The Taming of the Shrew, Act One

After having read only the Induction and Act One of the play, Shakespeare has already created gender specific roles.  So far, my view on the men in the play is that they are superficial and act like pigs.  The women don’t really have a role yet besides being wooed by the men.  It seems so far that the women are somewhat powerless and definitely not considered equal with the male characters.  Although there have been a few examples of defiance and power among the women, none of the men actually take them seriously.  The first example of this is with the hostess in the Induction.  She takes control over the situation with Sly and tries to get him kicked out.  He does not submit to her requests but instead passes out at the bar.  She was allowed to take charge, showing her power, but the man still did not listen to her.  This is somewhat similar to what happens to Katharina in Act One.   She rebels against what all of the men say to her/about her, acting like she doesn’t care. Her plan is to never submit to a man by marriage.  Even though I have only read Act One, my guess is that she will end up marrying one of the characters and have to listen to what he tells her to do.  This character will most likely be Petruchio, who is just one of the many males that shows the men’s vile behavior.  In order for Hortensio to convince Petruchio to marry Katharina, all he had to do was tell him that she was rich.  Even after he describes what a terrible person she is and says he wouldn’t marry her for all of the gold in a mine, Petruchio says “thou know’st not gold’s effect.” This means that gold to him is worth more than anything else, and that it is all that matters.  On the other hand, the men who are enamored by Bianca are not concerned with gold but with beauty. The audience can clearly see that both of these things are superficial.  So far, the men in the play are only concerned with satisfying their desires, and the women are mere pawns.