Brandy Smith
There are many reasons that dreams play a significant part during the renaissance, and also in the play “The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare. In the original play the end is of Sly waking up to the belief that he just had a dream about taming a shrew. But there is also a bigger picture of a dream to look at, and that is much like “the American dream” there seems to be a dream of what someone should have in life during the renaissance, which presents a whole new aspect of dreaming to the play.
Dreams themselves have many definitions such as “a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep” or “most desirable; ideal” (dictionary.com). In either definition there can be associations with the renaissance time period and also in “The Taming of the Shrew”. The functions of the dreams rely solely on the person whom is dreaming. However, when referring to a dream within a play, the message of the dream becomes even more important. It is a planned sequence of ideas formed to present the audience with a deeper meaning to a contextual situation.
“Sigmund Freud once called dreams the “royal road to. . . the unconscious”” (www.guidetopyschology.com). It is also said that dreams have significant meaning to better ourselves.
“And then there are those such as myself who accept the unconscious importance of dreams and yet see them as more than wish fulfillment; I find dreams to be valuable hints about how to improve our lives—and perhaps even keep us from foolish self-destruction.”(www.guidetopyschology.com).
“Renaissance audiences recognized the reality of their culture within the dream imagery used in the plays they saw.”(blogs.qc.cuny.edu). Dreams within “The Taming of the Shrew” produce a question of reality. In the original play, as mentioned before, the end is with Sly awaking thinking that he had a dream about taming a shrew. If we look at that aspect it is unclear as to whether the audience should accept the entire play as a dream or as reality. However, while this scene is seemingly negotiable, it is clear that the intentions of the scene can drastically change the entire concept of the play. “Jerome Mandel states that Shakespeare asks his audience to forget that there is a difference between reality and subconscious and to simply take his play as if it were a real-world that is “coexistent with the world in which they live.”(blogs.qc.cuny.edu).
Shakespeare often questions the difference between reality and dreams in many of his plays. The question often concerns the differences in social stature along with the question of right and wrong. In “The Taming of the Shrew” if presented with the question of if it was all a dream or if it really happened, we are forced to question whether or not it would really happen. Is it possible to change someone to completely alter their beliefs and their place in the world?
Within the play the audience is shown a strong female figure that is changed from a shrew to a female that is acceptable in that society. If this play is studied in modern society, the audience would be more sympathetic to a character such as Katherina. In fact not only would the modern day audience be sympathetic to her character, but they would also be slightly offended by the fact of the men trying to change her. In today’s society females have an important role of independence, so a character like this would be noble. So the dream sequence of this play to modern society would be fitting so that the audience would look past the degrading plot and realize that it was only a dream.
However, in the renaissance period this was the females’ role. They were to be the submissive character, weak and innocent. Being a female of independence would wind up alone and miserable, unless someone would take her for money.
“Singnior Hortensio, twixt such friends as we
Few words suffice; and therefore, if thou know
One rich enough to be Petruchio’s wife,
As wealth is burden of my wooing dance,
Be she as foul as was Florentius’ love,
As old as Sibyl, and as curst and shrewd
As Socrates’ Xanthippe or a worse-
She moves me not, or not removes, at least,
Affection’s edge in me, were she as rough
As are the swelling Adriatic seas.
I come to wive it wealthily in Padua;
If wealthily, then happily in Padua.”(Shakespeare 1.11 line 63).
This quote presents another aspect of dreaming. Much like “the American dream” people of the renaissance had a dream of their own. Wealth and happiness is the common dream of the ages. However, during the renaissance fathers dreamed for their daughters, and men dreamed of what their wives should be, and all women could dream was to be chosen by a man. The function of this dream during the renaissance is to provide a happy future image in the minds of those who want what I will call the “renaissance dream”.
In the play the father has a dream is to be rid of his daughter, he wants his daughter to no longer be a shrew. The men of the renaissance time period have a dream of what women should be. They are to be submissive, kind, and completely devoted to the men in their life. The dream for women is to have a man and that is it. There are no aspirations for women for themselves except to be desired. There are no dreams to be independent, or to become successful on their own. Today it is said that behind every great man lays a great woman. However during the renaissance, I think it can be assumed that behind every great man was only a great father or father in law. Women were insignificant, and were only worth the amount of money they could provide their husband.
No matter
if we look at the underlying dream of the future, or the subconscious dreams
during sleep, they are still only dreams. Nothing will happen unless there
is a force or an ambition to create reality of your dreams. The function of
dreams during the renaissance time period or even today is to provide a hope
for some sort of future. The dream during the renaissance plays a significant
role when deciphering the differences between men and women, because they
do not have the same dreams for the future. Unlike in modern American society
where men and women share the “American dream”.
Works Cited
http://blogs.qc.cuny.edu. Renaissance: A time of loose consciousness. Retrieved on November 10, 2007.
http://blogs.qc.cuny.edu. Biblical, Medieval &Renaissance Dreams. Retrieved on November 10, 2007.
http://www.guidetopyschology.com. A guide to psychology and its practice. Retieved on November 9, 2007
Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works of. HarperCollins. 1994
"The Taming of the Shrew." 123HelpMe.com. 13 Nov 2007 <http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=33956>.