In most societies, women are seen as subordinates to men. During the Elizabethan period of England, men were superior to women, because women were looked upon as less valuable during this period of time. Occasionally, women gained recognition from men. However, men took responsibilities, and were seen as more important. In the Shakespearean comedy, Taming of the Shrew, author William Shakespeare displays disrespect towards women by including sexist remarks. He also portrays women as being obedient to men, who are more significant in that time. Shakespeare portrays women being obedient to their husbands and the men being more appreciated and significant in his play Taming of the Shrew. During the Elizabethan era, men were more powerful and the more significant gender type, while women were more obedient and silent. This gender difference influenced how the society viewed women during this time. In “Women in the Renaissance and Reformation” the author discussed about how the women had different jobs then the men did. The men had to do the more work in the family, while the women were sitting at home watching the kids or doing something that was not very productive. The roles women played in their family included “a daughter, then a wife, mother, or widow.” On the contrary, men’s roles were “generally defined by social position or occupation, as in a merchant, knight, priest, peasant and more.” (Carnagie 541). Women were subservient to their men. They relied on their male relatives to support and take care of them while they could have been taking care of themselves. “Before the renaissance even occurred, men dominated European society and women lacked power to challenge them. After about 1400, however, women began to demand for som... ... middle of paper ... ...bethan era and Shakespeare’s perspective on women. One might assume that women were greatly respected because of Queen Elizabeth rule of England. Others can think that Shakespeare did not respect women because of how they were treated in Taming of the Shrew. In Shakespeare’s time, he wrote his plays to reflect the morals on how women were seen as lower-rank to men. He agrees with those beliefs by having women be obedient to their husbands. Some people believe that Shakespeare resented the morals towards women because the women were outspoken in their character roles. They fail to notice how Katherine is undisciplined, but by the end Katherine’s act becomes very devoted to her husband Petruchio. The literature shows that even after a 100 years, women’s position in society may have improved, but the attitude towards their dominance is the same as the Elizabethan era.
Many of Shakespeare’s plays are seen as either sexist or humorous, with room to discuss. The way the men in “The Taming of the Shrew” treat the two female characters has been very controversial, because of how they look at them as if they are possessions and not actual people. Some argue that the play is not truly sexist because of the way Shakespeare wrote it to be a comedy. Because of it being a comedy, it not only sheds some light on a dark subject, but also mocks it, making it more obvious as to how sexism is a preposterous idea. To some, Shakespeare’s portrayal of sexism is a bad thing, but if you look a little closer, the mockery of the subject is more apparent because of how extravagant the male characters’ personalities are toward the women in the play. Gremio and Hortensio constantly fight over Bianca’s hand in marriage, even to the point of Gremio stating, “You may go to the devil’s dam! Your gifts are so good here’s none will hold you.- Their love is not so great, Hortensio, but we
"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
Sexism is an ever changing concept in today’s world. Every day the concept morphs a little bit, changing the entire definition of what is sexist and what is not. In The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare, the male characters lie to and abuse their women in order to have the women marry them. Lucentio come to Padua to study, but when he sees a beautiful girl, he pretends to be a teacher in order to marry Bianca. Petruchio on the other hand forces a woman to marry him and then trains her to follow his every command. Although the The Taming of the Shrew is frequently regarded as a particularly sexist play, it is not sexist and demeaning towards women.
In Shakespeare's comedy, The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare has a woman as one of the story's main characters. Katherine Minola (Kate) is off the wall, and kinda crazy. Because of her actions, the “male centered world” around her doesn't know what to do with her.
Taming of the Shrew is a play by William Shakespeare about the “taming” of a woman named Kate by a man named Petruchio. If Taming of the Shrew had taken place in modern times, there are many parts of the play that I believe would have ended quite differently. There were many human rights issues and violations that would not be acceptable in modern times to be found in the play as well. Regardless of this, there seemed to be a few hints towards modern concepts such as gender equality to be found in the play. While perhaps some of the concepts and ideas in Taming of the Shrew may lay in stark contrast with the ideas and concepts of today, there are some hints at modern ideals to be found in this play.
The plot of William Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew is derived from the popular 'war of the sexes' theme in which males and females are pitted against one another for dominance. Although the play has been condemned for the blatant sexist attitude it has toward women, a close examination of the play reveals that it is not a story of how men should 'put women in their place'. The play is, in fact, a comedy about an assertive woman coping with how she is expected to act in society and of how one must obey the unwritten rules of a society to be accepted by 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.
