Baptista displays more of a fondness towards Bianca, the younger of his two daughters, and favours her over Katherina. For example, after breaking up an argument between the two, Baptista calls Katherina a ‘devilish spirit’ which demonstrates his lack of care for her feelings, whereas Bianca is seen as a ‘poor girl’ in his eyes as a result of the dispute. This favour is common in the sisters, as Bianca is described as ‘meek and mild’, an idyllic woman for men in Shakespeare’s time, and so people would have been more fond of this character. The contrast Baptista uses for his daughters could be seen as a high criticism of Shakespeare’s to his society in that they disregard the people, women in particular, that hold a fiery character or are unafraid to express their inner thoughts, but highlight those who comply with the social rules and fit in the boundaries set. He makes this clear toward the end of the play where it is Katherina, once rejected by the community, who is seen as the approving woman. Baptista still upholds his dominative role as a male by not letting Bianca marry until he has ‘a husband for the elder’. On the one hand, Baptista could be showing a concern to have both his daughters married because he wants them to both be happy, however, it could also be seen that he understood the importance of having his daughters marry, eldest first, for the sake of his own reputation, and also that it would create a motivation for someone to marry Katherina which looked unlikely otherwise. Shakespeare wants relationships in the play to be presented as important in terms of credibility and reputation, which perhaps is controversial to his own opinions.
Shakespeare uses animal imagery, continuously throughout the play. These are mainly used in terms of portraying Katherina through men’s eyes. She is viewed as ‘intolerable curst’ by the people of her society and as a ‘wildcat’ as Gremio says. In context of the Elizabethan era, women were expected to be polite and meek people who lived to play the role of a serving wife, and in view of Katherina’s description, she clearly deviates herself from this norm. In describing her as a ‘wildcat’, Shakespeare enforces the idea of her undomesticated character that needs ‘taming’. Shakespeare constantly refers to Katherina in animal terms through Petruchio; he asks those who challenge him ‘have I not in my time heard lions roar?’ This metaphor is used to compare Katherina to a lion, which is known for its danger, signifying again that she is the opposite of her expected role. While other men fear her, Petruchio is seeing her as a task for him to complete, which again implies the idea that men see women as a prize they must accomplish and win. Katherina is also referred to as a ‘falcon’, which is again is a fierce animal, however, it is classed as a bird of prey so Shakespeare may have wanted to use this description in order to give Katherina status in the play over the other women. The fact that these ideas of her does not change Petruchio’s mind implies that he may find it an attraction to her and that he may find it desirable for a woman to have a fiery personality. In which case, Shakespeare may be grounding his own implicit value of how he thinks women should be in a relationship.
Another theme he uses would be piracy and sea imagery, where Petruchio again objectifies Katherina, but this time compares her to a ‘swelling Adriatic sea’, which gives the impression that she is violent and stormy. He also plans to ‘board her’, which again states that he is ready to ‘tame’ her despite of the way she is presented to be. But considering the sea is a natural aspect of the world, Shakespeare may be entailing the idea that Katherina’s personality is also natural and although it may need taming slightly so that it is enjoyable, the energy she has should not be spoilt, as it is necessary in a relationship, which would infringe upon the social view of that time. Only modern audiences, however, might appreciate these sub themes, as Elizabethan viewers would have seen Katherina in a negative way because of her rebellious personality and may have seen her ‘taming’ as a necessary task, making Petruchio an admirable character.
