Source: "The Taming of the Shrew: Inside or Outside of the Joke?" in "Bad" Shakespeare: Revaluations of the Shakespeare Canon, edited by Maurice Charney, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1988, pp. 105-19.
[Unlike the majority of contemporary critics, who argue on various grounds that The Taming of the Shrew subverts or critiques traditional gender roles, Garner contends that the play's assumptions about women and sexuality are fundamentally misogynistic, and that it is directed towards an audience that believes it is both right and necessary that men should exercise control over women. In developing her argument, Garner examines the attitudes about women expressed both in the Induction and in the main part of the play. In particular, she looks closely at the language and imagery used to describe Katherina. Garner also analyzes the character of Petruchio and the.....
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