Hi everyone. My name is Andy. Looking forward to a fun semester with all of you.
After reading the Induction and first two Acts of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, it feels like NOTHING is what it seems. Almost everyone is lying in one way or another such as Lucentio dressing as a poor Latin tutor and Horensio covering himself with a cloak to portray a musician. Like the characters within, even the entire play itself is sort of in a costume, disguised as a play within a play.
With this motif of disguise prominently displayed throughout the beginning of the story, I think Shakespeare is building all these lies to a ridiculous point just so the revelation will be that much more dramatic. Although I don’t know what will happen later on in the play, I would assume that Tranio disguised as Lucentio will eventually be exposed as well as Petruchio’s insincere marriage proposal.
Keeping all of this in mind, I want to focus on Lucentio and the manipulation of his identity. Why does he pretend to be Cambio the Latin tutor? Do you think it was necessary for him to act as someone else to try and win Bianca’s love? You can argue that disguising as a tutor allowed him to get closer access to Bianca but at the same time, didn’t it make the pursuit even more challenging? Wouldn’t courting Bianca as a wealthy, clean-cut young man be more attractive than as an ordinary poor tutor? Above all else, how do you think Bianca would feel if Lucentio wins her love and then tells her that he was deceiving her the entire time about who he really was?
Feel free to share your thoughts or add onto anything I mentioned!
It’s great to see so thoughtful a comment so early in the game. We’re going to find that the issue of disguise is central to Shakespeare (indeed, to all theater–actors are always professionally “in disguise”). Cambio actually means change and we’ll discuss why Lucentio would have found it more profitable to approach Bianca in the guise of a tutor than as himself.
I was puzzled by the same thoughts. Why bother with this charade at all? Surely, as you mentioned, a respectable suitor from Pisa would be a better match for Bianca than a “young scholar that hath been long studying at Rheims…”
I think the answer to this lies in the Introduction. Heilman writes: “In farce, the human personality is without depth.” If he took the time to consider such a matter logically, my guess would be that Lucentio would agree with you. However, I believe he doesn’t do this this simply because he isn’t capable of such introversion. Rather than being proactive, Lucentio reacts. For example: although he claims to “have it”, the plot for Lucentio to pose as a scholar to gain access to Bianca comes from Tranio, not himself. In fact, upon introduction to these two characters, some of Lucentio’s very first lines include implore Tranio for advice, and he ends up admitting that the advice is sound. The bottom line is, Lucentio doesn’t seem to much of a thinker.
As far as how Bianca would feel, I think you’re probably the first person to have that thought cross your mind…including the characters in the play. Being that we live in 2011, I have trouble deciding how much of this “objectifying of women” is a literary tool that Shakespeare employs, and how much of it is just reflective of the times. On page 18, after ordering Bianca away, Baptista says: “I know she taketh most delight in music…fit to instruct her youth.” But does he really? How often do people “delight” in what is “appropriate” for them? I’m not sure I’m buying this. On page 52, while Lucentio and Hortensio argue about who’s going to get to “tutor” Bianca first, she interrupts them by stating “…gentlemen, you do me double wrong to strive for that which resteth in my choice.” If this were a production, I wonder what facial expressions would be most appropriate for the two men upon being reprimanded. Chagrin? Surprise? Irritation? After reading how Baptista allows for Kate to marry Petruchio practically without consent, and how he states that the suitor with the most money for Bianca will have her hand, perhaps Bianca’s feelings simply don’t matter.
Though I have noticed many of Shakespeare’s plays to employ the use of disguise as a plot device, Taming of the Shrew takes it to a whole new level. Specifically, in regard to the point of Lucentio taking on the form of Cambio (which I also noted meant change). Why, indeed, would Lucentio feel the need to stoop to a lowly level of teacher to attempt to woo Bianca? The question is even more confusing when the moment he begins to teach her, he admits he is dressed in disguise (pg. 53), though Bianca doesn’t seem to catch on to Lucentio/Cambio’s admission. Another point where we see Lucentio/Cambio’s idea to be counter-productive is when Bianca’s father, Babtista himself admits to Bianca’s hand in marriage being seized by the one who can provide more financially for her (pg. 49).
So the question remains, why would Lucentio/Cambio go to such lengths to woo Bianca? Really, he can’t imagine such a woman would be interested in love.
In response to Christopher’s comment, I would agree that much of the poor treatment of women is only a product of the time period. Heilman’s introduction pays particular attention to this as well. Thus being said, the question of Bianca’s feelings towards Lucentio/Cambio is a tough one. Yes, we can gather that a woman in her position should be upset by the presence of trickery, however, as aforementioned by Chris we can conclude that her feelings on the matter were not of utmost importance. In class today we discussed the significance of marriage as a family matter, not solely a bond of love between man and woman. As we see later in the play with Baptista’s wishes to marry his daughters to successful suitors, the arrangement took priority over the presence of love. Assuming that Shakespeare’s treatment of female characters was in fact due to the time period and not utilized as a literary device, we can further prove that the arrangement of a marriage did not depend on the feelings of a woman at all, therefore analyzing Bianca’s feelings should not effect our interpretation of the eventual relationship they have.
I think what Shakespeare is really trying to question here is how much of a role are we playing? Lucentio, in whatever situation, is playing a role. He could be playing the philosopher student he is trying to be in the beginning of the play, but later on he is a suitor trying to woo Bianca by being a tutor. Which I can bring to the attention that every person has a layer to themselves.
Which brings me to the other point: how deceptive are we in love? We play these many roles to attract the guy/girl but how much is real and how much of it is an act? And, is it fair to call it “deception”? How much are we showing our true selves or playing a role to achieve something? We start to question this as Lucentio continues to be her tutor.
I think your post raises some good questions..
I don’t think its a matter of right or wrong but rather of choice.
Since everybody was nuts about the theater I think they really enjoyed cosplaying, for one thing. Well maybe that can even be a reason why Shakespeare designed the events of his play like this – a twist on a kind of romantic courtship approach.
Furthermore, this spawns even more interesting things to come and complications and he (Shakespeare) loves this too, since he is a big drama king =). This will fuel and create even more complications of identity and feelings which female characters (which have amplified emotions) will create even more material for the whole play.
On the other hand, if the situation were true – I think if the approached used could create some interesting outcomes and make the romance and courtship more interesting between these two “characters” – either of the play or of old-times life. =)
I agree with Sharon’s post that emphasizes we as humans all have various layers to ourselves. What you see is not always what you get. When it comes to Bianca, her father sees her as a pure, sweet daughter but when her father is absent, Bianca takes on a completely different persona. The same goes for Lucentio who gives up his identity to be a music teacher in order to get closer to Bianca.
I think these characters, particularly the “deceptive” ones like Bianca, Lucentio and Petruchio give the audience insight into psychological aspects of human behavior. When the occasion calls for it, we all at one time or another play a character, transform into someone we want the other person to see. Deception cannot be interpreted as black or white, but it’s a gray area we all use for personal gain.