Shakespeare, as claimed by many modern critics, was a feminist. But, he is not solely to blame. Although, most of his works are degrading to women, he was only working with what he had, and back then all, what Shakespeare had to work with, was a predominantly male audience. Hence, many of the feministic characteristics found within works. The Taming of the Shrew is a perfect example of feminism in the works of Shakespeare. It brings to light a few main points that can be seen in many of Shakespeare's plays. One, the way in which women were married, two, marriage before the woman was ready, and three, the role of women once in the marriage.
             The Taming of the Shrew can be used as a base, when describing the way in which women were married off in a Shakespearian play. If you look at Kate, the marriage was almost totally arranged before she even met Petruchio. And once she did, she did not have much say in whether they were to be wed or not. For women, it was whatever father says goes. For the father, his job was to make sure that his daughter was to be properly looked after. He would make sure that her suitor had the necessary funds to make sure that she would live a good life, and in return, the father would "sell-off" his daughter to the best man for the job.
             In the wedding of Kate and Petruchio, she was pushed into the marriage by her father. Was she ready for marriage? Who knows, but since her father gave the marriage the ok, she was married. In today's time, first there is a proposal to the woman who is loved, then comes the marriage. Everything is not rushed, and run on the man's schedule, but today, a lot of it is left up to the women. Back in Shakespearian times, the women had little or no say. Take a look at the play Romeo and Juliet. This is one of the greatest love stories of all time, but still there are some traces of feminism in it. In the beginning of the play, when Juliet ...