Battle of the Sexes: Shakespeare Edition

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Battle of the Sexes: Shakespeare Edition

One of the ever-present themes that Shakespeare explores in his comedies is that of the constant battle between men and women. This is expressed through arguments, disagreements, and banter between such characters as Benedick and Beatrice, Katherine and Petruchio, Oberon and Titania, and several others. In his plays, Shakespeare uses the battle of the sexes as a tool to reveal something about each character.

In The Taming of the Shrew, there are several tumultuous relationships between men and women that must be considered. One of these that we are introduced to is that between Baptista and Katherine. Our first indication of the dynamic between them comes in the very first scene of the play, where Baptista tells Bianca to go inside but says to his other daughter, “Katherina, you may stay.” (I.i. 100) In Shakespeare’s day, being out on the street was unseemly for young ladies of good families.Katherine, however, will not stand for this treatment she is receiving from her father though and lashes out at him. She accuses him of treating her like a whore,saying, “Why, and I trust I may go too, may I not? What, shall I be appointed hours, as though (belike) I knew not what to take and what to leave? Ha!” (I.i. 102-104)

In this short exchange Shakespeare indicates to the reader several characteristics of this Father/Daughter relationship. It is not difficult to deduce that Baptista favors his younger daughter Bianca and is beyond caring about the well-being of his first-born.Katherine, on the other hand, does nothing to endear herself to her father. She is loud, willful, rude, and in this quote, disrespectful. While the order to remain out in the street was unfair and unreasonable, it was an order from her father and Katherine should have been bound to obey.

The most obvious male/female relationship in this play is, of course, that which occurs between Kate and Petruchio. Kate, though wild and uncontrollable in nature, is desirable to Petruchio because of her large dowry. With no other care to her personality or even personal preference,Petruchio enters into agreement with Baptista and gains Katherine’s hand (and money).

Following their marriage,Petruchio begins on his mission to tame his shrew of a wife, planning to “kill [his] wife with kindness.” (IV.i. 208) He deprives Katherine of sustenance by throwing a fit over imagined imperfections in the food prepared by the servants. He casts it all onto the floor and takes Kate with him to the bedroom, unfed. Here, she is robbed of another human necessity: sleep. In a soliloquy Petruchio reveals his plan, “… some undeserved fault / I’ll find about the making of the bed, / And here I’ll fling the pillow, there the bolster, / This way the coverlet, another way the sheets… And if she chance to nod I’ll rail and brawl, / And with the clamor keep her still awake … And thus I’ll curb her mad and headstrong humor.” (IV.i. 199-209)

This sort of treatment continues and, if measured by results, they whole scheme is successful. By the end of the play, Katherine is obedient to her husband and makes all the speeches necessary to indicate that she is no longer a shrew. Her final monologue contains every pretty phrase instructing her listeners to be a good wife to their husbands saying, “Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, / Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee, / And for thy maintenance; commits his body to painful labor … But love, fair looks, and true obedience- / Too little payment for so great a debt. / Such duty as the subject owes the prince, Even such a woman oweth to her husband; / And when she is froward, peevish, sullen, sour, / And not obedient to his honest will, What is she but a foul contending rebel, / And graceless traitor to her loving lord?” (V.ii. 146-160)

What does this speech indicate about Kate? If it is sincere, then it could be easily argued that Petruchio succeeded in his goal of molding the shrewish Katherine into the doting wife, Kate. However, what if this speech is intended to be portrayed ironically? This one unspecificity could conceivably change the entire theme of the play. Is Katherine truly the loving, amiable wife she appears to be in the final scene? Or has she merely discovered how to manipulate Petruchio into treating her with genuine kindness? Is Katherine somehow aware of the wager? Does she merely want to present the appearance of a felicitous marriage to her family who, for so long, treated her ill? We may never know Shakespeare’s intention for this play, he may not have known it himself. While the direction is ambiguous, either interpretation, straight or ironic, creates a wonderful story for the viewer or reader both are performed frequently.

The story of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is built upon the clash between the sexes. Every coupling is plagued by arguments or misunderstandings. The first battle we see, though not involving a romantic couple, is that between Egeus and his daughter,Hermia.In the Athenian patriarchal society, the father legally had complete rule over all aspects of the daughter’s life.This law is made clear by Theseus in his advising Hermia, “To you your father should be as a god; / One that compos’d your beauties; yea, and one / To whom you are but as a form in wax, / By him imprinted, and within his power, To leave the figure, or disfigure it.” (I.i. 47-51) However,Hermia’s love for Lysander is strong enough to induce her into opposition of her father’s legal right. It even makes her bold enough to speak out to the Duke, when her legalistic father has brought her before him for judgment.

