The Taming of the Shrew
...outrageous in today’s society, would have been near unheard of and atrocious in the time period of the play, as it did not follow the unwritten rules of the society. Petruchio …That hearing of her beauty and her wit, Her affability and bashful modesty, Her wondrous qualities and mild behaviour, Am bold to show myself a forward guest Within your house, to make mine eyes the witness Of that report which I so oft have heard… (Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 48-54) The above quote is spoken by Petruchio when he is asking Baptista to see Kate. Though the sentiments hold no truth it gives the reader an idea of the qualities men of that era looked for in women. This description is more like Bianca and how men see her. Bianca’s personality does not push the boundaries of the expectations of her as a women, this make Bianca unthreatening to the male dominated society. In the play there are two extremes of the way the characters are constructed. There are the characters that conform to societies gender roles and those who don’t. Kate and Bianca are an example of these extremes, Kate represents everything that a woman shouldn’t be and Bianca, being the opposite, is everything a woman should be. Shakespeare would have included these two extreme characters in order to create humour but also exaggerate the two personalities. There is another pair of characters in the play in which one conforms and the other does not, this however is not so obvious as the characters are men and are not so tightly bound to act a certain way. The two characters are Petruchio and Lucentio, Petruchio is the stronger character of the two and although he may not be as gentlemanly as Lucentio he has the power characteristic of men in those times that Lucentio does not, these two characters have the same characteristics as there wives. Petruchio First kiss me, Kate and we will. Kate What in the midst of the street? … Petruchio Why, then let’s home again… Kate Nay, I will give thee a kiss. Now pray thee, love, stay. (Act 5, Scene 2, Lines 134-135, 137 and 139) Lucentio Go, Biondello, bid your mistress come to me… Biondello Sir, my mistress sends you word That she is busy, and she cannot come. (Act 5, Scene 2, Lines 77 and 82-83) Because Petruchio is such a strong character he is able to tame his wife and make her obedient, Lucentio fails at doing this as Bianca takes advantage of his weakness. These two male characters initiate the reversal of roles that occur at the end of the play between Bianca and Kate The subject matter of the play allows the personalities of the two women to be shown quite clearly. In the beginning Bianca is enthusiastic to marry and fulfil her role as a lady and Kate has no real desire to marry and she doesn’t care that she is disrespected for her wild nature. Sister content you in my discontent. Sir, to your pleasure humbly I subscribe....