The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare was written in the middle of 16th century. In his masterpiece a genius of words managed to reveal a serious problem of women’s social status in a lighthearted and exquisite comedy. The main values of the Elizabethan era, where the events of the comedy take place, were courtship and marriage. Moreover, the sacred Mystery of Marriage very often turned out to be just a method to obtain power, money or to deliver an inheritor. No need to say that under such conditions women were deprived of the most opportunities available for men.
So, the protagonist of the play, Katarina, is a young unmarried lady, known to be a shrew, because she does not feel like obeying unwritten rules of the society she lives in. She is not afraid to say what she wants, sometimes to act aggressively and she does not have any wish to be a humble and silent creature to fit in the frames the society has set for women. No wonder, she is not very popular with men. Even though she is rich and beautiful, not all the gentlemen have enough courage to try and conquer her.
Her sister Bianca is just her opposite – quiet, obedient and modest. She is a perfect would-be wife that would never even think of coming athwart her husband. She wants to get married and she’s got quite enough candidates to fill this position. But girls’ father decision is severe: a younger daughter is not allowed to get married until an elder does.
In a short time, a noble, brave and self-confident lord named Petruccio shows up in the city, and he is really exited by Katarina’s attitude to men and life. To conquer and tame her is a real challenge for him, and eventually, after a row of actions and tricks, undertaken by Petruccio, it looks like Katarina is finally tamed. But is it really true? Shakespeare leaves his reader a lot to think about, because it is obvious, that Katarina is sly enough to show in public that she is tamed not to start up a war against the society. In fact, deep down her soul she is the same, but she does respect and love her future husband, because he loves her as she is.