10 Things I Hate About Shrew

William Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew"

William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy, The Taming of the Shrew, is an embodiment of the context in which the text was shaped, the Renaissance. The Renaissance period was a time of progression, primarily in the areas of art, science, humanism, religion and self-awareness. The Renaissance focused on taking elements of the past, but adapting upon them to make them better, seen predominately in religion, art and science. "Humanists" advocated for the freedom of the individual's intellect, through acceptance and celebration. This emphasis on “individualism” however, did not proceed to influence the highly sexist views of the time, which had transgressed from previous centuries, and continued through to later centuries. Gender inequality is prevalent, with brides (and females in general) being viewed as merely commodities, loyalty is presented as an essential quality for all “proper women” and male attitudes towards women are explored through the social repression of female characters. Although, as tempting it may be to state that Shakespeare was misogynistic, he was simply a vehicle in which the thoughts of ninety-nine per cent of the Renaissance male population could be expressed. Shakespeare has combined his highly sophisticated inner understandings of the Renaissance period with the five elements of fiction writing; character, setting, plot, theme and style, to create a text that remains a literary classic both shaped by its context and aided in the transformation of future contexts.

The inequality of genders that has remained a constant value within in any society, until the large-scale feminist movement began in the 1800’s, is a commonly explored theme in literature and heavily impacted on several aspects of life, ie roles within the home, literature, art, politics, opportunities available to women. The Taming of the Shrew is no exception to this. Shakespeare explores the gender conventions of his time though characterisation and plot development, mainly portraying women in a negative and defenceless role. One exception to this is Katherine. Initially in the play, Katherine has a sharp tongue and has a dominating persona that she uses to hide her insecurities, but as the play evolves, Shakespeare develops the character of Katherine. Petruchio appears to have “tamed the shrew” by revealing Katherine’s true self, and maintains the dominating male role in the relationship. Many Renaissance readers would comment that the dominating member of the relationship was returned to the rightful gender, a male. Opinions just like this have influenced Shakespeare in his writing, particularly in Petruchio’s plan to tame Katherine like a falcon, as he concludes by stating “This is the way to kill a wife with kindness. And thus I'll curb her mad and headstrong humour.” Petruchio believes that he has the power and dominance over his wife to completely change her personality, and he is not judged or criticised for it because of the need for proper women (motherly, a virgin, obeying of her husband) within 17th century Europe. The inequality of genders can also be seen through the plot of The Taming of the Shrew. The play ultimately revolves around women, and the objects that males see them as. Petruchio seeks Katherine’s hand, and marriage was rarely for love, merely for money, power and commodities. Before even meeting Katherine, Petruchio already wishes to marry a wealthy woman of Padua, purely for the wealth “I come to wive it wealthily in Padua; If wealthily, then happily in Padua.” Petruchio’s obsession with wealth blinds the true personality of Katherine, which he can never accept, and works vigilantly to change into that of a “proper wife”. Shakespeare’s use of objective language (it, she etc.) is representative of the objects which females were considered. The actions and words of the male characters in the text are typical of the Renaissance, highlighting the inequalities between the genders.

Loyalty, a fundamental element of any relationship, is another prominent theme explored by Shakespeare through The Taming of the Shrew. Loyalty can also be described as the main theme of the play, transgressing each act, situation and inter-character relationships. Shakespeare ultimately enforces his view, that loyalty is imperative, through the repetition of loyalty in relationships. All relationships within the play show evidence of loyalty, but the most expressive form is shown within Katherine and Petruchio’s towards the end. By the end of the play, Katherine realises that she loves her husband and has to remain loyal and obedient of him and she has been transformed into the ideal 16th century housewife. Katherine becomes aware of this transformation in her final soliloquy “Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee, And for thy maintenance; commits his body, To painful labor both by sea and land”. Women in the play, and the 17th century, if to considered as a worthy wife were to remain loyal and obedient to their husbands and any other male figure in their lives. If they failed to do so, they would ultimately be shunned by society and found unfit for marriage.

Male attitudes towards women are yet another prominent feature of Renaissance texts. The rigid ideals and values of the time became permanent fixtures in texts until the late 1800’s, when they began to slide. In The Taming of the Shrew female roles are repressed towards the end of the play, as the male characters win the girls. The taming of Katherine is symbolic of the repression of females in patriarchal European Renaissance society - married, had children and did the housework, loyal to their husbands. Petruchio summarises this well “Thou must be married to no man but me. For I am he am born to tame you, Kate, And bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate Conformable as other household Kates”. He believes he will make Katherine a “fit wife” and conform her into the expectations of society. The original personalities of many married women were lost over time, as their husbands tamed them, just as Petruchio does with Katherine. The elements of fictional writing utilised by Shakespeare to portray the repression of women include a shared point of view between the characters and a light comedic tone that continues throughout the play, darkening in serious sections. The sometimes-serious tone represents the centuries of social repression built up, and women fighting for the right to express their thoughts and opinions, just like Katherine does at the beginning of the play. Shakespeare reflected the changes in Renaissance society through his plays, therefore The Taming of the Shrew represents the power of women, highlighting Queen Elizabeth's reign between 16th-17th centuries. The Taming of the Shrew plays out in the reverse order of the mid to late 1900’s feminist movement, with Katherine showing her independent and confident personality at the beginning of the play, but slowly being tamed by her husband into a suitable and obedient wife.

In summary, William Shakespeare’s play The Taming of the Shrew, explores the context in which he wrote it, highlighting some of the most prominent ideals and values of the Renaissance period in 17th century Europe. The play explores the inequality of power between genders, loyalty and obedience and the importance it plays in relationships and the social repression of females. These contextual elements, combined with the elements of fiction writing (characters, plot, theme, setting and style) work hand-in-hand to create a text laced with moral and social questions, satirical criticisms of the Renaissance and Shakespeare’s personal views of women.