驯悍记中的女性主义 / Feminism in The Taming of The Shrew

    The Taming of the Shrew is the most controversial work by Shakespeare in the contemporary society mostly due to its chauvinism which teases the perception of women in pursuit of love. The Taming o of the Shrew the entire play is heavily wrapped up with chauvinistic plots; however, if the ribbon is unwrapped and you look inside carefully, you would see the main gift given by the cleverest Shakespeare: the motif is to raise the awareness of feminism and praise the power of love.

　　 驯悍记是莎士比亚笔下最富争议性的作品之一，其因是因为在当代社会的沙文主义讥讽女性一昧追寻爱情的观念。驯悍记整部剧都以沙文主义的情节包装起来，然而，若你拆开包装的绷带，往内细看，你将会发现绝顶聪明的莎士比亚所要传递的一份讯息，这份讯息就是：这部戏主要的概要就是要唤醒女性主义以及歌颂爱的力量。

    First of all, in the play, there are two types of feminists. One is to chase one’s purpose. The other is to pursue one’s love. Bianca, the sister of Katherina, is the former one. She is completely a far cry from Katherina. She has all the adorable characteristics that would sweep all the males off their own feet, such as beauty, charm, and elegance, although, to be exact, they are the aftereffects of long-standing chauvinism. Nevertheless, Bianca is like a post-modern woman who dares to choose what she wants. She dares to make a prenuptial agreement with her fiancée to protect herself. In my opinion, feminism is all about the choice.

　　首先，在剧中有两种不同类型的女性主义：一个是去追求自己的目标，而另一个是去追求自己的爱情。凯萨琳的妹妹碧昂卡则是前者，他完全的与凯萨琳风格迥异，她有许多特质是男人都会在她脚下甘拜下风，像是美貌、魅力、优雅，更确切来说，这些特质其实是长久以来，沙文主义之下的产物。尽管如此，碧昂卡其实就是一个后现代主义女性的代表，永于追求自己想要的，敢于去与他的未婚夫签订婚前协议保护自己，在我的观念中，女性主义是一种选择。

    By contrast, Shakespeare wants to create an unprecedented protagonist – the shrew – Katherina. She is the other kind woman of feminism. In some ways, there are some similarities between Katherina and Bianca, but on different display. For example, they are material-oriented and self-centered. Katherina wants fame (Petruchio’s noble title) to match up to herself. Bianca wants fortune. But after Katherina’s dramatic wedding, she starts to realize her husband’s scheme and true personalities. At first, she loses her mind and she tries to run away from her husband. However, Petruchio performs a show of so-called masculinity to soften and overwhelm Katherina’s solid heart which is called chauvinism. After that, Katherina comprehends that what she have chosen is based on her own true feeling for him. She begins to show her feminine masochism, obeying whatever her husband commands as the classic scene where he says it is sun, it is sun, not moon.

　　相对的，莎士比亚想要创作出一个史无前例的主角 - 一名泼妇 - 凯萨琳。她是另一种女性主义的代表，某些方面来说，凯萨琳跟碧昂卡有许多相似处，但却是以不同的层面表现出来。举例来说，他们其实都是以自我为中心并且物质导向（爱慕虚荣）的。凯萨琳要的是名（如一个贵族的称谓），来跟自己相衬，而碧昂卡要的是财。凯萨琳戏剧化地举办了婚礼后，她才开始了解到他丈夫的个性以及阴谋。一开始，她发疯想试著逃跑。然而她丈夫彼特鲁乔却以所谓的大男人主义来压制并且软化她坚毅的心。最后，凯萨琳才了解到，她所选择的都是建立于对她丈夫所流露的真性情。她开始展现出她女性的受虐性格，遵从她老公的指示。就如同有一幕经典，就是她老公躺在床上看见月亮，他却说是太阳，也逼著凯萨琳硬要说是太阳。

    All in all, Katherine seems to make her own choice being a feminist to pursue love. Being a female and being a feminist is quite different. After all, under the society of chauvinism, gender performativity is stereotyped. Doing something based on the norm against one’s own will is under constraint. However, Katherina is willing to obey the commands of her husband which proves that love can conquer everything. I think it is the main theme Shakespeare implicitly wants to lecture us with this comedy romance.

　　最后，凯萨琳似乎为自己下了决定，做一个追求爱情的女性主义者。作为一名女性与女性主义者截然不同，毕竟，在现代社会的沙文主义之下，性别操现已经完全被定位。做在社会规范中但却违背自己意愿的事是种约束，然而，凯萨琳却愿意去顺从她丈夫的命令，这就展现了爱能克服一切的力量。我认为，这是莎翁写这出剧时，所想要隐约告诉我们的讯息。