A Shakespearean scholar expanded on this, “The play enacts the defeat of the threat of a woman’s revolt; it does so in a comic form – thus so offers the audience the chance to revel in and reinforce their misogyny while at the same time feeling good” (Gay). The Taming of the Shrew at many points is just praising the men in the novel despite their behavior and putting down the women for being anything but perfect. The novel makes the actions happening comedic and the reader does not get upset at the things happening, but in reading further into it and comparing it to modern day, it is not hard to see the plain and simple abuse. Although gender roles are still prominent in today’s society, they are toned back. In contemporary versions of The Taming of The Shrew, such as 10 Things I Hate About You and Kiss Me Kate, the character Kate is always mitigated.
During the Elizabethan era women had a status of subordination towards men. They had a role to marry and oblige to their husband’s wishes. Shakespearean literature, especially illustrates how a woman is psychologically and physically lesser to their male counterpart. The play, Othello, uses that aspect in many different ways. From a Feminist lens others are able to vividly examine how women were subjected to blatant inferiority. Being displayed as tools for men to abuse, women were characterized as possessions and submissive; only during the last portion of the play did the power of women take heed.
The Taming of the Shrew is set in a time period that did not accept women as we do today. In today's society, women who are strong and independent and quick witted are praised. In Elizabethan times women were supposed to know their role in life, being good to their husbands, making children and taking care of them. There were no women in politics, there were no women in business, it was only acceptable for women to participate in domestic areas of life. Women could not live a respectable life in this time period without a male figure to take care of them, rendering them helpless without men. If there was anything that must be done involving economics or education, it was up to the men. Men were the ones who worked and brought home the money to support the family. The roles of men and women were very distinct, and it resulted in giving the men the majority of the power.
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare is a play that is ahead of its time in its views toward gender roles within society. Katherine is a woman who is intelligent, and is not afraid to assert her views on any given situation. She is paired with another obstinate character in Pertuchio. The Marriage formed between the two is a match made in heaven for two reasons. First Because Katherine is strong enough to assert her views, and more importantly, she realizes when she should assert them. 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 at attitude to repulsive clothing. Carefully and calculatingly, Petruchio forges a relationship that is envied by all who witness it.
Women are like, “pretty, skinny, perfect words that society chooses for us.” This quote comes from the poem, Backpack Full of Insecurity, which discusses how women and men will never be equivalent to one another. The Taming of the Shrew was written in 1592 by the English playwright, William Shakespeare. In consideration to the time period, women were not considered equals of men. Shakespeare’s play portrays gender roles set within society through the eyes of Petruchio and Katherine. Specifically, Katherine is unable to exceed these duties set during Elizabethan times.
The Taming of the Shrew is a story about a woman who is crushed by many people in many ways. Kate is crushed by how her father treats her, and by how Petruchio treats her soon after their marriage. From a different person's perspective though, she still seems to be crushed by being put out as a shrew.
Since the time of William Shakespeare, society has changed tenfold. A big change is how much more opportunities women have in modern times. Way back when, women did not get a say in most of what they did; males in their lives mostly bossed them around. This can be seen in Shakespeare’s classic play, The Taming of the Shrew, when Petruchio attempts to “tame” Katherine. As years passed, women gained more freedom. This can be seen in the adaptation of the Shakespeare work called 10 Things I Hate About You. It shows that roles have changed slightly, but the general idea of the story is similar. There are drastic changes in The Taming of the Shrew and 10 Things I Hate About You due to the changes in society. Those changes include different actions
Are themes in The Taming Of The Shrew and other related readings by William Shakespeare able to stand the test of time, and still relate to modern day movies like 10 Things I Hate About You by Gil Junger? Although most of Shakespeares books and themes apply to modern times, The use of disguises has been lost in time. people nowadays know more people and cannot be recommended to people as easily and just because of their family name.
Katherine from The Taming of the Shrew is introduced as a mean, shrewish young woman who is considered to be “untameable.” She and her sister Bianca are complete opposites and do not get along. As her father has it, Bianca will not get married until his oldest daughter Katherine is married. But because Katherine is so shrewish, the plausibility of her getting married is slim. Similarly, Kat from 10 Things I hate about you is independent, loud, and not afraid to speak her own mind. Kat’s sister Bianca wants to start dating, but just as Katherine’s father said in TTOTS, Bianca cannot date until her sister does the same. While both Katherine in Taming of the Shrew and Kat in 10 Things I Hate About You are mean and shrewish in the beginning of the movie and play, the change in personality and character differs as each is introduced to the possibility of love. The time period’s expectations of women affects how Katherine’s personality deteriorates as she becomes more of a servant than an equal partner and how Kat remains her own person while still opening her heart to love.