Night Of The Shrew Women Analysis

Katherine Minola is a character who is pivotal to the progression of the exposition in Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. The dynamic Kate faces everything from being unsolicited and undesirable by men, being forced into marriage, and falling in love with someone who undoubtedly mistreats her from the beginning. Being tossed and thrown from one end of the spectrum to the other allows room for drastic change in attitude, values, and behavior. There is much evidence of a revolution of character in Baptista’s daughter and Petruchio’s wife, Katherine. Reader’s can follow the transformation of an untamable shrew of society to a well loved and respectable woman figure of the upper class.

The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, and has weathered well into our modern era. For all the praises it has garnered throughout the centuries, it is curious to note that many have considered it to be one of his most controversial in his treatment of women. The "taming" of Katherine has been contended as being excessively cruel by many writers and critics of the modern era. George Bernard Shaw himself pressed for its banning during the 19th century. The subservience of Katherine has been labeled as barbaric, antiquated, and generally demeaning. The play centers on her and her lack of suitors. It establishes in the first act her shrewish demeanor and its repercussions on her family. It is only with the introduction of the witty Petruchio as her suitor, that one begins to see an evolution in her character. Through an elaborate charade of humiliating behavior, Petruchio humbles her and by the end

Katherine is the title character (the “Shrew”) of the play. She is the eldest and unmarried daughter of Baptista. She is hot tempered and can slap people around her when they make her mad. Katherine Minola is a fiery, spirited women and seeing her such behavior, the people around her doesn’t quite know how to react with her or what to do with her. Most of the characteristics of Katherine is initially what people tells or think about her. Plays half part shows the negative side of Katherine. In Act I, we see her speak less but yet her behavior gets well established. After Baptista announces that Kate would get marry before Bianca may take suitors, Gremio interprets about Kate by declaring “She’s too rough for me” (1.1.55). Even Hortensio speak bad about her and calls her devil (66). Everything speaks bad about Katherine and tells that no one would marry such a rude lady.

In addition, Kate’s final monologue, also in Act 5, scene 2, tells the audience a lot; about the play itself, as well as the society in Shakespeare’s era. On face value, Kate’s final monologue seems to be a long lecture about serving your husband, no questions asked. “Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot, / And place your hands below your husband’s foot” (v, ii, lines 92-3, page 221). However, Shakespeare gave Kate the last word in the play, a sign of her consistent power and control. As well, her monologue can be perceived as quite ironic. Kate is aware of the beliefs about how women in the household should act and, as clearly portrayed throughout the entire play, the role Petruchio has been trying to get her to fill. By playing along fullheartedly with society’s expectations, in front of the large audience of guests, Kate becomes “truly tamed” - or just incredibly

Lucentio's treatment of Tranio is reflected in his treatment of Bianca and their role as man and woman. Lucentio never hits Bianca or mistreats her in anyway, but spends the play wooing her and showing her his love. However, Bianca does not completely mimic Tranio's obedience in her role as wife to Lucentio. Though Bianca is not as stubborn willed and shrewish as her sister, Katherine, she does not obey her husband when he calls her to him. Biondello comes back to Lucentio to report: "Sir, my mistress sends you word that she is busy and she cannot come." [7] This action is in direct contradiction with An Homily on the State of Matrimony which states: "Let not therefore the woman be too busy to call for the duty of her husband where she should be ready to perform her own, for that is not worthy any great commendation." [8] Though Lucentio is consistent with his role as master and husband. His relationship with Tranio differs slightly from Bianca, Tranio's servant hood more apparent and selfless.

Katherine could not stand Petruchio but she liked the attention due to the fact that she never got any from her father because she was the least favorite daughter. Shakespeare made it out that Katherine was a shrew the whole book but in reality, she was nothing more than a daughter wanting attention. Once she married Petruchio she stopped acting as a “shrew” and started acting as a wife because for the first time in forever she was actually given attention. Petruchio believed it was because he “tamed” her but in reality she was “tamed” the whole time.

Throughout Act 5, Katherine’s character made a huge mood change when she decided to tell the widow and Bianca how they should act because there husband is “Thy master... And true obedience- / too little payment for so great a debt. / Such duty as the subject owes the prince, / Even such woman oweth to her husband” (219, 5: 2).

