Men vs.Women

The play “The Taming of the Shrew” develops many themes throughout the text.  However one theme is ubiquitous in the play.  The relationship between man and woman is suggested as a stereotype.  In “The Taming of the Shrew” the idea that men are a more dominant sex is a main theme that helps the story evolve.  In Katherine’s final speech she says “Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper.”  This quote emphasizes the difference between male and female and say’s to readers that patriarchy has followers in the play.  In the play Petruchio forces Kate to marry him and doesn’t care how she feels about their marriage.  This reveals how he, a man, is dominant in decisions and that the mind of Kate, a woman, is insignificant.  Together these two examples from the text demonstrate the theme that men are the more dominant sex.   A theme that compliments the one in “The Taming of the Shrew” is found in the play of “Antigone.”   There is a similar situation where the men are trying to control women but a female named Antigone try’s to defy the rule of men.  She replaces the character of Katherine in “The Taming of the Shrew.”  Together these two plays promote the idea of gender roles and express the concept of how males are physically and emotionally more dominant then females.