The display of human emotions is an everyday occurrence. These emotions range from happiness to sorrow, love to hate, aversion to desire, all of which are revealed in the two short dialogues from Much Ado About Nothing and The Taming of the Shrew. Shakespeare has managed to convey his views on the position of women and men in society. Both these scenes center on the wooing of women, and how the whole ordeal affects them.
Battle of the Sexes
The display of human emotions is an everyday occurrence. These emotions range from happiness to sorrow, love to hate, aversion to desire, all of which are revealed in the two short dialogues from Much Ado About Nothing and The Taming of the Shrew. Wide assortments of emotions are displayed in abundance throughout both these scenes. There are times when the characters strengths are shown and when their weaknesses are exposed. In both dialogues, there is a common goal of the male and the female. Both Petruchio and Benedick want to woo their "women" so they can have them for their own, while Katherine and Beatrice object. In both of the scenes, it seems that the women have the upper hand symbolizing the fact that in real life, although men are portrayed as the strong figurehead, it is the women that truly rule.
In Much Ado About Nothing, the scene takes place at a time where Beatrice is feeling angry and vulnerable. While she weeps at the newly abandoned altar, Benedick tries in vain to profess his love for her. At first, when Benedick tries to consol a sobbing Beatrice, it appears that his charms have worked. They each reveal their undying love for each other, in an exchange of classic lover's banter. However, Beatrice, like all members of the fairer sex, feels like she has to test Benedick's love. "Kill Claudio" Beatrice demands this of Benedick not only to right her cousin, but to see whether Benedick truly loves her. When Benedick first refuses, Beatrice embarks on an angry rampage, yelling at Benedick, and verbally insulting all men calling them weak and unable to take a strong stand.
"O that I were a man for his sake! Or that I had any friend would be a man for my sake! But manhood is melted into cur'sies, valor into compliment, and men are only turn'd into tongue, and trim ones too."
The argument that follows is somewhat similar to that between Kate and Petuchio in Taming of the Shrew. In the end of the scene Benedick finally succumbs to Beatrice's will, (as is the case in most real life situations) and agrees to talk to Claudio.
In Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio, realizing that Kate will be a formidable opponent, opts to use her own tactics against her.
"I will attend her here, And woo her with some spirit when she comes. Say that she rail; why then I'll tell her plain She sings as sweetly as a nightingale: Say she be mute and will not speak a word; Then I'll commend her volubility, And say she uttereth piercing eloquence: If she do bid me pack, I'll give her thanks, As though she bid me stay by her a week"
These said tactics appear to work because although Kate tries her best to hold her own, she is shocked by Petruchio's forward behavior. She recovers quickly however and then proceeds to throw as many insults as she can at Petruchio, who is ready for them. I think that this is Katherine's way of testing Petruchio to see if he is actually a worthy suitor. Although it seems that Kate doesn't want Petruchio woo her, she is truly desperate for a man's love. She hides behind the facade that she is a carefree, independent women, who doesn't need a man to comfort her. Kate has sensed that Petruchio's only desire may be to settle down with any woman who has a generous dowry and tries to figure out if Petruchio really loves her. She is able to hold her own against the scheming Petruchio.
The scenes from Much Ado About Nothing and The Taming of the Shrew are alike in many ways. First, the personalities of Beatrice and Katherine appear to be very similar. They are both strong willed, independent women, who are highly opinionated and speak their minds. I feel it is these attributes that make them both attractive to Petruchio and Benedick. However, the latter characters don't have much in common personality wise, although their objective is the same: "woo her, wed her, and bed her." These two men do have different ulterior motives, but in both of these situations, their supposed "wooing" does not start off on a good foot. There is much controversy and quarrelling before anyone gets close to achieving their goal. In Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice ends up on top, while Petruchio seems to have won the fight in Taming of the Shrew. These exchanges between the characters are essential to their development and progress of their relationships.
In the two passages, the differences in language and characters create many separate interpretations for the reader. First, at the start of both these conversations, the couples are in entirely different positions. Beatrice and Benedick are already aware of their mutual attraction where as Katherine and Petruchio have nothing to work with but the spontaneous sparks that are caused by their continuous arguing. The way that the pairs express themselves is also very different. Kate is forward as soon as she lays eyes on Petruchio, and Petruchio deals with her in the same way. Unlike Benedick, Petruchio takes command of the situation and does not allow him self to fall into the traps set by Katherine. The scene between Kate and Petruchio seemed to be more racy, than the mellower Much Ado About Nothing. With Kate and Petruchio, there is a lot more sexual tension and unresolved conflict than with Beatrice and Benedick, who had already known each other for some time. Among these two selections, I feel that The Taming of the Shrew is more of a farce because of the exaggerated behavior of the characters. Although both of the plays are a little far fetched, I feel that Much Ado about Nothing is slightly more realistic for modern times, and some of the situations fit in better with real life scenarios.
In each dialogue, Shakespeare has managed to convey his views on the position of women and men in society. Both these scenes center on the wooing of women, and how the whole ordeal affects them. After comparing the two, it is quite clear that men need women to properly function, while women respectively also have a need for men to maintain happiness in their lives. The Benedick- Beatrice scene proves the point that men will sometimes do anything for the women they love, even though society indirectly places them a rank above women. The interaction between Kate and Petruchio shows how society views men and women. Shakespeare created the characters to have both the elements of the common alpha male, who has to be obeyed, contrasted by the independent and rebellious ingénue. These different views are bound together by the encouragement of equality between men and women, show that life really isn't only about the battle of the sexes.
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