Taming Of The Shrew Analysis Essay

Back in 1593, the year The Taming of the Shrew was written, women were looked at as if they were possessions, not humans. While reading Shakespeare's play, one can see evidence that supports this idea. Shakespeare displays Petruchio as the dominant males that teaches his wife how to obey by treating her as an animal rather than a human. It is clear that The Taming of the Shrew allows a man to degrade a woman solely because of her gender. Although this kind of behavior is looked down upon now, back in Shakespeare's time, it was condoned; it was practically encouraged. As time went along, people became more outraged about the hidden meaning and message of The Taming of the Shrew. This message is communicated through several main passages. The most obvious passage is during Petruchio’s soliloquy at the end of Act III, Scene II:
PETRUCHIO. ...I will be master of what belongs to me. She is my property, one of my possessions—just like my house and
everything in it, and my field, my barn, my horse, my ox, my donkey—anything of mine you care to name.
It becomes obvious here that Petruchio views Katherine as something he owns and can do with what he likes. In past times, women were expected to mainly stay home and watch after the kids and teach them the fundamentals for adulthood. Very seldom did women have jobs, and when they did, they were low paying and tedious. The men were expected to be the money makers and provide for the family. Women were expected to know this and obey the husband since he brought in the dough. Katherine, bold and daring, questions why women don’t fill these roles and often go against the wishes of their husbands. Speaking strongly, Katherine speaks her mind on the matter towards the end of the play: KATHERINE.
...I am ashamed that women are so simple
To offer war where they should kneel for peace,
Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway
When they are bound to serve, love, and obey... (Act V, Scene II).
According to an analyzation of The Taming of the Shrew by the Shmoop editorial team, Katherine “...really doesn't have any other choice in the matter. She has to give this speech if she wants any kind of tranquility in her marriage because she has no legal rights as a 16th-century wife – she's basically her husband's property, which means she has to play nice if she wants Petruchio to let her eat, sleep, or pick out her own clothes.” It is obvious that in society now, this sort of patriarchy is not as common.
Reading this play though forces one to open their eyes to the kind of treatment women went through in the 1500’s, and how different the relationship between men and women is today. Women have thousands more opportunities available to them nowadays, compared to the very few things they could do in Shakespeare's
time.