The name of this character has positive connotations and symbolism,
Bianca is an Italian name which derives from “Blanche”, and its
meaning is “white”, “fair”. White is the colour of
purity, innocence and calm, so it has positive connotations, it is the image of
Bianca in the play.
(www.behindthename.com)
Bianca is
also the name of a satellite of the planet Uranus which was discovered in
1986.This is just something curious that I wanted to mention because the same
planet has more satellites which also have
names of characters of
Shakespeare like Ariel, Rosalynd, Cresida,
Julieta, Oberon, Portia, Puck, Cordelia,
Titania and Ofelia.
(www.solarviews.com)
2.1. Bianca, an Elizabethan woman.
In order to understand the character of Bianca it is important to have a
look to the historical backgrounds. In Shakespearean times England was ruled by a woman, Queen
Elizabeth, but the role of women at the time was very different.
“Elizabethan
women were expected to bring a dowry to the marriage. A dowry was an amount of
money, goods, and property that the bride would bring to the marriage. It was
also referred to as her marriage portion. After marriage Elizabethan women were
expected to run the households and provide children.”
(http://www.william-shakespeare.info/elizabethan-women.htm)
Elizabethan woman were raised to believe that
they were inferior to men and they were totally dominated by the male members
of their family. Elizabethan women were expected to instantly obey not only
their father but also their brothers and any other male members of the family.
They could not be heirs to their father's titles. All titles would pass from
father to son or brother to brother, depending on the circumstances. The only
exception was the monarchy.
In the Taming of the Shrew Bianca plays the
role of the typical Elizabethan woman, she is docile, polite, she always obeys
her father and shows good manners. Her sister Kate, in contrast, is not the ideal
woman of the time, she is rude and ill tempered, she doesn’t follow the
rules and she rejects the control of males over herself, so she doesn’t
want to get married.
Shakespeare had a good relationship with the Queen and he used to represent
her with some of her female characters like Kate, a different kind of woman, a
woman with strong personality and independence. Bianca symbolizes the opposite,
the typical Elizabethan woman, docile, soft-spoken, pure, naive,
a housewife and a good mother for her children.
Academic year 2006/2007
© a.r.e.a./Dr.Vicente Forés López
© Latorre Arnedo, Isabel
usuario@alumni.uv.es
Universitat de Valčncia Press