately their confidence.