Shakespeares Shrews

Amongst commonly marginalized groups, women find themselves pigeonholed into

various stereotypes. Before women were allowed on the stage to portray themselves, there was

little opportunity to stand in opposition to harmful depictions of their sex. A stereotype that a

young William Shakespeare pulled for his early play, The Taming of the Shrew, was the shrewish

and spinster woman who is nothing but a blemish on society at large. Later revisiting this

archetype in his career through Beatrice of Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare's perception

of voluntarily unmarried women had dramatically changed. In the book Gender and Power in

Shrew-Taming Narratives 1500-1700, David Wootton and Graham Holderness contemplated the

comparison between the two plays stating, "the young Shakespeare may have been capable of

brutal farce aimed primarily at unruly women, but by the time of Much Ado he had refined his

sensibilities to the point that he could create Beatrice not as an incorrigible, isolated, rejected

shrew-like Katherina, but as the beloved heart and soul of the comedy" (Holderness, 98).

Because of his newly "refined sensibilities," Shakespeare created Beatrice as a foil to his first

attempt at the Shrew. Though these women harbor the same personality and mindset, this change

in representation makes for a different premise and the driving of the plot altogether. Each

woman is the quick-witted "Shrew" in her respective play, who then gets mixed up in a plan to

marry them off to a man they initially dislike. Even with their plots being similar in many ways,

Katherina's tale is a tragedy, and Beatrice's is a comedy. Solidifying this distinction through

Shakespeare's reconstruction of how he portrays Shrews, each woman's upbringing, and the

personalities of their suitors.

 From the very moment that Katherina bursts onto the stage, she exudes a ferocious,

almost feral like energy. Obviously, she is not someone that others like to be around. Instead,

they are afraid of Katherina and disparage her as an outcast of their society. Not a soul in the

community harbors any respect for Katherina or shows any regard for her wellbeing. The

forceful marriage put upon her, it is not for her benefit; she is merely a pawn in the game towards

Bianca's heart. Petruchio is using Katherina for money while Grumio and Hortensio are

employing him in their quest for Bianca. No one cares for Katherina's fate, as long as they are

happy in the end. Her only reason for existing in these people's lives is to help them progress in

theirs. Here, Shakespeare is characterizing Katherina as an obstacle that must be overcome

instead of a fully realized person. In Elizabeth Taylor's famous portrayal of Katherina, she is

undisputedly a wild woman. Her hair is unkempt; her eyes exaggerated with a dark liner which

accentuates their size and wildness in her rage. Any portrayal of Katherina wherein her character

is faithful to the text effectively eliminates the possibility of her being anything more than a

shrewish woman to tame.

In stark comparison, Shakespeare introduces Beatrice as someone who is enjoying life in

Messina with her loving family. She doesn't need anything more to make her entirely content.

Having the same quick tongue that Katherina displays, she is lighthearted and fills her time with

wordplay and joking instead of cruel insults. In the rare occurrence that Beatrice words turn

venomous, it is never without reason, and she is justified through the context of the play.

Beatrice's physical depictions on stage and screen are always of a beautiful young woman, who

is clean and well groomed. Emma Thompson's portrayal provides a Beatrice who brings light
and happiness, while all dressed in white with golden curls framing her face. It's hard to not feel

at peace looking at the infectious smile of someone who is so loved.

In the argument of nature versus nurture, Beatrice and Katherina's nature is strikingly

similar, but their particular nurturing is the contrast that shaped their emotions and self-esteem.

Katherina's father, Baptista, is not afraid to show that his love leans far away from her and

towards her soft-spoken sister, Bianca. Having a parent show bias towards a sibling is enough to

damage a child's self-esteem and the measures that Baptista goes to show his disdain towards

Katherina push her farther away from establishing an emotional connection with him. With her

own father calling her a good-for-nothing creature with the spirit of the devil, Katharina has

never learned how to connect with others and thus has no companionship in the community. She

has absolutely no one to turn to in confidence and simply be who she is. Katherina is the ultimate

outsider. In Taming of the Shrew, the first person to ever show any interest in her is a man who

abuses her. Katherina's outbursts of anger and emotion make sense given that she has never been

able to share any intimate thought throughout her life. The only other interactions she has had

with other people was that of ridicule. She might as well have been a feral child raised by

wolves. Katherina is what Beatrice, in the text of Much Ado About Nothing, described as the

jester:

Why, he is the Prince's jester, a very dull fool, only his gift

is in devising impossible slanders. None but libertines

delight in him, and the commendation is not in his wit but

in his villainy, for he both pleases men and angers them,

and then they laugh at him and beat him.

 (Much Ado About Nothing, 2.1.116-120)

With no admiration or sweet word passing her ears, Katherina can only play the fool as others

laugh on, rejoicing that they are aren't her.

