Dissertations and Theses
Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Department
English
First Advisor
Elizabeth Mazzola
Second Advisor
Mark Jay Mirsky
Third Advisor
Andras Kisery
Keywords
Shakespeare, Masking, Performing, The Taming of the Shrew
Abstract
This thesis explores how William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew exaggerates the art of masking and performing as necessary social techniques for women surviving the patriarchal culture of Padua. Through close analysis of Katherine and Bianca Minola, both sisters adopt performative identities, the “shrew” and the “ideal woman,” that reflect, resist, and expose the restrictive gender norms governing female behavior, qualifications for marriage, and worth. While Bianca’s apparent passivity and rhetorical femininity promote her to manipulate societal expectations to her advantage, Katherine’s refusal to submit to the societal and cultural standards of Padua results in her categorization of a shrew, a role imposed on her by her community rather than one she deliberately embodies. Furthermore, this thesis further discusses how Petruchio’s pedagogical strategies, based on humanist principles and theatrics, teach Katherine to redirect her autonomy through language rather than violence. This redirection of aggression encourages her to perform obedience strategically within the public eye while maintaining intimacy and equality within marriage. Contrasting this dynamic with Bianca and Lucentio’s weak partnership and Hortensio and the Widow’s convenient union, the thesis concludes that Katherine and Petruchio achieve the play’s most successful marriage by collaboratively adopting and manipulating social performance. Ultimately, Shakespeare’s comedy reveals the instability of gender expectations and suggests that true harmony in a Paduan marriage depends not on submission but on shared, intentional acts of masking and performing.
Recommended Citation
Oliva, Rita, "The Art of Masking and Performing for the Perfect Marriage in William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew" (2025). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/1339
