Student Essay on The Shrew in Taming of the Shrew and Its Reworkings

The Shrew in Taming of the Shrew and Its Reworkings

Summary:   The unruly, domineering woman has proved to be a durable stereotype. She has faced the audience of many different times in many different versions. First introduced to the spectators in Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew", the concept of the disobedient women that opposed any male authority was worked into many different adaptations of the original play, including Zeffirelli's 60s adaptation and Junger's 90s film version "10 Things I Hate About You."

Many changes have taken place in the role of women and the nature of marriage since the 1590s till today. Societies' perceptions and expectations of women differ greatly from that Renaissance period to the twenty-first century. Despite all these changes, the unruly, domineering woman has proved to be a durable stereotype. She has faced the audience of many different times in many different versions. First introduced to the spectators in Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew", the concept of the disobedient women that opposed any male authority was worked into many different adaptations of the original play and was also used in other texts. Even though slightly changed and modified through the ages to relate to different societies the Kate character has survived and met different audiences in different adaptations of the original play including Zeffirelli's 60s adaptation and Junger's 90s film version "10 Things I Hate About You." Both these re-workings have picked up the shrew idea that became a major challenge for any actress offered the role of Shakespeare's Kate and attempted to develop it in an appealing way to the audience of their time.

The word 'shrew' as used in the concept of Shakespeare's original play, means 'a woman with a violent, scolding, or nagging temperament'. The shrew in the original play is made clear within the very first few scenes. With the behaviour she shows including shouting at her father, tying up and beating her sister and breaking a lute over her teacher's head, Kate is easily recognised as the ruthless woman who opposes male control and dominance. She is commonly referred to as a 'devil' (1.1.66, 199), a 'fiend of hell' (1.1.88) and as 'curst' (1.1.175) by the people closest to her including her father and sister. Her actions however if evaluated can be viewed as reasonable. Kate has been denied parental love and is subject to continuous harassment from her father who wants to get rid of her, in her own words .".. make a stale of" (1.1.58) her. Along comes Petruchio who agrees to marry Kate because of her wealth. Kate accepts to marry Petruchio who intends to tame her. At the end of the play, after many harsh days Kate is tamed by Petruchio's training strategy, which he likens to the training of a falcon. Submission of Kate to her husband's rule is delivered to the audience in a long monologue by Kate at the end of the play in a big public gathering for her sister's wedding celebration. Kate known as the shrew by everyone is proven to be tamed as she addresses her husband in front of a large crowd "In token of which duty, if he please, / My hand is ready, may it do him ease." (5.2.183-4) This ending was accepted as was expected by the audience of 1590s. There was nothing wrong at that period in women behaving in such a manner and accepting the servile role under their husband's rule. This play thus would not have caused much controversy at the time and would have certainly satisfied and entertained the audience with the use of clever versus and portrayal of conflicting relationships. It would have been regarded basically as a love story and the ending would have been considered appropriately a happy ending with everything being just as it should. The actress/actor offered the role of Kate in this period would not have had many problems in addressing the role as these ideals were generally accepted by everyone and were not regarded as improper. This situation however would have changed when the adaptation by Zeffirelli made in 1966 was presented to a different audience under very different conditions.

Zeffirelli's Taming of the Shrews had only a few differences in content to the original play by Shakespeare. Nevertheless, having to carry the characteristics of a film, it was more action-packed and included scenes originally narrated in the play. The major difference was the inclusion of the wedding scenario and the active physical participation (quarrels, chasing) of the actors primarily Petruchio (Richard Burton) and Kate (Elizabeth Taylor). In most of the scenes during the film, Kate is being violent, destructive or physically punished. This would make it very hard for an actress who is offered the role of Kate to act out, as it needs physical strength and durability for the part to be performed properly. That would not however be the only challenge for an actress seeking to act as Kate. Firstly, most actresses in 1960s would have found it unacceptable and unreasonable for Kate to act in such a manner at the end of the film, to submit to a male superiority. They would have, in the first place been opposed to the idea of her marrying a man she is 'sold' to especially when her character is so against such actions. Elizabeth Taylor in this case would have been a good choice of actor with her real-life husband as she would look at the role from a different perspective and subsequently carry out her task. The actresses would not have been the only group that would have opposed such an ending in this period just prior to the feminist movement. Most of the female audience would find it intolerable and offensive for males to be presented as having a higher rank and authority. That is why, most of the dialogue and actions displayed through out the movie carry a double meaning such as when Kate is delivering her final speech, it is obvious that she is trying to give a message to Petruchio with her facial expression and tone of voice. The audience taking into account such measured interpretations accept and value the movie. Zefferelli's movie also aims to entertain its audience while giving messages suggested in Shakespeare's original play like 'don't judge a book by its cover' or 'too much of nothing is good'.

Junger's appropriation of the play, "10 Things I Hate About You" produced in 1999 is set in modern America and the main characters are adolescents, drawing on the relevance of the play's themes to today's youth. The plot follows the same structure as Taming of the Shrews. Bianca cannot date until her older, independent and disliked sister, Kat finds a boyfriend. Joey/Hortensio teams up with his competition Cameron/Lucentio, to try and convince Patrick/Petruccio to date Kat/Katharina so that they will be free to set their sights on Bianca. Initially this ploy works and Bianca is free to go out with whomever she chooses and in this case she selects Joey for his good looks, popularity and status. The major difference in this adaptation of the play is that, it is Patrick who makes the submission to Kat to win her love back after she learns she was just a 'bet'. "10 Things I Hate About You" is a very modernised version of Taming of the Shrews as it shys away from the idea of marriage. Where as in the play Baptista aims to marry Kate to anyone that volunteers as would have been expected at that period, Kat's father is not even ready to let her date, which would be considered normal for these times. Once again there would be a problem for the actress acting Kate's role, as in this version as well, she is not a character accepted and appreciated by the ones around her, but rather is constantly ridiculed for her actions and beliefs. This movie appeals to the modern day audience and has been modernised to do so by the removal of the marriage idea which was regarded as the end response of 'true' love in the earlier ages. One key similarity that has been carried through all the different appropriations and that appeals to all different audiences of different periods includes the stereotype of the unruly, domineering woman.

Changes have occurred in every aspect of life including the status of woman and the nature of marriage since the 1590s and onwards. Adaptations were made of Shakespeare's play "The Taming of the Shrew" with varying purposes in different contexts for various audiences. Even though many different interpretations, modifications and verifications were made to different parts of the play in these different adaptations, the concept of the 'shrew'; the unruly domineering woman in opposition of the male authority has been a constant. It has thus proved to be a durable stereotype, appreciated by a wide range of audiences but as well, has provided challenge for any actress offered the role of the 'shrew'; Shakespeare's Kate.