The role of women in Elizabethan society is crucial when explaining Katharina’s personality in The Taming of the Shrew. First of all, women were in a situation of inferiority if we compare them with men. The patriarchal society of the time treated women as objects and they were subject to male authority (fathers and husbands mainly). “Male supremacy was a matter of fathers as well as of husbands” (Saccio). Since they did not have independence, they needed to find a husband in order to be socially accepted, but that choice was always left to the father. Moreover, “disobedience was very badly seen, as it meant a crime against their religion” (Alchin). That is why Katharina’s personality was seen as totally inappropriate for a woman of her class. But the important thing here is that she was physically and psychologically crushed by this patriarchal society.

What we are going to discuss now is Katharina’s personal gain. Since the beginning of the play, Katharina loses continually. For example: her freedom to remain single, or to choose a husband that she really likes, the opportunity to have an education (her father is only worried in Bianca’s studies), or even the freedom to express herself is badly seen (the fact that “she is unwilling to play the role of the maiden daughter” Gardner and Brian). Nevertheless, the others gain at her expense, for example: her father manages to get rid of her; Petruchio obtains a considerable amount of money with her dowry, and at the end his ‘shrew’ has become a mild wife. But not everything is negative for Katharina: taking into account the society of her time, she has also benefited from her situation. She manages to get married and thereby she has ensured her future, because “her only hope to find a secure and happy place in the world lies in finding a husband” (Gardner and Brian). Finally, she has found emotional stability with Petruchio: although their feelings were not clear at the beginning of the play, they are both in love by the end of the play.

Now we are going to discuss the final result of the play. As it always happens in Shakespeare’s comedies, they all end merrily. In The Taming of the Shrew, the initial conflict, which was Katharina’s spinsterhood, has been resolved with a happy marriage. And the other conflict, Kate’s shrewish behaviour, has also ended well. The social order has been restored, because even her sister has married the man she loves. Since Katharina has changed her social situation completely, she will now be respected and accepted by her family and acquaintances. The fact that she has gained in self-knowledge is important. She has also changed her personality but is not ashamed of it, as we can see in her final speech. The by-product of this situation is joy, love and harmony.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

·        Gardner, Patrick and Phillips, Brian. Sparknote on The Taming of the Shrew. “Character Analysis” and “Theme: The Effect of Social Roles on Individual Happiness”. (20 march 2007)

http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/shrew/canalysis.html

http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/shrew/themes.html

·        Saccio, Peter. Kate Plays the Game.

        http://www.amrep.org/past/shrew/shrew1.html

·        Alchin, Linda K. Elizabethan Era.