In addition, Shakespeare intermingles the play with the idea of appearance versus reality, highlighting how truelove can exist within even the curst and is absent amongst even the most attractive. As the play progresses, we see how true this is, as Bianca and Katherina contrast one another on the interior as well, yet Katherina?s true love underneath, allows her to dwell in an effective relationship. As we know, Petruchio?s love is obvious yet Katherina?s shrewish nature masks her true love for Petruchio - proving the deceptiveness of appearances. On the other hand, even though Bianca has many desperate suitors we see how shrewish she really is as she questions, ?Am I your bird? (5.1)?. Bianca?s rhetorical question and indignant tone towards Petruchio highlights her lack of respect and her internal shrewish personality. Moreover, Bianca?s interior personality

Bianca was described as sweet and quiet. She never spoke out of turn, and was always obedient, qualities that men desired in their future wives. For the majority of the book, this is how Bianca acts, but the audience watching the play is able to see small parts where there is another side of Bianca a side that she keeps hidden from the males in her society. One clear example of this is in Act 1 Scene 1 when Bianca whispers to her sister Katherine so that no one else can hear her;

Also, Katherine herself apprehended the error of her ways, making the women feel sheltered and making the men feel self-assured about their dominant position in society. The audience presumably went home contented, because such a shrew was tamed, and could be tamed so well. Katherine’s soliloquy reinforced the moral values of the Elizabethan era, making the conclusion of the play more enjoyable and entertaining. The final scene of The Taming of the Shrew shows ”the triumph of the unconventional over the conventional”, it shows that Katherina and Petruchio’s marriage, which has started rather unconventionally, seems to have better chances of being a happy. Shakespeare speaks out in clearly favors of the unconventional concept of love present in the relationship between Petruchio and

It is difficult to believe a character as strong willed and vibrant as Katherina is changed so easily. Employing the humorous device of false realities that Shakespeare set in place so early in the play, it would seem more logical that Katherine would simply be acting the part of ‘the obedient wife’ in order to be accepted in the society in which she lives. Katherine can ‘play a part’ very well and can even enjoy doing it. For example, on the road to Padua from Petruchio’s house when Kate is forced to address Vincentio as a woman and says ‘Young budding virgin, fair and fresh and sweet’ (Act 4, Scene1). The most significant evidence to support this theory comes from the scene where Kate finally breaks and agrees to play along with Petruchio’s game of make believe.

Throughout the play, Petruchio’s behavior illustrates his chauvinistic mindset to force Katharina into obedience. After the wedding ceremony, Petruchio wants to head home with Kate while she disagrees and he says “I will be master of what is mine own:/She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house,/My household stuff, my field, my barn,/My horse, my ox, my ass, my any thing;” (Shakespeare 52). Instead of treating her like a human being, he speaks of her as if she is an object that he owns and controls. Also, when the newly married couple prepare to leave for Baptista’s house, Petruchio claims that the time is different from what it actually is and when Kate argues, he states, “Look, what I speak, or do, or think to do,/You are still crossing it. Sirs, let ’t alone:/I will not go to-day; and ere I do,/It shall be what o’clock I say it is” (Shakespeare 69). Petruchio is basically saying that the only opinion

In the beginning, a lot of what we learn about Kate comes from what other people say about her. In Act I, she is only seen briefly and she speaks even less, but our picture of Kate is pretty clear. Shakespeare, sets up a teaching lesson, helping us to see the mistakes of our own judgment. When Baptista announces that Kate must marry before Bianca may take suitors, Gremio describes Kate by saying "She's too rough for me" (1.1.55). Later in the scene, Gremio reiterates his

As she screams at her father Katherine says "What will you not suffer me? Nay now I see She is your treasure, she must have a husband; I must dance barefoot on her wedding day, And for your love to her lead apes in hell" (Shakespeare 35). Katherine knows that her father favors Bianca because she is a goody two shoes of daughter. Kate expresses her feelings of having to be married off first because nobody in town wants her as a wife. Kate does not believe that she should be offered as a wife and then backed up with a dowry. She is quite opinionated about this, with no fear of who knows or not. Katherine's views and beliefs of marriage and life set her apart from other women in Padua. Women, such as

Up until the 20th century, most of the last speeches by Katherine have adhered with the first option, including the traditional Globe Theatre adaptation. Katherine’s acting in the Globe Theatre production, grounded in her facial expressions and tone of voice, shows sincerity and truthfulness in her declaration (V.ii). On the basis of this portrayal, it could be said that in a historical Elizabethan context, audiences would have accepted and deemed the domestication mechanisms and taming practises employed by Petruchio as normal. In contrast, “in a modern Western society holding relatively egalitarian views on gender”, interpretations of Katherine’s address