In the beginnings of The Taming of the Shrew, Katherine is a quick-tongued, bold woman with a penchant for resistance, even in a male-dominated world in which others view this behavior as severely unconventional of a proper woman. This is why many of the other characters never desire her for a spouse of their own. They believe she would make “a shrewd, ill-favoured wife” (Shakespeare 1.2.57 183). The ferocity of Katherine’s beginning personality is best viewed in her initial conversations with Petruccio. Even though Petruccio acknowledges Katherine’s obstinate personality through his comment that his “remedy is then to pluck it out” (Shakespeare 2.1.209 192), Katherine still brazenly declares “Ay, if the fool could find it where it lies” (Shakespeare 2.1.210 192).
Critics have described Beatrice and Benedick as characters who defy the romantic expectation. Evaluate this and other interpretations, adding your own personal responses. In Much Ado About Nothing, the principal characters of the plot are Beatrice and Benedict (though some see Hero and Claudio as the main storyline in the play) and are poles apart it first seems. Beatrice is fiery and independent, and doesn’t live up to the Victorian stereotype that her more reserved and naïve cousin Hero does. Benedick also doesn’t sit with his stereotype either, though more so than Beatrice does.
To what extent is the comedy in Much Ado About Nothing at the expense of the female characters? Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ combines “Villainy and scheming with humour and sparkling wordplay” to subtly fashion a satirising gender critique of the conventional female in the Elizabethan patriarchal society. David Lucking precisely argues that the play revolves “around a drama of groundless jealousy” while Ross Stewart describes Much Ado as a “problem play of obscure intent”, much like ‘The Tempest’. I believe ‘Much Ado’ creates humour by using the dominant role of male characters to gently ridicule the expected position of female characters in society; most notably through the portrayal of Hero and Beatrice; the latter having striking similarities to Katherine from ‘The Taming Of The Shrew’ due to her repugnance towards marriage. Humour at the expense of women is also prominent in ‘Much Ado’ through the use of ‘vulgar’ pre-marriage language, favoured by Margret – another arguably unconventional woman of the Elizabethan society, who participates in sex outside of wedlock purely for pleasure, creating controversy and humour.
The character that was selfish enough to take people’s lives for her desires; the character that ruined that “perfect little ending” not only for others, but for herself as well. On the other hand, feelings of awe developed when coming across the innocent individual that exhorted many admirable virtues. The great foil that was unfolded between these two characters was evidently shown through actions, speech, and background details and helped to distinctively separate the two contrasting feelings that were developed towards both characters. The Crucible is filled with an ongoing battle between the forces of good and evil and how they pertain to two very drastically different characters, Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams. In the analysis of characters and how they complement one another, Elizabeth Proctor happened to be the innocent little farmer’s wife.. She was on an emotional roller coaster throughout the entire play because she was still in the process of healing.
“Look here; I won’t talk another inch with ye, if you say any jokes about him!” Tess clearly honors her family as she has threatened not to talk to her friends again if they mock her father any longer. However I believe that Tess is in denial about her father’s position and has to make excuses as to why her father is behaving inappropriately . For example it says “The clubbists tittered, except the girl called Tess- in whom a slow heat seemed to rise at the sense that her father was making himself foolish in their eyes.” If Tess honestly believed that her father was in a high position in society she would not feel embarrassed that he was raving about it in public. She would be encouraging him and proud of him. Then in addition she says “He’s tired that’s all,” showing that Tess is in denial about her father’s position.
“The desire for liberty is often mistaken for insanity”. In the light of this statement, explore how Brontë presents insanity in Jane Eyre. Throughout your answer, consider how your reading of Rhys’s ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’ and understanding of context has enhanced your reading of the key text. Society in the Victorian era was extremely controlling and critical. If one refused to conform to the norms of society, they were seen as a threat and typically labeled ‘mad’.
Ophelia is a beautiful woman who is at the mercy of the male figures in her life – mainly her father, Polonius and her brother Laertes. Laertes and Polonius love Ophelia tremendously and feel it is their obligation to shelter her from the cruelty of the world. When Polonius is told that Ophelia has entertained Hamlet without any parental consent, it is stifled very quickly by Polonius and Laertes – the double voices of patriarchy – telling her that she is too naive and that her behavior is unsuitable. In Act I, Scene III he begins his dialogue with Ophelia by warning her of the potential danger that love with Hamlet (Ophelia’s lover) could bring. He feels it his obligation to protect her form a potential broken heart: “The canker galls the infants of the spring Too oft before their buttons be disclosed,” (I, III, 39-40) implying that Hamlet, as the canker, may ruin her before she ‘blossoms’.
In his tragic play, Medea, he highlighted his sympatheticness towards women. Although Medea was a violent and irrational character, Euripides manages to convince the audience to give her sympathy, showing the Euripides was heavily empathetic with the women of his era. Through his works, Euripides showed that women had the potential to be highly successful and beneficial to the world. Medea harshly criticizes the male-dominated society of Ancient Greece. Medea, the main character of the tragedy, was an extremely radical anti-heroine who continues to inspire both admiration and fear in the readers today.
105-106)”…any man is so very a fool to be married to hell.”(I.I. 121) The men of Pauda believed that the shrew they saw was the person Katherina wanted to be. As the story goes on it becomes evident that her shrewish behavior is a mask to cover her feelings that she does want to be married. Katherina wanted to be married for love, not for dowery. Proof of her desire to be married can be assumed in her silence when Petruchio’s talk to her father, Baptista, about taking Katherina’s hand in marriage.
Furthermore, Rossetti employs reported speech to help create memorable characters as 'Son" Thomas' repeats her names; demonstrating that Maude Clare's presence lingers and that she has make her mark on the newly wed couple. Also, Thomas 'strove to match her scorn with scorn' but 'faltered' thus developing his character's weakness and implying his continuous love for Maude Clare. This is further demonstrated with the use of caesural pause to interrupt direct speech, 'he said - "Maude Clare..."- and hid his face'. Another interpretation is that his stuttering depicts his shame of having had an affair with Maude Clare. Another technique that Rossetti uses to create memorable characters is Maude Clare's repetition of 'half'; this illustrates another side to Maude Clare's seemingly arrogant character 'queen'.