The life of a "shrew" in Messina is a considerably healthier lifestyle than in Padua.

Despite Beatrice being an orphan and having to live under her uncle's roof, she is perfectly

content with her position in life. Instead of being treated like the aforementioned jester, Beatrice

is the family's lovable comedian. Unlike Katherina, Beatrice understands that she has value and

deserves respect because it has been shown to her all her life! By giving Beatrice a family that

admires her, especially her uncle who finds it possible to share his love for both of the children

under his care, Shakespeare created the definitive differentiating factor in his two leading ladies.

Actor Maggie Steed, who played Beatrice in a 1988 production, infatuated herself with this

companionship between Beatrice and her uncle explaining, "He [Leonato] acts almost as her

stooge, egging her on, and feeding her her next passage He is allowing her to be confident and

outspoken" (McDonald, 623). This encouragement enables Beatrice to come into her own and

not allow anyone to step over her. Beatrice has a close relationship with her cousin, Hero, as

well. Having the ability to confide in a trusted ally every night releases any tension and anger

that might be festering beneath. Because of this outlet where she is allowed vent her frustrations

and share her hopes, Beatrice is the ever-joyous woman who can dream of sadness and wake

herself up with laughter. Everyone who comes into contact with Beatrice can't help but fall in

love, even the Prince. Beatrice's upbringing in Messina harbored a space where she was allowed

to be as quick-witted as she pleased, and gave her emotional connections to those around her,

teaching her to be pleasant but also to know her value.

 Both suitors of the women are quick to engage in the kind of repartee that the women

excel in. Their wits are well matched, only Petruchio's lack of understanding of Katherina, and

his narcissism stand in the way of making an honest connection. The only purpose of Petruchio

perusing Katherina is to obtain her wealth, and thus, there is never a deeper emotional

connection made. Even with Katherina's attempt to join him in his fantasy banter about the sun

and the moon, he dismisses her rebuttal insisting that she should always agree with his reality.

Petruchio forces Katherina into submission and admiration for him giving none in return. Their

relationship is substantially based upon his ownership over her, refusing to let her live outside of

him and his domain. He cuts her off from her home and isolates her. Being the only person who

has spent an extended amount of time with her, Katherina has no basis to go off of and accepts

that this is her life now and that this is her role. Having no assertion of personal value in the past,

she believes this is what her life is supposed to be. Without a loving figure in her life to compare

him too, her loyalty to the only person who has spent time focusing on her was inevitable.

Along with Beatrice representing a more fleshed out version of Katherine, Benedick acts

as the foil against Petruchio. It is apparent that Beatrice and Benedick already held disdain for

each other, but having that past together gives them the foundation they needed to grow as a

couple. The two were familiar long before they began to fall for each other and knew the other's

personality. Shakespeare's most significant distinction between Petruchio and Benedick is having

Benedick respect Beatrice. Benedick views her as his equal and does not hold back in their

banter because she is a woman, but he never crosses the line of crudeness or cruelty. This regard

comes into play when he outright refuses to kill Claudio for her sake. Benedick dismisses the
idea and pleads to at the very least be friends with her if not lovers. He doesn't need to be

romantically involved with Beatrice to be happy, but he needs her. When he realizes how far this

injustice against Hero endangers the family he loves, takes arms up against his best friend,

"Enough, I am engaged, I will challenge him. I will kiss your hand, and so I leave you: by this

hand, Claudio shall render me a dear account: as you hear of me, so think of me, go comfort your

cousin." (4.1.321-324). Not only does he allow her to be her own person, but he recognizes

the importance of her family and does not attempt to remove her from them.

What distinguishes a Shrew from the comedic and the tragic depends upon the

perspective written. A character can rarely be taken at face value for who they truly are;

everyone has layers to their reasoning and actions. Unfortunately for Katherina, Shakespeare

didn't spend the time while writing The Taming of the Shrew to flesh her out as a full person or to

provide a friendly face for her to turn to in a time of need. Katherina, having never been given an

opportunity for personal redemption had no choice over her own life. However, in Much Ado

about Nothing, Beatrice is portrayed from the beginning as a person who is much loved and

allowed to explore her complex emotions. This difference directly correlates into her

relationship. Each woman's treatment at the hand of her husband affects her self-image and

determines her ability to speak for herself. While Petruchio focused on getting Katherina as far

away from her home and family as possible, Benedick vowed to fight for Beatrice's families

honor. Most importantly, however, is that Beatrice has a confidant and close friend in Hero

whereas Katherina has no one. Shakespeare's reconstruction of the Shrew brings to light that no

matter the woman's nature, her nurture can make or break her.
Citations:
Holderness, G. Wootton, D. Gender and Power in Shrew-Taming Narratives, 1500-1700.

Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2010

McDonald, Russ, and Lena Cowen Orlin. The Bedford Shakespeare. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2015.