Lit 315
Dr. Cohen
November 14th, 2001

Taming the Shrew of Venice

In the characters of Kate, in The Taming of the Shrew, and Shylock, in The Merchant of Venice, we see many similarities, but we also see many differences. Kate is a foul-tempered, unwed woman in constant conflict with men, who, in the play, are seen as superior. Shylock is an angry and vengeful Jewish money lender who is in constant conflict with the Christians, who, in the play, are seen as superior. Both characters struggled against their oppressors, and both ended up in submissive positions.

Kate starts out a woman's woman in a time when there was no such thing. She is constantly projecting her individuality and independence. Kate has no intention whatsoever of succumbing to the belief system that involves women being subordinate to men. When Petruchio makes mention of their upcoming marriage, she tells him outright that she would rather see him hanged. The ultimate end of her rebellion and a mark of a definite conformity would be to get married and become a devoted and obedient wife.

Shylock is a Jew. He is a Jew in a place where Christians are in charge. He is constantly looked down upon, and constantly insulted for doing nothing more than existing as a non Christian. For this, he hates Christians. He hates Christians, and lets it be known. He discusses openly how he finds Christians repulsive when, in response to Bassanio's dinner invitation, he says:

Yes, to smell pork…
I will buy with you, sell with you, talk with you, walk with you…
…but I will not eat with you, drink with you, nor pray with you…
(I, iii, 33-37)

While both protagonists stand up against the majority in their own ways, and fight to protect their beliefs and their ways of life, they are unfortunately turned into the very things they hate the most. Kate is transformed into an obedient wife, and Shylock is converted to a Christian. Nonetheless, amidst these similarities, we see a major difference in the way that these characters relate to these developments.

Both Kate and Shylock are now the things they have despised throughout the entire play. However, while in Kate's case, she welcomed it, and cooperated with the idea, Shylock did not, and did nothing whatsoever to bring this fate upon himself. Shylock was put under extreme duress to abandon his faith and way of life to become one of the masses. Kate became one of the masses in her role, reluctantly, at first, but later willingly, being an obedient wife.

In fact, Kate becomes a prime example of the obedient wife, which exemplifies her enjoyment of her newfound role in society. This is seen when she gives her famous speech near the very end of the play about the duties of a wife. She turns into a submissive, dutiful, loving, and adoring wife - the pinnacle of a womanhood in a patriarchal society. Katherine appreciates the concept in the end, and is quite pleased with her new existence. She is turned into that which she had previously hated, but perhaps realizes that it is not so bad.
Shylock's fate, on the other hand, deals us no levity. Shylock was forcibly turned into a Christian. He did not want this, nor did he appreciate it after the fact. He hated the majority, and the majority hated him. Against his will, he is turned into one of them; he is turned into his enemy. He is forced to divorce himself from his own faith, and become one of the oppressive masses who had treated him so poorly. Understandably, he is beyond upset by this turn of events.

While we can see many similarities in the characters Kate and Shylock, we also see important differences. Neither wanted to be anything different than what they were in the beginning of their respective plays. Both start off as minorities battling their oppressors, and both become part of the majority in the end. The most significant difference between the two is that while Shylock was forced to comply and hated it, Kate was debatably forced into obedience and reveled in it.