Topic > The image of the rebellious wife in Elizabethan England in Shakespeare's play "The Taming of the Shrew"

Many historians of culture and literature, together with feminists, without leaving any room for doubt, have shown that throughout the period late 16th and early 17th century, rebellious and rebellious women were always a concern for men in Elizabethan society. Evidence of uneasiness, anxiety and discomfort towards rebellious women or defined as "the race for the britches" by Linda Woodbridge, a specialist in English Renaissance literature, can be found in various discursive places and occasions such as popular dramas, legal treatises, ballads, reports and accounts of domestic violence, books of conduct from the 16th and 17th centuries, and lectures on appropriate impersonal behavior within and outside the family. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The willingness to bring rebellious women into line, sometimes even violently, is often documented and recorded in the reports of legal and extralegal authorities correlation of nags, scolds and shrews as well as homeless or vagabond, child-bearing women illegitimate, whores, scolds and witches. The public community practice of disciplining wayward women, both acted and imagined, differs from private, domestic discipline and from something that was discussed in the perspective literature. The same culture that advocated or "felt good" about witch burning, scolding, and whore whipping, during the Elizabethan period became increasingly sensitive and was very concerned about husbands beating their wives. The play "The Taming of the Shrew" by Shakespeare, which is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592, is basically about the courtship of Catherine, the willful and obstinate shrew, and her suitor Petruchio. Initially, Katherina is not willing to marry Petruchio, however, due to various psychological and mental torments such as not allowing her to eat or drink until she becomes an acquiescent, obedient and desirable wife, he is thus able to successfully “tame” her. the shrew” is inspired by many ballads, folk songs and folktales about shrewish wives tamed by their husbands to be obedient, which were very popular in England at that time. Shakespeare created a disturbing and problematic play that shed light on the gender issues that existed in Elizabethan society. The practice of "taming" disobedient wives was common in England during the Elizabethan era, and was combined with the popular image of a shrewish wife in a patriarchal literary tradition. Although there is very little evidence to judge whether men in Elizabethan society actually became less violent domestically, there is no doubt that prospective literature has ceased to allow for the specific violence of wife beating. The force of public discourse and discussion about wife beating characterizes a culture at work reconstructing permissible and impermissible methods for men within the family, primarily husbands, to maintain control of politics in a family without questioning the 'objective. This new boundary was fundamentally built on ideas of civilized behavior, social division, and class. Shakespeare's play "The Taming of the Shrew" functions as a comic roadmap aimed at reorganizing and bringing together these emerging modes and means of "legitimized" and "skillful supremacy." ” and “civilized domination” for “gentlemen”, that is, subordinating a woman, basically wives, without using the brute force of the common man. Despitethe fact that the play places Petruchio on the non-violent and gentle side of the new construction of permissible methods of subordinating a wife, a closer look at the play shows that Petruchio's civilized rule was nevertheless a representation of domestic violence. Brushing off Petruchio's tactics and strategies as a mutual game played between two equal players or as slapstick, it is important to take Petruchio's "civilized" strategies very seriously. Digging into cultural assumptions and beliefs surrounding domestic violence, past and present, makes the comedy of The Taming of the Shrew less funny and more problematic. It can be argued that the work indicates a shift towards an improved and modern method of carrying out domestic violence. subordination of disobedient or "shrewd" wives, legitimizing domination and abuse as long as it is not physical. I argue that the assumptions made by many critics of this play who praised Shakespeare's changes to the sources of shrew domestication without taking into account the politics of dominance, obedience, and discipline in the play. Applauding Petruchio's behavior for being non-violent and non-physically violent as "better" despite the fact that it was no less offensive, correlates the "reconstructive" distinction that can be seen made in many early modern sermons and documents and books. Just because Petruchio does not use physical force to abuse Catherine, he either beats her, or whips her, or whips her, or wraps her around the salty skin of his horse, as such practices were very common in those times to make rebellious wives obedient and complacent. including forcing a disobedient wife or "shrew" to wear a "scolding bridle" and the metal tip attached to the bridle, when inserted into the mouth, would depress the woman's tongue and make it impossible for the woman to speak, does not necessarily mean that the Petruchio's treatment