In The Taming of the Shew, William Shakespeare gives us a direct look about the general opinion of women in Elizabethan society. Women who were coy and silent were considered to be more attractive and desirable than brash and outspoken women. In fact, it was completely unheard of in society for the latter to occur; women who were who spoke their minds were considered embarrassments, and the men in her family would likely attempt to cover up her behavior from the outside world. These women were considered "shrews", which was a curse word at the time that equates to "a scolding nagging bad-tempered woman".
In beginning of the play, Bianca plays the role of the typical, desirable woman. She is a silent beauty, who has many gentleman callers. However, her father will not allow her to marry until her older sister, Kate, does so, which seems an unlikely prospect. Kate is the epitome of the word shrew, who goes so far as to even hit her own sister for not responding to her. No man was willing to even think of being close to her, until Petruchio, who wanted her family's fortune more than anything, came into the picture.
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