Kate the "Shrew"

Katherine or Kate is the shrew of the play's title and the female protagonist. She is the oldest daughter of Baptisa Minola and sister of Bianca. Kate is strong-willed and is willing to express whatever she feels regardless of others' feelings. In the beginning of the play, she is sharp-tongued and foul-tempered, and is called a shrew, in which is considered as the worst kind of woman in the time of this play. She constantly insults and degrade men all around her, which makes one think that unhappiness could be the source of it. After being called a shrew throughout society, she may be playing along and act as one because she is desperate and miserable with her life. Her dialogues and actions makes the play more humorous and entertaining as she searches for a husband. Kate feels out of place in society, but Petruchio is the first to really notice her, give her respect, and make her feel like a real person. Without Petruchio trying to tame and marry Kate along with Kate allowing Petruchio to tame and manipulate her because she desires to be wanted, like Bianca does by her suitors, the play would not have moved forward. She changes throughout the play mentally and emotionally, and probably noticed that Petruchio is manipulating and taming her. Kate wants to take this opportunity to change and start a new life even if she is being manipulated. At the end of the play, Kate has gained the position of a wife to Petruchio and an authoritative voice that she was previously denied throughout the play.

Setting The Scene

In Act 4 Scene I of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," the reader is taken to Petruchio's house in the country after his wedding with Kate. There are lots of details on how Petruchio's house looks inside and out which slowly sets the scene and weather. The current weather of the scene must be taking place in winter and really cold weather.

Grumio says in lines 13-15: A piece of ice. If thou doubt it, thou mayst slide from my shoulder to my heel with no greater a run but my head and my neck. A fire, good Curtis!

Another example of the winter season said by Grumio in lines 20-23: She was, good Curtis, before this frost. But thou know'st winter tames man, woman, and beast, for it hath tamed my old master and my new mistress and myself, fellow Curtis.

Grumio (lines 42-43): Why, therefore fire, for I have caught extreme cold.

The weather in the country is cold enough to have ice on Grumio's clothes and freezing enough to tame men, women, and beasts. On a Shakespearean stage, it wouldn't have been too difficult to display this type of season. I would say they would have lots of layers of clothes on with maybe some ice on it for visual effect. There also could be fake snow or just a fireplace where the people in the scene are shivering and their teeth are chattering. As a conclusion through language and dialogue of the characters in Act 4 Scene I, the setting is in the country and the season is winter with extremely cold weather.

Eveline's Epiphany

James Joyce's "Eveline" deals with the Joycean paralysis and epiphany. The death of Eveline's mother set in motion her desire to escape from the bad and dull life she is currently in, which consist of an abusive father and brother who left home. Eveline didn't want to end up the same way as her mother, a 'housekeeper,' but after her mother's death, she made a promise that she would take care of the household. Frank is viewed as her only escape from this reality and opens up an opportunity for a new life. During the final scene, Eveline is paralyzed as she was so close to freedom with Frank. Her mother dying words, "Derevaun Seraun," which means "pleasure ends in pain," probably affected the outcome of her final decision of whether she should go with Frank for happiness or stay to take care of the household and father. Eveline's final decision could have a combinations of many reasons ranging from her obligation to her mother to the lack of love for Frank. In the end, Eveline's epiphany is that Frank is her only escape from her grim future, but fails to act because she is imprisoned by her past.

Joycean Absences

There are perceptible absences in James Joyce's story, "Eveline" where it focuses on the main protagonist, Eveline. The first absence would be that of how Eveline's mother died and Eveline made a promise to take care of the household as she took her mother's place. The only family Eveline has left are her abusive father, whom she lives with, and her brother, who use to live at home. Her mother's inconclusive, sad life embraced her decision to escape the very same fate by leaving with her lover, Frank. The second absence is why Eveline froze when she only had to take Frank's hand for that chance of starting a new phase in her life. Eveline's subconscious was not completely ready to leave her home, family, and the promises she made to her mother. Joyce noted that Eveline was "passive like a helpless animal," a position in which society of the time period assumed women were constantly in. In the last scene of the story, the closing image is of Eveline, who is immobilized and her hards are frozen to the railing while being stripped of human will and emotion. Eveline is viewed as a lowly female during this time who must stay home to take care of her home and family. In the end, it was Eveline herself, who has casted a life sentence on herself on being a 'housekeeper'.

