Per instruction, I've been attempting to have discussions with my peers about the issues within The Taming of the Shrew. Mostly, my peers amount to my husband, but we're having a double-date tonight and maybe I'll try to bring it up then. I expect that it will make the other couple extremely uncomfortable as Nate and I rant and rave about the unequal treatment of women within literature and the media (ever read The Woman in White? Ridiculously misogynistic).
I have a hard time talking about women's issues with people - I tend to come on too strong, and it freaks lots of people out (especially around here, where "feminist" seems to be a dirty word to a lot of people). I've been trying, though. It's hard for me not to get onto my bra-burning high horse when I talk about the treatment of women in popular culture (that, and the MPAA just really get me a-ranting. Seriously, can we talk about how flawed the movie-rating system is in this country? Something else to make the other couple uncomfortable).
Moving on: I did something of a textual analysis last week, but what the hey, I'll do some more. I'm going to analyze the ways that Petruchio can be considered verbally or emotionally abusive toward Kate.
I got the signs of abuse from this website.
1. A Push for Quick Involvement...An abuser pressures the woman for an exclusive commitment almost immediately.
"If she deny to wed, I'll crave the day
When I shall ask the banns and when be married." Petruchio said this prior to even meeting Kate. He and Baptista, Kate's father, had the dowry all set to go before Kate and Petruchio had even met.
2. Controlling.
I will be master of what is mine own:
She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house, My household stuff, my field, my barn,
My horse, my ox, my ass, my any thing; Not only is Petruchio controlling, he openly views Kate as his property. He completely dehumanizes her and removes any value she has as a person. Dehumanization is what allows people to commit atrocities during war time. The incidents depicted in the wonderful documentary Taxi to the Dark Side are a direct result of dehumanizing one's enemy. When you stop thinking of others as human, you allow yourself permission to hurt and humiliate them.
3. Unrealistic expectations. Expects you to be the perfect woman and meet his every need.
Though little fire grows great with little wind,
Yet extreme gusts will blow out fire and all:
So I to her and so she yields to me;
For I am rough and woo not like a babe. I don't know if you know this, but that's the entire conceit of the show. The whole point is that Petruchio is going to transform Kate into his ideal housewife.
4. Verbal Abuse. Constantly criticizes you or says blatantly cruel, hurtful things.
Women are made to bear, and so are you. OR
Come, come, you wasp; OR
When you are gentle, you shall have one too,
And not till then. The majority of the exchanges between Kate and Petruchio are the two of them insulting each other. It might very well be a mutually abusive relationship, but as Kate is set up as a lesser character in her own play, it's hard to discover whether she's abusive or not. I wouldn't put it past her, necessarily. Both Kate and Petruchio seem like objectively horrible people, although since Petruchio's abuse is more blatant, I dislike him more.
5. Rigid Sex Roles. Expects you to serve, obey, and remain at home.
See # 2. Again, the idea of rigid sex roles (or gender roles, as they're commonly called) are central to the plot. Kate isn't a stereotypical woman, so she has to be broken down until she falls in line. Again, the idea of dehumanization comes into play. Women are viewed as inferior to men, so men feel justified in forcing them into domestic slavery.
6. Threats of Violence. Makes statements like "I'll break your neck" or "I'll kill you."
I swear I'll cuff you, if you strike again. Here, "cuff" refers to hitting someone with the cuff of their sleeve. Now, I know that this was before anyone realized that beating people is kind of a human rights violation, but I tend to think that abuse is abuse no matter when it's perpetrated.
There are fifteen signs of abuse listed on the website, and Petruchio blatantly embodies at least six of them. One is enough to raise serious concerns. There were other ones, like cruelty to children and animals, "playful" use of force during sex, and past battering, that were not made explicitly clear within the context of the play, but do not seem unlikely given what we know about Petruchio's character.
Petruchio isn't a hero. Petruchio is an abuser, and nothing makes me sicker than (as with the Twilight series) abusive partners are glorified. It normalizes and justifies behavior that should be aberrant and abhorrent.
Dark stuff (especially for a comedy). I am curious, though: did you see any change in character on the part of Petruchio? I mean, I know at the end he and Kate get married, so I assume that she changed something. But, my question is did he as well?
ReplyDeleteNot really, unfortunately. He's incredibly arrogant and controlling throughout the entirety of the play. Toward the end, he revels in having "tamed" his now-wife, Kate. He, as far as I can tell, doesn't learn anything about life, love, or how to have a successful relationship with another human being.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Petruchio is kind of a jerk, but I think you're getting too deep into this. I will agree that Petruchio is controlling of Kate, but your first sign is kind of a stretch. In that time period, it was a fairly common custom to speak to the girl's father about marriage instead of just asking her.
ReplyDeleteYour third sign isn't consistent with the example you give; his comment isn't reflective of his expectations of Kate but rather his intentions for her. The comment itself is rather concerning simply because he says that he's essentially going to push her into being something else, which fits more with the fact that he's very controlling of her, but doesn't mean that he expects perfection from her.
The line when Petruchio says that Kate is "made to bear" is more flirting and teasing her, saying that she will one day bear children. It's not meant as a derogatory remark. Then when Petruchio calls Kate a wasp, it's because she's verbally abusing him and he's saying that her words sting. For that exchange, he doesn't say anything truly mean or cutting to her.
As for rigid sex roles, that's more the culture of the time and isn't really within Petruchio's control. Sure, we can say that the expectation of her is to become a mother and housewife, but that's true of just about every woman in Elizabethean England.
Then in the quote that you use as an example of a violent threat, Petruchio is not making a threat on Kate's life like the sign implies. Kate hits Petruchio and he is telling her that he isn't going to stand for it. I personally would be way more concerned if he didn't say anything about it.
I can definitely see how Petruchio seeks to control Kate, which is concerning in itself, but I don't think there's a lot of other things that really sets him apart as abusive.
I'm sorry, I really disagree with you. Firstly, I think that the whole point of reading these plays is to get deep into them, and this is an issue I see played out in literature and media all the time.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that the customs of the times played a role in the normalization of the ill treatment towards Kate, I don't think that because something is culturally acceptable, it makes it morally acceptable. For example, in Afghanistan, it's culturally acceptable for men to take pre-teen wives, beat them if they don't comply with their wishes, and force them to have sex whenever the husband so chooses. If a man commits a crime, he even has the legal ability to send his wife to jail in his place. It may be acceptable within the culture, but that doesn't mean that it's morally correct or justifiable.
I think abuse is abuse regardless of the time period or culture wherein it takes place. Kate openly hates Petruchio, but he repeatedly lies to and manipulates the people around her, namely her father, in order to marry her quickly (not to mention to receive her dowry). He repeatedly manipulates the situation in order to rush the wedding, and I don't think that was a cultural norm. It's clear from the get-go that not only does he not respect her as a person, he doesn't care about her well-being. It's all about his status and how he looks to his friends.
Also, I absolutely don't think threat of physical harm needs to be a threat on someone's life in order for it to qualify as abuse. In fact, while physical domestic abuse is (unfortunately) fairly common, murder and attempted murder within domestic relationships are not. Further, Kate was a woman, and therefore probably significantly smaller and weaker than Petruchio. Slapping him was inappropriate (and it's not impossible that her actions could be construed as abusive as well, but she's not supposed to be the hero, so Shakespeare isn't using her to normalize or glorify abusive actions), but it's unlikely that she would be capable of causing him serious physical harm. He, however, would be able to seriously injure her with his hands alone.
Obviously, you are welcome to your opinion. I don't think this is an area wherein you and I will find much common ground, and that's probably fine.