Shakespeare Rewriting

8/12/2019 Shakespeare Rewriting

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David Bianca - IIIA, English - Portuguese

Shakespeare rewriting

A very prominent theme in Shakespeare's !he !aming o" the Shrew# is society's dou$le

standards o" men and women% In the play, &atherina is a very independent woman who wishes to "ollow

her own path in li"e and is not dependent on a man "or her happiness% Petruchio is also "ree-willed,

independent and speaks his mind "reely% e is manly and she is $itchy% !his is seen in popular cultural too

o"ten than is com"orta$le "or such an advanced modern culture as ours% (omen who are am$itious are

seen as $itchy, while men are seen as am$itious% !he !aming o" the Shrew# is not e)actly a "eminist

tract% In that era, the Eli*a$ethan one, a hus$and was e)pected to control his wi"e, so we must put aside

down our own cultural sensitiveness and consider the play in the conte)t o" the time in which it was

written%

(omen in the +.s were little more than property% Be"ore marriage, they were property o" their

"athers/ as wives, they were property o" their hus$ands% I think that &atherina is such a shrew and a

violently temperamental person that she does need to $e tamed#% It is almost like an intervention% She

needs to change i" she wants to $e in the company o" other people% er unprovoked physical violence

towards her sister is out o" control% 0n that level, &atherina would not get along in any society with the

way her acts-male or "emale, pu$lic or private% She is almost like an animal in many ways/ something not

1uite human% She needs sociali*ing, to say the least% And to say she needs sociali*ing meant even more, I

think, in Shakespeare's day than it does now% In the play the concept o" love is a means o" emotional

manipulation and manipulation is nothing more than a means o" control $etween man and woman%

Petruchio is charming &atherina with words and manipulates her psychologically and then he is taming

her a"ter marriage through legal, "inancial, physical and psychological control% But even i" Petruchio may

think he yields power over his wi"e, &atherina uses o$edience as a tool o" manipulation and has the

control o" the household, as can $e seen $y her ironic speech at the end o" the play, where she claims

women must serve their men%

During the early modern period, women in England had very "ew rights% 2nder the law, a married

man and wi"e $ecame one person% So, once married, the entirety o" a woman3s property and wages came

under the hus$and3s control/ thus, women $ecame the responsi$ility and property o" their hus$ands and

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Shakespeare, through his plays, illustrates the Eli*a$ethan period3s o$session with maintaining the legal

su$ordination o" women through marriage%

4eactions to the play evolved as women achieved more e1ual social status, due to the "eminist

movements o" the 5.th century% &atherina3s taming was no longer as "unny as it was once "or some

readers and her domination $ecame disgusting to modern sensi$ility% So, in the modern society with

egalitarian perspectives on gender, the staging o" the play would $e kind o" a moral dilemma%

I think that adapting literature into movies is a "ree game% 6e""irelli3s vision o" the story is less

su$tle than more conventional interpretations% Still, !he taming o" the Shrew# is still a comedy% 4ichard

Burton is per"ect as Petruchio and also 6e""irelli does wonder"ul things with the visuals, like the scene at

the $eginning, where what appears to $e a solemn church, suddenly erupts into a wild carnival% !here is

an o$vious irony in the "act that Petruchio is treating &atherina with kindness% Actually, he is treating her

e)actly as she has $een treating others, so he hopes to $reak her $y e)hi$iting the same $ehavior as his

wi"e% Perhaps, $y viewing this, she may see the error o" her ways% 7eanwhile, as he appears to $e treating

his wi"e cruelly, his actions are kind, $ecause the ultimate goal is to re"orm his wi"e% In this +89

adaptation, 6e""irelli omits the Induction, the introductory "ramework that sets up the play within a play/

$ut to compensate, he provides more physical action, making the comedy more approacha$le to modern

motion-picture audiences%

A much more modern adaptation is +. things I hate a$out you#, which presents an

updating take on a classic story% In place o" the play's language, the director :il ;unger su$stituted the

very speci"ic teen language o" the "ilm's time% Although the play, which traces Petruchio's


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struggle with $oth o" these% De"initely, the play is nowadays regarded as a di""icult one, $ecause in this

"eminist age it is viewed as $eing o""ensive to women% But the play was written in another age, "or a

di""erent society, in which values and $elie"s were di""erent% =othing can $e done to make &atherina3s

"inal su$mission to her hus$and accepta$le nowadays%

!oday many wives want to have the same position with their hus$and% So, they always have

con"lict with each other% As I remem$ered, wi"e and hus$and lived very well in the +8 thcentury% !hey

didn3t have any con"lict% 7any wives would o$ey their hus$and when their hus$and orders them to do

everything% (hat di""erent image o" the wi"e $etween +8 thcentury and today? !he "irst di""erent image is

that many wives liked to live with their hus$and together in +8th century% In

7ost o" the men o" today still dislike an outspoken or strong minded woman% 0nly written law can assist

change in a human society, $ut the laws o" nature continue to adapt to written elements%

!he second di""erent image is that many hus$ands married their wi"e ust "or love in the si)teenth

centuries% In !he !aming o" the Shrew< >ucentio loved Bianca very much, so that he disguised as a

teacher who taught her >atin everyday% e wanted to e)press his love to Bianca% owever, many

hus$ands marry their wi"e not only "or love today%

!he third di""erent image is that the role o" the wi"e is changed% In +8th century, the role o" the

wi"e was that And craves no other tri$ute at thy hands% But love, "air looks, and true o$edience%# So that

many wives o$eyed their hus$and% It3s interesting that what "or centuries has $een accepta$le conduct "or

women is unaccepta$le "or men% Interesting, too, that men- who once "elt threatened $y women's invasion

o" the workplace- wouldn't consider having them stay at home%

In the $an1uet scene at the end when the hus$ands place $ets on whose wi"e is more o$edient,

&atherina seems pathetic, as though now she is little more than a trained dog, an intelligent and angry

woman whose spirit has $een completely $roken% But, on the other hand, centuries ago "eminism did not

e)ist, so &atherina's "inal monologue was not shocking% She had to look tamed% !oday, you still have to

$elieve she is tamed, in spite o" "eminism%

I don3t think that !he taming o" the Shrew# can ever itsel" $e tamed in 5.., $ecause its

"oundations are too "ully $ased in a view o" marriage and womankind that has long since $een a$andoned%

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Anyhow, Shakespeare3s play is the historical proo" that "lirting and temptation, relating to the opposite

se), has $een around since the earliest o" times% Because males and "emales continue to interact, the

complications in this play remain as relevant and today as they did to Eli*a$ethan audiences%

In conclusion, although Petruchio3s "inally manages to tame &atherina in the conte)t o" the play,

he would not have $een as success"ul in real li"e% (ith women nowadays, one needs to $e considerate,

romantic, and loving% Both man and wi"e have o$ligations that need to $e met% As the leader, the man

needs to start o"" with the right steps and in turn the wi"e will supply him with o$edience, respect, and

love% &ate e)plains it $est at the end o" the play when she says

!hy hus$and is thy lord, thy li"e, thy keeper,

!hy head, thy sovereign/ one that cares "or thee,

And "or thy maintenance/ commits his $ody

!o pain"ul la$our $oth $y sea and land,

!o watch the night in storms, the day in cold,

(hilst thou liest warm at home, secure and sa"e/

And craves no other tri$ute at thy hands

But love, "air looks, and true o$edience-

!oo little payment "or so great a de$t

Such a duty as the su$ect owes the prince,

Even such a woman oweth to her hus$and%#

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Shakespeare Rewriting