Sympathy For An Insect

Here are is a passage from "The Metamorphosis": 

"Hardly was he well inside his room when the door was hastily pushed shut, bolted, and locked. The sudden noise in his rear startled him so much that his legs gave beneath him. It was his sister who had shown such haste. She had been standing ready waiting and had made a light spring forward, Gregor had not even heard her coming, and she cried "At last!" to her parents as she turned the key in the lock."

"The first broadening of light in the world outside the window entered his consciousness once more. Then his head sank to the floor of its own accord and from his nostrils came the last faint flicker of his breath."

(This passage shows sympathy for Gregor as his sister, the only friend he had, finally gets sick and tired of him and locks him in his room. His room is where he spends his last moments as he fades from the world.)

In "The Metamorphosis", Kafka wants the readers to sympathize with Gregor for various reasons. First of all, prior to the insect, Gregor lead a relatively boring life, which coincidentally does not differ much from the life of an insect. Second, he sacrifices almost all aspects of fun and only desires to do work to support and provide for his family like how bees and ants do for their hives and colonies. His family probably appreciated it at first that Gregor is doing this for them, but in the long run they see him as their "slave", only doing what they want him to do so they can survive. When the transformation of Gregor from a man to an insect occurred, his family's reactions slowly change towards him. His family did many mean things to him such as throw an apple at him, yell at him, and even shutting him back into his room. As Gregor transformed into an insect, one of the lowest animal forms, he is basically no longer human as in appearance, but the absurd thing is that his family's psychological development is the least human and humane. Although Gregor's appearance has changed, Kafka clearly indicates that Gregor is still the same on the inside in terms of human feelings and needs. Gregor just wants to relate to his family, but his family doesn't give him the chance. Kafka's tranformation of Gregor into a insect symbolizes that Gregor is in another world (insect world) from everyone else (human world). Gregor struggles constantly trying to escape this insect world and into the human world trying to relate and find a sense of belonging and purpose, but desperately dies trying.

Metamorphosis Citations

In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, has sparked much critical interest during the past century because it is indefinable, complex, and undeniably unique. Casual Kafka readers and scholars alike find themselves in a state of suspended disbelief, even after a tenth read. "Can this really be happening?" they ask with more surprise than the transformed protagonist Gregor Samsa, who seems to accept his fate more readily than real-life critics or the world that surrounds him. The transformation of the character Gregor from a man to one of the most repellent insects, a cockroach, may seem exaggerated and ridiculous, becoming more so over the course of the story as the action builds and emotions become more charged. Kafka's intention, however, is to expose the explore the impoverishment of human psychology with respect to the ways in which changes in one's circumstances and conditions reshape notions of justice and mercy. While it is the subject of this character analysis, Gregor who has been mysteriously and inexplicably reduced to one of the lowest forms of animal life in this story by Kafka representing the absurd, it is Gregor's family in the "The Metamorphosis" whose psychological development is least human and humane. Gregor comes to accept, as he must, the irreversibility of his new condition. Though unwanted, there is nothing that Gregor can do to change his situation. The only action that he can, and does take, is to adjust his attitude about this unbelievable change. His family members, however, are apparently incapable of making the same kind of psychological adapation. Gregor has changed physical form, but Kafka clearly indicates that his essential being has not changed in any fundamental way. Gregor still has human feelings and needs, he still wishes to relate with his family and other members of society, and he still wishes to be responsible. Gregor belongs to the absurd world around him but, pathetically and tragically, attempts to struggle out of it into the world of humans--and dies in despair.

Evil is the Nature of Mankind

In "Young Goodman Brown," by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Goodman's guide says "Evil is the nature of mankind." Throughout the story, the story itself agrees with this assertion and illustrates the statement well. In the story, "Faith" and "faith" in god and good, kept evil away from Brown. But as he ventured deeper into the forest to the altar, he sees people of the town residing with evil, which in turn causes Brown to lose all faith because those people were suppose to be "good" people. The potential for evil resides in everybody, even in people most important to Goodman Brown as he experiences and begins to see this towards the end of the story. He is too proud to acknowledge his own faults. Brown despises these people that are important to him because he sees that same trait of evil in himself. The guide's statement is very well said and Brown can't seem to face this truth and live with it, which leads to him being lonely and depressed until his death.