Shakespeares Presentation of the Female Character in the...

Shakespeares Presentation of the Female Character in the Taming of the Shrew Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew explores the role of women in Elizabethan times. Shakespeare uses many themes and imagery in the play and this essay intends to explore how Shakespeare presents the female character in the Taming of the Shrew. The Elizabethans believed that a peaceful and tamed house wife was a good wife. This view is supported by The goodie and the Baddie an Elizabethan text giving advice on how to be a good wife. â€Å"†¦she is a comfort of calamity†¦she is her husbands down bed†¦a saint in her heart†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Shakespeare in the Taming of the Shrew uses the idea of good and bad wife with Kate and Bianca.†¦show more content†¦She is purely there to look pretty and keep and orderly home. â€Å"†¦being a winner good night†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Petruchio showing that he has tamed Kate retires from the scene. Petruchio’s use of winner can mean a few things. The use of winner shows that the male society in Elizabethan believed that they would always domineer over women. Even though it might seem like Petruchio has won over Kate there is evidence that it may not be all of Petruchio’s doing that has tamed Kate, for Kate herself may have conformed Kate’s view has become radically changed from her previous actions, however she could be acting and have surrendered to the pressure of a male dominated society. Even though she does say â€Å"†¦to bandy words for words and frown for frown...† admitting that she use to be like every other bad wife her last speech maybe to please husband Petruchio, due to one sentence in her last speech that mirrors a view earlier said by Petruchio â€Å"†¦and craves no other tribute at thy hands but love fair looks and true obedience†¦Ã¢â‚¬  while in act 4 Petruchio says â€Å"†¦that bate and beat and will not be obedient†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Kate’s view on how men should be treated byShow MoreRelated William Shakespeares The Taming of the Shrew Essay3149 Words   |  13 PagesWilliam Shakespeares The Taming of the Shrew Over the past 400 or so years since Shakespeare wrote _The Taming of the Shrew_, many writers, painters, musicians and directors have adapted and reformed this play of control and subjugation into timeless pieces of art. In _10 Things I Hate About You_ and Kiss Me Kate from two very different times in the twentieth century, and paintings of Katherina and Bianca from the late nineteenth century, the creators of these adaptations have chosen to focusRead MoreEssay on Taming of the Shrew677 Words   |  3 PagesA principal theme throughout Shakespeares Taming of the Shrew is the battle of the sexes. The battle primarily focuses on the relationship between Petruchio and Katherine, otherwise known as Kate. They each struggle for supremacy in a classic confrontation between male and female until Kate succumbs to Petruchios dominance for the first time during Act IV, Scene V when she states What you will have it named, even that it is. And so it shall be so for Katherine. In this first act of deferenceRead More The Significance of Gender Roles in Shakespeares The Taming of the Shrew and Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun2574 Words   |  11 Pageswrote in radically different time periods, William Shakespeare and Lorraine Hansberry, wrote plays that pose a threat to expected and traditional gender roles. The Taming of the Shrew (1623) is an example of an earlier work, which involves characters that manage to defeat their expected roles by acting out of the ordinary. A shrew, which is literally defined as either a small rodent-like animal or a woman with a harsh and nagging temperament (American Heritage Dictionary 1285), is used in reference