摘 要

《驯悍记》是莎士比亚早期的代表作之一，自发表以来，它曾引发过许多争议，特别是进入20世纪以来，随着女权主义的兴起，这部作品吸引着越来越多的人的关注。从艺术成就上看，《驯悍记》应该是莎翁影响力最大的一部作品，它不仅向观众们展示了文艺复兴时期人们的情感生活、人文关怀、金钱观和婚姻观，还通过塑造凯瑟琳娜这个经典的“悍妇”形象来展示女性主义的发展。本文就将从“女性主义”角度出发，首先，通过剖析女主人公凯瑟琳娜泼辣任性的性格的内外成因，继而讲述她由“悍妇”被驯服成为“顺妻”的命运，以及证明其反抗失败的必然性，最后来揭示在男权强权社会的背景下，“悍妇”凯瑟琳娜女性形象的悲剧性特征，从而揭示文章主旨，引发读者深思。

关键词：《驯悍记》；莎士比亚；“悍妇”凯瑟琳娜；女性主义

Contents

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………….1

2. Demonstration………………………………………………………………….....3

2.1. The Development of the Personality of the Shrew Katherina……………….…..3

2.1.1. The External Cause——Families……………………………………………...3

2.1.2. The Internal Cause——Patriarchy………………………………………..........4

2.2. The Destiny of Being Tamed……………………………………………………..5

2.2.1. The Change of the Personality of Katherina…………………………………...6

2.2.2. The Success of the Male Power……………………………………………….6

2.3. The Rebellion of the Shrew Katherina…………………………………………..9

2.3.1. Real Submission or Fake Performance ………………………………………..9

2.3.2. Reality or Dream………………………………………………………….…...10

3. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………....11

Works Cited……………………………………………………………………….....12

Bibliography………………………………………………………………………....13

An Interpretation of the Shrew Katherina

in The Taming of the Shrew from the Feminist Perspective

1. Introduction

William Shakespeare(1564-1616), English poet and playwright, has been widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. His use of poetry within his plays to express the deepest levels of human motivation in individual, social, and universal situations is considered one of the greatest achievements in literary history. His plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed, and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world. Shakespeare's 36 plays are listed according to their folio classification as three main types: comedies—A Midsummer Night's Dream，As you like it，Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew，histories—Henry V，King John，and tragedies—Romeo and Juliet，King Lear，Hamlet and Macbeth,etc.

The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. Shakespeare uses a Play-within-a-play structure, focusing on the process of shrew Katherina’s being tamed by Petruchio and how she finally becomes obedient to his husband.

The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken  tinker named Christopher Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself. The nobleman then has the play performed for Sly's diversion. The main plot depicts the courtship of Petruchio and Katherina, the headstrong, obdurate shrew. Initially, Katherina is an unwilling participant in the relationship, but Petruchio tempers her with various psychological torments—the "taming"—until she becomes a compliant and obedient bride. The subplot features a competition between the suitors of Katherina's more desirable sister, Bianca. The play's allegedly misogynistic elements have become the subject of considerable controversy, particularly among modern scholars, audiences and readers.(Net.1)

Since its publication, The Taming of the Shrew has received wide attention and had been studied from different perspectives until now. The relationship with a shrew is the earliest point of view. Later on, European scholars came up with Hortensio problem as their point of view. With the rise of the feminist movement in the twentieth century, reactions to the play have tended to become more divergent. The Taming of the Shrew has been the subject of critical controversy. More female critics joined in the debate. In addition, Induction and Language are also research directions to many foreign scholars. While in China, researchers are good at making comparison between the heroine of The Taming of the Shrew , the shrew Katherina, and that in our Chinese classical dramas. Nowadays, the Feminist Perspective, as a new insight under the background of gender equality, is attracting more and more researchers, especially women researchers.