Kiss me Khatema: Kate’s “capitulation” in The Taming of the Shrew as seen by female Muslim university students

Abstract

Shakespeare’s plays, especially those that have a modern day resonance to the issues of the modern world, are indeed elastic in their ability to speak across generations and cultures. This paper provides a number of sample responses by young Emirati female students at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) from courses taught by the author, who was in residence there as the Drama and Theatre specialist from 2005-2014. Over the course of several semesters, these female Muslim university students’ verbatim comments reveal how Kate’s final words moved them to respond in the varied ways they did. These responses demonstrate the emotional tightrope that the students seem to be navigating; one that originates in tradition while also clashing with modernity. The Taming of the Shrew, and the journey of Kate as she is confronted by the challenges of an arranged marriage within a patriarchal society, is one that speaks to these students. As a non-Muslim practitioner of theatre and drama, the challenge was to see which of these two personas would win out - a Kate or a Khatema—which turns out to be the subject matter for a larger societal investigation of the roles of men and women in the United Arab Emirates.