Taste and Touch as Means of Coercion in The Taming of the Shrew

In The Taming of the Shrew, Katherina, the “shrew” of the title, is immediately and unsurprisingly described as choleric. Her suitor and later, husband, Petruccio accordingly attempts to subdue the excessive humour in her body by mitigating it with the complementary humour of melancholy. He thus tri...

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Main Author: Aurélie Griffin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institut du Monde Anglophone 2019-02-01
Series:Etudes Epistémè
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/3410
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spelling doaj-ddfafddd29db47a69759275ff338083a2020-11-24T23:31:33ZengInstitut du Monde AnglophoneEtudes Epistémè1634-04502019-02-013410.4000/episteme.3410Taste and Touch as Means of Coercion in The Taming of the ShrewAurélie GriffinIn The Taming of the Shrew, Katherina, the “shrew” of the title, is immediately and unsurprisingly described as choleric. Her suitor and later, husband, Petruccio accordingly attempts to subdue the excessive humour in her body by mitigating it with the complementary humour of melancholy. He thus tries to reach a hypothetical balance of humours which, by restoring Katherina’s good health, would also make her return within the bounds of society as an obedient wife. The taming techniques Petruccio implements are not only inspired by falconry manuals, but also resemble some of the treatments suggested in the medical treatises of the time, such as the favouring or avoiding of certain types of food, which were thought to have either beneficial or detrimental effects on the humours. In IV. 3, Petruccio repeatedly offers and withdraws food and clothes from Katherina, using the most physical and immediate of the five senses, i.e. taste and touch, to manipulate her humours and force her into submission. Yet Katherina’s final speech, which extols the virtues of the submissive housewife, calls the efficacy of such methods into question while revealing the circulation of the humours within the play.http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/3410ShakespeareThe Taming of the Shrewgendertastetouchhumours
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Aurélie Griffin
spellingShingle Aurélie Griffin
Taste and Touch as Means of Coercion in The Taming of the Shrew
Etudes Epistémè
Shakespeare
The Taming of the Shrew
gender
taste
touch
humours
author_facet Aurélie Griffin
author_sort Aurélie Griffin
title Taste and Touch as Means of Coercion in The Taming of the Shrew
title_short Taste and Touch as Means of Coercion in The Taming of the Shrew
title_full Taste and Touch as Means of Coercion in The Taming of the Shrew
title_fullStr Taste and Touch as Means of Coercion in The Taming of the Shrew
title_full_unstemmed Taste and Touch as Means of Coercion in The Taming of the Shrew
title_sort taste and touch as means of coercion in the taming of the shrew
publisher Institut du Monde Anglophone
series Etudes Epistémè
issn 1634-0450
publishDate 2019-02-01
description In The Taming of the Shrew, Katherina, the “shrew” of the title, is immediately and unsurprisingly described as choleric. Her suitor and later, husband, Petruccio accordingly attempts to subdue the excessive humour in her body by mitigating it with the complementary humour of melancholy. He thus tries to reach a hypothetical balance of humours which, by restoring Katherina’s good health, would also make her return within the bounds of society as an obedient wife. The taming techniques Petruccio implements are not only inspired by falconry manuals, but also resemble some of the treatments suggested in the medical treatises of the time, such as the favouring or avoiding of certain types of food, which were thought to have either beneficial or detrimental effects on the humours. In IV. 3, Petruccio repeatedly offers and withdraws food and clothes from Katherina, using the most physical and immediate of the five senses, i.e. taste and touch, to manipulate her humours and force her into submission. Yet Katherina’s final speech, which extols the virtues of the submissive housewife, calls the efficacy of such methods into question while revealing the circulation of the humours within the play.
topic Shakespeare
The Taming of the Shrew
gender
taste
touch
humours
url http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/3410
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