A Witty Palaver?

Once again, I want to discuss The Taming of the Shrew. The Taming of the Shrew is famed for its witty conversations, especially between Kate and Petruchio. Some of them are delightful. Others, not so much.

Honestly, there are portions of it that kind of make me mad. Let's take, for example, this portion from Act II:

"Thou must be married to no man but me,
For I am he am born to tame you, Kate,
And bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate
Conformable as other household Kates."

Tyler Shields Photography

That's Petruchio speaking, as is probably obvious. Now, the wildcat/wild Kate pun aside, quotes like this make me fume. I know that this play was written before gender equality was invented, but as a modern woman I can't help but be upset by this. Firstly, Petruchio and Kate's father completely remove the issue of consent. Just prior to this, Petruchio basically says "We're getting married whether you like it or not. Your dad already ponied up the dowry, and it's happening regardless of your personal feelings." 


("Thus in plain terms: your father hath consented
That you shall be my wife, your dowry ‘greed on,And will you, nill you, I will marry you.")


 Now, I know that even the United States government didn't recognize marital rape as a crime until the 1990's, but what about that is supposed to make me feel like this is a positive, non-abusive relationship? I'm having a hard time differentiating this sort of forced marriage from sex slavery. 


Secondly, I really resent the idea that women who don't just laugh at men's jokes and want to put out need to be "tamed." I had a boyfriend in high school who told me that I was intimidating because "you're too smart." Women do not exist to feed men's egos and fuel their sex drives. This play has, thus far, completely ignored the validity of women having identities independent from the men in their lives.


Thirdly, I think the idea that a woman needs to be barefoot and pregnant and cooking in the kitchen to fulfill her "womanly duties" is a load of crap. I hate the idea of a woman being compelled to conform to all of the brainless breeders who want nothing more than to pop out babies and make sandwiches for the rest of their lives. Now, if you want to have a bunch of kids, or you want to be a stay at home mother, I think that's a perfectly valid option. I don't think that anyone should be forced into that lifestyle who doesn't actively desire it.