The comedic play entitled “The Taming of the Shrew” written by William Shakespeare, is an antifeminist story of how a man named Petruchio tames his wife Katherine Minola into submission. There are many aspects of this play that appear to be sexist toward women; parts pertaining to the organization of marriage, the taming of a woman, and the social disapproval of a woman refuting something with a man. Though sexist, when Shakespeare wrote the play, the aspects of the play that are considered unacceptable by our modern societal standards may have been normal or at least more socially acceptable than today.
Even if so, men and women are equal. Over the ages, the organization of marriage has become a very important part of many cultures around the globe, but in some of them, women don’t get much of a say in what happens to them. In the culture that is depicted in the play, it seems completely normal to treat the organization of marriage as though it’s a business transaction between a prospective groom and the father of the possible bride.
Petruchio agreed with Mr. Minola before he even met Katherine that if Petruchio married her he would receive “After my death, the one halfe of my Lands, And in possession twentie thousand Crownes. ” (Shakespeare; Tenz) Before meeting Katherine, Petruchio and Katherine’s father decided on a dowry ahead of time, to some extent deciding the fate of Katherine without her input. Shakespeare displays a society that treats women as objects that can be married off in a simple transaction (Tenz).
Without the consent of Katherine, Petruchio stated in front of Mr. Minola “we haue greed so well together, That vpon sonday is the wedding day,” that together they decided to marry that Sunday (Shakespeare). Katherine’s father went along with what Petruchio stated due to his responsibility to play “marchants part,” so he could pay off Petruchio to take his daughter (Shakespeare). Any society that controls the future of women without their input is one that doesn’t have equality between the two sexes, and Shakespeare shows it off within this play.
Petruchio even states during the wedding that as his wife Katherine is his object to own, just like a person could own an ox or a house, he could own Katherine (Shakespeare). Shakespeare gives Petruchio a monolog to explain how Katherine is Petruchio’s to own, to highlight how correct the idea is that women are only objects to be owned by men (Shakespeare). Shakespeare meant for “The Taming of the Shrew” to show how women are not equal to men. During married life, couples can have a mutual respect for one another where both are equal to each other.
In the play, Petruchio tries to “tame” his wife to the point of submission, in a situation where he desires to have total control of the household. Petruchio starves his wife, and makes sure she doesn’t sleep in order to put her in a state that is optimal to “tame” her; discussing his strategies with his fellow men, the men cheer him on and there isn’t a voice of equality in the play to state if Petruchio is wrong (Shakespeare). Shakespeare provides a one-sided view on the need for a man to maintain control of his wife and household, which glorifies what Petruchio does to Katherine as necessary and encouraged.
The fact that the two newly married men wanted to follow Petruchio and tame their own wives proves that Shakespeare encouraged men to make their wives submit to them (Shakespeare). Shakespeare meant to encourage men to dominate their wives, because women are not equal to men, and it is necessary for men to have control of what they own (Shakespeare). In public, it is acceptable for individuals to voice their opinion on a subject, but in some societies, women can’t speak their mind.
In the play, Katherine can’t really speak her mind unless it s supplemental to what a man said, Shakespeare presents a society in which it isn’t proper for a woman to refute what a man says (Shakespeare). Katherine in the play is told by Petruchio that the Sun is the Moon, and Katherine corrects Petruchio saying that the Sun is actually out, and Katherine is taught to agree with Petruchio, whether he is correct or incorrect, her husband only speaks the truth (Shakespeare). Katherine is forced to live by whatever her husband says, because she can’t be corr rrect by herself.
She is just an obiect to be owned by men that rule over her life. Men according to Shakespeare must dictate what is correct in the world, and women could only support them or remain quiet; if women don’t remain quiet and submissive, they may be called a “shrew” or worse (Shakespeare). Katherine gets a long monolog explaining the job of a woman is to be obedient to her husband and do what he says, but if she wasn’t agreeing with her husband in public, it could be assumed she would be considered insane or something of the sort (Shakespeare).
Shakespeare reinforces his message of how it is the responsibility of women to follow men and submit to them by giving Katherine a monolog on the subject (Shakespeare). Shakespeare meant for “The Taming of the Shrew” to show what the ideal wife is supposed to be, and so show the audience what is expected of women. Some may believe that Shakespeare meant for “The Taming of the Shrew”, to promote equality between men and women. Some who have encountered the play believe that Katherine controls Petruchio, and due to his “taming”, the couple has found a mutual respect with one another.
The respect they share supposedly is representative of equality between men and women. However, this view fails to recognize that at the end, Katherine shows the audience what is expected of a woman in her monolog. She compares a husband to a king, and a wife to a subject; no man desires a woman that can’t be dominated, so for the best chance of getting married all women should be ready to be dominated according to Katherine (Shakespeare). Katherine who supposedly was equal to Petruchio actually considers herself a subject to a king, and it’s her job to make the king happy (Shakespeare).
In a relationship where one is considered a king, and the other a subject, there isn’t an equal distribution of power among them. Shakespeare shows that women are indeed not equal to men, and women were meant to be dominated by men. Shakespeare by today’s standards was probably quite sexist if he firmly believed in what he wrote. It may be unfair to judge the practices of a culture that existed in a time when Shakespeare was alive, but women of any time period shouldn’t be objectified or have to be dominated by anyone.
While it may have been typical for husbands to usually have control of their wives in the past, the instance of that practice in our present time in our society has decreased greatly. Women and men are both equal in the eyes of God and feminists fight for the equality between the sexes every day. Women aren’t objects that can be married off, or dominated by men, they are human beings. It is not the responsibility of women to seek to be dominated by men in their life, it is the responsibility of women to seek gender equality in our present day. All individuals were created equal, and both sexes are one in the same in this world.
