A Taming of the Shrew example essay for A Level English Lit on the question 'in the literature of love men are more dominant and have more to say than women, discuss'. Responding to an extract from 2:1, this essay got 25/25
“In the literature of Love, men are always more dominant and have more to
say than women to prove this”
In light of this view, discuss how Shakespeare presents Petruchio in this extract
(from 2.1) and elsewhere in the play
One could argue that Petruchio is the protagonist of The Taming of the Shrew; as the
character that instigates the majority of pivotal moments, such as marrying the
‘shrew’ Katherina, Petruchio is involved in the heart of the action. As an Elizabethan
playwright Shakespeare is inevitably going to be influenced by 16th century culture
and ideals - at this time marriage was seen as a financial transaction and women were
the property of men. That being said, I will argue that Shakespeare presents Petruchio
as a dominant hero that subdues a ‘froward’ woman into being an ideal wife, and con -
temporary audiences might interpret his character as the personification of male enti-
tlement and institutionalised misogyny that ran throughout Elizabethan culture.
Although the extract contains evidence of Petruchio and Katherina’s badinage -
“‘Asses are made to bare and so are you.’ ‘Women are made to bear, and so are
you.’” Petruchio is given a soliloquy to outline his intents with marriage that Katherina
is denied: “If she deny to wed, I’ll crave the day when I shall ask the banns and when
be married.” The sonnet structure of this soliloquy is indicative of Shakespeare’s con-
textual views: Elizabethan audiences could have thought Petruchio was completely
justified in this gaslighting behaviour and even thought it romantic whereas a modern
feminist reading could see the sonnet structure as ironic, as he clearly has no real love
for Katherina given that he has no interest in her giving consent to marriage. Male
dominance is integral to this extract: adding the soliloquy so Petruchio can directly ad -
dress the audience creates an intimacy with the audience so they are more likely to
sympathise with him; Katherina is denied this (in the extract and throughout most of
the play) and as a result she becomes an un-relatable, mythical character that few
sympathise with. Furthermore, the repetition of “Kate” after Katherina has explicitly
stated “They call me Katherina that do talk of me” is a microcosm of their later rela-
tionship: Petruchio being so consistently and wearingly contrarian that Katherina even-
tually agrees with him and sacrifices her individual voice. Reducing Katherina’s name
to ‘Kate’ not only takes away her name but also her identity; this scene marks the be-
ginning of Petruchio moulding Katherina into his ideal woman despite her clear ad-
monishment of him (“No such jade as you”). Some modern adaptations attempt to re-
dress the antiquated ideas and language by using clever stage directions; the 2012
Toby Frow production of Taming of the Shrew saw Petruchio fall to his knees with
Katherina standing over him as he says “Come, sit on me.” The proxemics of this
shows clear power emanating from Katherina whereas Petruchio looks foolish and con-
fused. However, that cannot change the fact that Petruchio is given more line alloca-
tion and more stage time to argue his case to the audience: he is typical in the ‘litera-
ture of love’ as he is far more dominant than the woman.
The characterisation of Petruchio as a brash misogynist who doesn’t listen to women is
evident throughout the play, but especially after the wedding in Act 3 Scene 2. Al -
though Katherina is fairly verbose in this encounter - arguing that she would be “made
a fool if she had not a spirit to resist” - Petruchio asserts his dominance by claiming he
is “master of what is mine own” and comparing her to “[his] goods, [his] chattels…
[his] household stuff.” This is a further example of Katherina being deliberately alien-
ated from the audience - her eight line speech is cut short by Petruchio who is again
allowed to outline his own ideology; he is allowed to speak, Katherina is denied a
voice. By comparing Katherina to banal possessions Shakespeare is insinuating that is
all wives are worth; dehumanising her to the point of comparing her to “ox” fully de-
notes that Elizabethan men don’t care about what women have to say as they see
them as on the same level as farm animals. The stage directions after Petruchio’s
speech are “Exeunt Petruchio, Katherina and Grumio”: this is open ended as to
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