Marriage as an Economic Institution: Taming of the Shrew Essay Example

them - more or less bribe the father of the girl they wish to marry with assurances that they are of wealth and high social status, and although some of the men might have genuine feelings towards the girl, It seems Irrelevant whether the girl shares those feelings. The prime example of such a relationship is the one between Epithetic and the uncontrollable and tempered Katherine.

Since she is the oldest of two daughters, she has to be married away quickly, because her younger sister, Blanch, Is not allowed a husband until her older sister has found one. The problem is that nobody wants anything to do with Katherine because of her brutish and mean personality. Luckily or Blanch and her numerous proposes, a man with the taste for business shows up - Petroleum. This man Is not at all attracted to Katherine, but he does not find that necessary.

He is still compelled to marry her after hearing word of her wealth.

After 1 OFF to the wedding, and the marriage is arranged and held. In this marriage, the female is made out to be little more than a commodity to be traded between father and proposes. In the 15-sass, arranged marriages were still common also in Europe. It is not odd, then, that Shakespeare chooses this as a theme in his play.

It is quite evident that he myself opposed arranged and "corrupted" marriages. We see this in the way he portrays the different characters, dealing out a good portion of sympathy to the women.

Because of Shakespearean perhaps unusually female-friendly attitude relative to his contemporaries, some have even come to the conclusion

that he was a feminist! In today's world, millions of women are being married away regardless of their will - often to men they do not even know. In Western society, the problem of forced marriage is almost non-existent.

This is due to the radical change in our ideals and way of thinking during the past few centuries. Today it is out of the question that fathers should decide who their daughters can marry, and the ideal of individual freedom stands stronger than ever.

However, arranged marriages are prevalent in other parts of the world, and are still widely accepted among the populations of many countries especially in the East and South. Overall, the theme is in my opinion Just as relevant today as it was back then.

Even though western women today are free to choose their own husband (or even wife in some countries.. ), our sisters in parts of the Middle East, Africa, South and East Asia s well as Latin America still lack this freedom.