Topic Analysis - the Taming of the Shrew

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Topic Analysis - The Taming of the Shrew The Taming of the Shrew, a comical, romantic play by William Shakespeare, brings an element of submission that was quite common in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Taming of the Shrew focuses "on the battle between the sexes and on the process by which a strong-willed woman is made to submit to the control of her husband” (Greenblatt et al). There are many opinions when it comes to whether Kate, the shrew, simply just submitted to Petruccio’s control or whether she successfully resisted his control. This paper will seek to prove that Kate submitted to Petruccio’s control as he sought to tame her into the woman she eventually becomes. Kate, who does not want to marry Petruccio, goes from an ill tempered, stubborn woman who does not like to be controlled, to a woman who is loyal and obedient to her husband. It is through this play that William Shakespeare shows that anyone can have the power to change. In The Taming of the Shrew, the reason that Kate is known as the shrew is because she wants to go against what society says she needs to do as a woman. She does not want a man giving her orders because she feels that she is too intelligent and independent to do so. In this century, “the ideal wife, by contrast, was chaste, silent, and obedient” (Greenblatt 124). She was a very strong-willed woman and in that day and age it was seen as a crime, even if it “involved nothing more than talkativeness” (Greenblatt 123). One of the reasons that Kate acted the way that she did was because of her background. Her own father favored her sister, Bianca, over her and she is made fun of by others. Dealing with people like this in life can make someone’s heart turn hard and calloused, which is what seems to have happened to Kate. Kate first shows her persistence on going against Petruccio when he tells her that they will be wed on
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