Compare the role of women in Caroyl Churchill's top girls and Shakespeares taming of the shrew - Essay Example

It revolves around the theme of mistaken identity of two sisters Katharine and Bianca. Katharine is apparently rude, ill tampered and defiant while Bianca is meek and nice with moderate manners. Both girls fight for gaining their father’s attention. Katherine’s jealousy and selfishness is due to Bianca’s approval by everyone as she says, “She is your treasure, she must have a husband; I must dance bare-foot on her wedding day” (The Taming of the Shrew. 2.1.35-36).1 Katherine is independent and has free will, but at the same time she is bitchy and her father want her to get married at any cost.

On the other hand, Bianca pretends to be obedient and portrays the image of innocent girl who submit to her elder’s will. Shakespeare’s woman is wild, rebellious, ruler or suppressed by the male dominated society. He reassigned the role to women who independently operate in a social structure which is not favorable for her. However, right role for woman in Shakespeare’s point of view is submission to man’s will; be it her father or husband. Initially Bianca is showed as right and good because of her humble behavior towards orders, irrespective of what is going on inside her.

Katherine on the other hand is rejected due to her insolent doings besides her independent and free spirit. At the end of play, role of both sisters shift just because of submission to their husband’s will, irrespective of what is going on inside their heads. The word taming reminds me of animals who need to be trained in order to be ready to serve better. Katherine is resembled with many animals and objects, for example, title itself suggests her to be a shrew, a mouse like animal. She is also compared with asses, horses and hawks.

This idea can be observed in Act III, Scene II clearly when Petruchio says: Male domination over woman is obvious in the