of Katherine in the play The Taming of the Shrew was better or less offensive than if he had done so. In the play, the characterization of Katherine as the shrew who needs to be tamed reflects the image of the rebellious wife in Elizabethan England which similarly necessitated forms of subordination and social domestication, manifested through practices that brought her embarrassment and humiliation in front of everyone. Katherine's characteristics in the play, particularly her outspoken and outspoken nature and rejection of male dominance, are basically farcical representations of the undisciplined and rebellious woman, which the liberal audience of this play would have recognized as the play was performed. Lynda E. Boose, author of Shakespeare The Movies, describes a "Scold" in her essay, "Scolding Brides and Bridling Scolds: Taming the Woman's Unruly Member," as "any woman who verbally resists or flouts authority publicly and stubbornly enough to defy the fundamental dictum of male dominance.” References to Katherine's shrewish nature can be found throughout the play; Before appearing before Petruchio, Hortensius describes her as "Renowned in Padua for her scolding tongue" ( Act 1, scene 2), giving the impression to Petruchio and the play's audience that her uncensored opinions and sharp language are problematic. He then goes on and gives her the title "Cursed Katherine", identifying Katherine as an obstacle for him to marry Bianca and also indicating his rebellious nature, which helps connect the dots to early modern England, when cunning and rebellious women were associated with witches. Petruchio alludes to Katherine's proud and unyielding personality, describing Kate's defiance and stubbornness as that of rebellious women, while her fatherBaptista asks Petruchio to be ready to receive "some unhappy words" when he says in the Act 2 1 scene "But be armed for some unhappy words", which once again describes Katherine's problematic nature as a result of her being a scold and of his mouth as the source of his reproach. As a consequence of her being a scold and having a shrewd character, she forces Petruchio to use a variety of methods intended to turn her into an obedient and compliant wife. However, although in Act 2, Scene 1, Katherine hits Petruchio, throughout the play, not once does Petruchio use physical violence against her, although he threatens in Act 2, Scene 1 and says: "I swear I will handcuff you if you strike again". Since views began to change in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Petruchio's non-violent and non-aggressive reaction, as well as Katherine's "If you hit me, you are no gentleman" response to his threatens, it aligns with the changing beliefs and points of view of that era. In early modern England, domestic abuse was not considered a crime, and was practiced because a husband essentially had the "right" to use violence to exercise his patriarchal power, and violence was viewed in terms of that which historian Philippa Maddern called a "moral hierarchy of violence", in which the head of the family had the moral and ethical authority to employ the school of violence or discipline those lower than them in the hierarchy, although it was believed that the husband's power did not it could have been excessive. Beyond this, a couple of texts from the Elizabethan period suggest the necessary extension of the power and authority of husbands over the family, and the reforms brought about by religious groups such as Protestants and Puritan preachers during the Elizabethan period were based on the belief that it was not the ideal for a husband to use violence to subordinate his wife. And this is why other forms of subordination and "discipline" of the disobedient wife without resorting to physical violence were discovered and made very popular in that period, the purpose of which was not to put an end to atrocities against women or to improve their situation, but rather was used to increase the husband's ability to subordinate his wife. This shows that Queen Elizabeth's reign was nothing more than simply an exception to usual life. Sources show that wives were not to be treated as slaves and their purpose was to help their husbands by serving them according to their directions and husbands were considered responsible and had all the power and authority. Therefore, changes in the way domestic violence was perpetrated emphasized the advancement and development of male power and control, rather than any improvement in the rights and conditions in which women lived. Consequently, in the play The Taming of the Shrew, the ways and methods that Petruchio uses to tame Katherine, indicates the new and civilized way of “disciplining” a disobedient or rebellious wife and exercising control over her. In the play, at their wedding, Petruchio arrives late, and also dressed very awkwardly in very awkward clothes, this subtle act of Petruchio humiliates Katherine on their wedding day and Katherine's role as a bride. Due to Petruchio's absence at the wedding and his being temporarily left in the church at the altar, he faces so much public shame which he describes with these words in the play “No shame but mine……….. Now the world he must point to poor Katherine, and say 'Behold, there is Petruchio's crazy wife, if he likes come and marry her! Petruchio's awkward attire and behavior at the wedding are just one of many.