While he can do nothing to help her,Theseus is sympathetic to Hermia’s plight. This could perhaps have something to do with the unsteady relationship between himself and his betrothed,Hippolyta.Though passive,Hippolyta, a queen in her own right, is in constant opposition to the Duke. When he says four days seems like a long time to wait for their wedding, she counters with, “Four days will quickly steep themselves in night; / Four nights will quickly dream away the time.” (I.i. 7) Conversely, when Hippolyta is inclined to believe the seemingly insane story told by the young lovers after their adventures,Theseus brushes it off, saying that it is, “More strange than true. I never may believe / These antic fables, nor these fairy toys.” With such constant disagreement being revealed between the two, one can’t help but speculate on what type of marriage they will actually enjoy (or abhor).Can two people so at odds have a pleasant life together?

Another relationship that finds itself on rocky ground in this play is that of Oberon and Titania, the King and Queen of the fairies. At the time the reader is introduced to the characters they are already in the midst of a type of battle. Oberon desires a little Indian boy that Titania has taken under her care and Titania refuses to part with him. In going through such lengths to obtain a child that Titania is honor bound to raise and protect, Oberon reveals a side of himself that is petty and dishonorable.Titania, though beginning admirably, is unveiled as prideful. She cannot stand the humiliation of having made a fool of herself over an ass and caves to Oberon.It is this argument that indirectly causes all of the confusion and drama which occurs between the four lovers. If Oberon and Titania had been on good terms,he would not have sent Puck to retrieve the magic flower and would not have had it on hand to bewitch Demetrius and cause mischief.

The banter between Benedick and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing,is quite witty while also being extremely revealing of their separate characters. Beatrice presents herself as a jilted lover when she says, “You always end with a jade’s trick,I know you of old.” (I.i. 144-145) This “jade’s trick” most directly refers to Benedick’s dropping out of the argument early but it could also be in reference to the fact that they were once romantically involved before he performed a “jade’s trick” and dropped out early.

In the same play,young lovers Hero and Claudio are targeted by Don John, who lies to Claudio about the worthiness of his bride-to-be. Claudio reveals himself to be both gullible and vindictive. When learning of Hero’s supposed infidelity he does not decide to talk to her about it or even to leave her quietly. He instead makes the decision to humiliate her at her own wedding and disgrace her in front of all her friends and family.

Measure for Measure, while different from the other comedies, still contains the male vs. female themes found in the others and Isabella is the focal point. The most venomous argument in this play occurs between her and Angelo. Isabella, in an effort to free her brother from his execution sentence, appears before Angelo, the acting Duke, in order to petition her case. Angelo, upon finding himself sexually attracted to her, propositions Isabella saying “[Claudio] shall not [die], Isabel, if you give me love.”(II.iv. 144) Indignant, Isabella refuses him and observes, “More than our brother is our chastity.” (II.iv. 185) In this exchange with Angelo,Isabella reveals a side of herself that is either very moral or very stubborn. Several times throughout the play we are led to question Isabella’s character. While ambiguous, we are led to believe that she may not be as noble and righteous as she appears.

Despite knowing that she will refuse to mar herself in order to save her brother, Isabella immediately visits him in prison and divulges the entire story.Claudio, takes her part at first and is aghast on her behalf. However,after further consideration,the desperate man within is revealed and he begins to urge her to accept the proposal saying, “Sweet sister, let me live. / What sin you do to save a brother’s life, / Nature dispenses with the deed so far, / That it becomes a virtue.” (III.i. 131-134) This plea throws Isabella into a fit of rage in which she rails against Claudio and declares it better for him to die.

These exchanges stand apart from Shakespeare’s other comedies because there is so much more on the line and the tone is so much darker. If Isabella agrees, she condemns her soul to eternal damnation. However, if she denies Angelo, she condemns her brother to death, his fiancée to widowhood or death, and his child to a potential orphanhood.

While the theme of conflict between men and women is prevalent throughout all of Shakespeare’s comedies, it reveals different things about each character.Baptista favors Bianca, Kate is hurt by it.Egeus is more worried about rules then his daughter’s happiness and Oberon will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. Isabella is cold and Claudio is desperate for life. Each of these revelations are brought about by an argument or clash between the sexes and demonstrates the effectiveness of this tool that Shakespeare has mastered.

Works Cited

Evans, G. Blakemore, ed. The Ricerside Shakespeare Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997. Print

Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream.Evans 256-280

Shakespeare, William. Measure for Measure. Evans 584- 618

Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing.Evans 366-396

Shakespeare, William. The Taming of the Shrew.Evans 142-171