This section contains 2,668 words (approx. 7 pages at 400 words per page) |
Source: "Horses and Women in The Taming of the Shrew," in The Huntington Library Quarterly, Vof. 45, No.4, Autumn, 1982, pp. 285-94.
[Pointing out that women are compared to horses in many English Renaissance texts, Hartwig suggests that Petruchio's "taming" of Katherina is made to suggest the training of a horse to respond to its rider's commands. The critic also examines the English practice during Shakespeare's time of punishing shrewish women by forcing them to parade in public wearing a "scold's bridle," a device that forced a painful metal gag into their mouths. In contrast with such brutal methods, Hartwig argues, Petruchio's methods seem gentle and reasonable, and they result in a "complementary relationship" that benefits both man and wife.]
In a 1534 treatise on husbandry, attributed to Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, after discussing the benefits of keeping horses, cows, and sheep together in one pasture in order to get the...
This section contains 2,668 words (approx. 7 pages at 400 words per page) |