Sunday, January 17, 2010

How are relationships today different from the ones during the time that The Taming Of the Shrew was written?

or similar? i am fresh out of ideas.... so if anyone could help i'd really appreciate it.How are relationships today different from the ones during the time that The Taming Of the Shrew was written?
You're kidding, right? The answer is sooooooooo easy. Women have rights for one thing! Women are rarely betrothed for another thing. Men can't force a woman to be their wife and slave. The first born girl does not have to be married before any of the other daughters can be married. Men and women (usually) respect each other prior to getting married. They know one another before making that commitment. It's a mutual decision to marry. Men and women are on equal footing.





Etc. Etc.





:o)How are relationships today different from the ones during the time that The Taming Of the Shrew was written?
Woman have a choice, more respect, and a girl can get married if she has no dowry.
It's been a while since I have read it so bear with me. Do not all the couples involved marry for money? And one in haste? Is one of the wives akin to what we would consider today a trophy wife? Is Petruchio an intelligent and loving husband who 'corrects' his wife's maladjusted behavior? Or is he an uncompromising, vain, tormentor who bends his wife to suit his expectations of his bride? Methinks there is much in common with today's couples! Take that angle!
The major difference in that time was that women had very little worth or value. They were basically -baby makers. Preferably a boy who would inherit the estate.So a woman who was barren for instance would often end up in a Nunnery or Holy Order.If a woman gave birth to a girl, the same thing happened. The only worth a woman had, was if her father thought an alliance could be made between two parties, and could marry her off with a substantial dowry.Men by comparison were considered far more superior. If the child was born of a noble for instance; they would be educated in the Latin language, learn to read, speak at least two languages, learn swordplay, and arms use. They would enjoy the best of everything.They would also get untold STD's from having unprotected sex with whoever they pleased. Gonnorhea and Syphilis was very much part of their life.But as we know most of them had a fairly short life, either been killed in battle, or dying from many of the diseases of their day.They never washed, and they didn't use toilet paper.Can you imagine it?
I guess you are writing a paper? Well, I'll bet you thought of this, but now days, every girl IS a shrew! If a girl isn't a shrew, then she' can be advantage of in some way or another. Also, with the woman's rights movement, it's an insult for us to, let's say, ';bow down,'; and say that the sun is the moon, just because the man wants us to say so, to show that he controls us in some possessive manner, not only for our companionship, but our free will and to rely on him for our common sense as well. It isn't an honor any longer to be known as the man's woman, we want to be known for who we are by ourselves, to have our own identity, to have our own education and independence. As an independent, mature woman, we no longer laugh at your jokes just to make you feel good, we do not succum to your whim, and if you find a girl like this, she is considered to be a, let's say, ';bimbo.'; She has no personality or opinion of her own, so she simply agrees to everything the guy wants, she makes him feel like the most important one, she is not a challenge to his ego. Infact, she will inflate it. She is ';usable.'; In todays world, men like to play with the ';bimbo,'; but marry the ';shrew.'; When it comes to similarity, however, some guys don't really like someone that is an extreme challenge to thier personality or way of life. She is ';trouble'; to him, and makes his life ';hell';. He may prefer marrying someone more docile, or with less contention. Every man desires peace in his life, so it is not shallow for a man to want someone that doesn't always push for her way. However, in the book, it goes to the extreme idea that a woman must submit to the will of the man in order to be considered ';desireable.'; In either instance, back then, or today, neither actually work towards a partnership of equality within a marriage.

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