Taming of the Shrew- AO3: Act 4 Flashcards
How is the shrew and shrew literature used in this act?
Kate is shown in Act 4, Scenes 1-4 as being tamed by Petruchio, in abusive and manipulative ways, by starvation, denial of sleep and sexual deprivation to make her less shrewish. We can see in Act 4, Scene 5 how Petruchio continues to do this but Kate starts to do as he says and obey him, with the argument about the sun and the moon, where she eventually gives in and agrees with him, even though she knows he’s wrong, she’s given up.
How is interpretations of Elizabethan gender roles shown here?
Women were expected to obey and be their husband’s property, ultimately decided by their father, and this is what happens to Kate, she is practically ‘sold’ off to Petruchio, where he treats her horribly to ‘tame’ her, and views from the time period are shown with Petruchio’s speech and the fact no one calls him out on his terrible plan to basically abuse and manipulate Kate until she obeys and listens to him.
