In Shakespeare's play, The Taming of the
Shrew, it might seem that the author's view of marriage
is traditional. Petruchio appears to be dominant in the
marriage.
When Petruchio marries Kate, he controls many
aspects of her life, allowing her little freedom. In time she seems tamed.
Petruchio...
...subjects her to humiliation by not allowing
her to eat, sleep, or wear proper clothing for her visit back
home.
Is Kate truly tamed?
She does obey her husband when the other new wives ignore theirs,
and scolds each woman for not obeying her spouse. This is
certainly not the Kate we met in Act One. There are several
interpretations of Kate's behavior at the end of the
play.
The first viewpoint is that Kate has lost her fire
and is now a subservient wife:
Some people view Kate as thoroughly brainwashed
and dominated by
Petruchio.
Others argue that
this is not Kate's true self at all, but a performance that she is putting on based on
Petruchio's dictates. She does what she is told, but her heart is not committed to her
husband's view of their marriage:
Others choose to believe that Kate is merely
performing the role assigned to
her...
If
this perception is accurate, we can assume that Kate has her way to
some degree as she holds fast to her opinion of men,
keeping…
...her own self-respect and true identy since she
does not believe in male
supremacy.
Another position
points to Kate's belief that all people are controlled by a prince
(possibly there is a double entendre here, with an allusion to the "Prince of Peace," or
Jesus, as her "Lord"). In either case, Kate is not giving up anything in listening to
Petruchio because she was answerable to someone above her
already.
Kate may suggest that no real autonomy...is
possible... since every person alive is...already subject to a
prince…
One more perception
of Kate's acquiescence to Petruchio's demands may be her way of playing the "marriage
game." She lets her husband think he has the upper-hand, while in
her own mind she understands that men are inferior to women, and if
women are controlled in the marriage, it is because their husbands are
neanderthals.
Kate...has assessed that all women are
outmatched— because men are generally more shrewish than
women.
It is hard to say for
certain what Shakespeare had in mind for the character of Kate with regard to marriage.
It is sufficient to say that Kate is no longer the "shrew" she was, after she is
married. That marriage has changed her is not a new thought in
Shakespeare's time. However, here Shakespeare shows his "support" of Kate, giving her
the longest speech in the play, and "[she] earns the most acclaim for it." Kate knows
when to speak out and when to be silent. In that Petruchio has "tamed" his wife, Kate is
not crushed or oppressed—she is more gracious and better than ever, something
Shakespeare has allowed in her character development.
Kate really appears to have mastered herself and
to have harnessed the ability to create a compelling
argument.
Kate does not lose
her voice by being married: she controls it. In fact, while Kate
appears "serious and conscientious," the conversations of those around her seem "cheap"
and "contemptible," including that of her husband,
Petruchio.
Shakespeare supports marriage in general; he
wants Kate to be respectful for the sake of her husband's pride, but he allows her, in
private, to be the wiser and more sophisticated of the two. Kate maintains a strong
persona with the Bard's blessing.
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