Shakespeare’s portrayal of Katherina as a social deviant to her community would immediately have the audience criticising of her, as they would not be accustomed to her behaviour. However, Petruchio is seen ‘as peremptory as she is proud-minded’ suggesting that he is a typically dominant Elizabethan man, but also has the confidence to challenge and tame Katherina as he is ‘rough and woo not like a babe’. Not only do you get the impression from this part in the play that he shares the same perilous character that she has, but also that the relationship between them could work as they would be similar enough to cancel each other out, giving an equal-role marriage, an ideal in a Shakespearean mindset. This can be seen when at first, the men in the play ridicule Katherina for being ‘stark mad’, but she later describes Petruchio as a ‘lunatic’ and a ‘mad-brain’, displaying a similar characteristic in them both. It could be said that he acts similarly at their wedding particularly in the way he dresses with ‘a pair of boots’ that are ‘one buckled, another laced’, which would not be viewed as very appropriate attire for a wedding, and neither would telling his guests to ‘go hang’ themselves. This scene shows a very wild behaviour from Petruchio and his servant describes him as ‘a monster, a very monster’. By using this description twice, reinforcement is made about his outrageous behaviour, which would be compared likewise to Katherina’s character, suggesting the equality that Shakespeare is trying to present. Shakespeare also uses stichomythia between Petruchio and Katherina when they first meet to show this correspondence in their characters particularly in cases where quick exchanges of wit are made; Katherina states that ‘asses are made to bear, and so are you’. Her ambiguous comment displays an interesting concept in that she very obviously calls Petruchio an ass, which although would not have been acceptable in that time because it’s disrespectful manner toward men, would be seen as more common in 21st century thinking. The second-fold of Katherina’s statement also shows yet another controversial view of relationships in context of Shakespeare’s society in that her underlying message could be that men are made to bear women, which could have been written as a way of justifying Katherina’s fiery behaviour and saying that men should be servants to their wives, just as a donkey is to it’s owner. Petruchio’s reply to the insult is that ‘women are made to bear, and so are you’ which illustrates the fact that he is as quick-witted as she, while also identifying the idea that they both have been made to bear each other, making equality again between the two, despite them being in an argument. Shakespeare uses this dispute to state that women should be treated equally to men, which could be seen as quite ahead of it’s time for that era, however, because the play would have been enjoyed as a comedy, the seriousness and controversy of his opinions are lowered.
The main plot of the play is Petruchio’s triumph in taming Katherina, the ‘shrew’, and this achievement is shown when Baptista gives him ‘twenty thousand crowns…for she is changed, as she had never been’. This refers back to the idea that men hold an obsession with money around marriage and it not only reinforces that view, but also highlights Petruchio’s success in these two areas. Showing the change in Katherina, from seeing Petruchio as a ‘fool’ and then to her ‘lord’ and her ‘life’ would have been celebrated in the 16th century as a happy ending, but 21st century viewers may see it as a sexist and degrading play as Katherina loses her independent personality. On the other hand, her character has been given the longest speech in all of the play, explaining her obedience to her husband for all that he does for her such as going through ‘painful labour, both by sea and land’, as well as insulting the other women who are a ‘graceless traitor’ to their ‘loving lord’. The use of the word ‘loving’ displays a calmer, affectionate side of Katherina and as her speech goes on to talk about her body being ‘soft’, an impression is given that she may have got the loving, physical relationship that she wanted. This could be seen as an achievement for her, as she is now show to be content within herself, which would relate back to the beginning of the play, where Petruchio sees her as something to accomplish. A balance of fulfilment may have been Shakespeare’s motive to have Katherina finally tamed, as it displays the idea that marriage is a completion of two people. Also by having her tamed at the end, Shakespeare has kept Katherina’s confident character but directed it away from men, and more at the ‘peevish’ and ‘sullen’ married women whom she is ‘ashamed’ of. The effect of this is that although men are too dominant in his society, Shakespeare wants women to still appreciate them as well as being appreciated themselves, which in his observation, is the key to a happy marriage and relationship.
Overall, Katherina is used in the play as the controversial woman who challenges the stereotypical ideas of relationships and the roles of women, while Petruchio is the comical, triumphant character who is idolised by the audience. He is the dominant of the two throughout the play, however toward the end a balance begins to take place. The play was written in order to demonstrate equality in marriage and highlight the issues in 16th century society around the differences between men and women, in a comical, light-hearted way to entertain and not arouse the audience. On the surface, Shakespeare supports the ‘taming’ of Katherina, but ultimately demonstrates an opinion that marriage should be a loving relationship that is equal.
Demi Shorten
English Literature