John Fletcher
THE WOMAN'S PRIZE, or
THE TAMER TAMED
1604–circa 1617
a synoptic, alphabetical character list
APOTHECARY
The Apothecarie is summoned along with the doctor by Jacques when Petruchio is allegedly stricken with the plague. The doctor directs him to bleed Petruchio, but the angry Petruchio shoos off the Apothecarie. Although listed as Apothecarie among the chart of players, this character appears as Pothecary in the text.
BIANCHA
Spelled Byanca in the text. Cousin to the sisters, Maria and Livia, and niece to Petronius, Biancha sides with Maria in her sex strike to tame Petruchio. "Colonel" Byanca becomes "Commander in chief" when she and Maria lock Maria's doors against Petruchio, Petronius, and the other men, thereby rallying the City Wives, Country Wives, and Maids against controlling husbands. Later Byanca conspires with Tranio to marry her cousin, Livia, to Livia's beloved Rowland by tricking both suitor, Moroso, and her uncle, Petronius, into signing the necessary papers.
CITY WIVES
Spelled Citty Wives in the text. The band of City Wives drink and sing with the Country Wives and Maids in solidarity with Maria and Byanca in the former's effort to tame her new husband, Petruchio. The City Wives and Country Wives spar verbally with Petruchio and Sophocles, declaring that Maria denied her husband the wedding bed to comfort all women worn out by wedlock.
COUNTRY WIVES
Joined in solidarity with the City Wives behind Maria and Byanca against tyrant husbands. Country Wives are abbreviated Cun. and Cunt. in the text. See CITY WIVES.
DOCTOR
The Doctor appears with the Apothecarie when summoned by Jacques to Petruchio's sickbed. The Doctor immediately declares that Petruchio has symptoms of "pestilent feaver" and directs the Pothecary to bleed him. Petruchio rejects both the diagnosis and the bleeding, and raves until the two medics flee the room.
JAQUES
Jaques and Pedro are both Petruchio's servants, but Jaques behaves as though he is the senior. Jaques brings in wine at Petruchio's wedding banquet and asks Moroso when he would marry. He summons Maria to Petruchio's marriage bed and is vocally appalled when the bride goes off with Biancha instead. He informs Petruchio and his master's new father-in-law, Petronius, that Maria's door was locked and guarded, and later he and Pedro describe the march by the City and Country Wives in support of Maria's strike, making fun of the drunken ones. He dispatches Pedro for doctors and apothecaries when Petruchio appears at death's door. Although he constantly criticizes Maria's stance, ever ready to all her devil and other names, he alternately urges Petruchio to have patience with her.
LIVIA
Maria's sister and Biancha's cousin, Livia loves Rowland but is promised to elderly Moroso by Petronious, her controlling father. She rejects Rowland's invitation to elope and is accused of acquiescing to marrying Moroso for his money. When she decides to join Maria and Biancha's protest against the men, they refuse to admit her at first, but then they let her in, further alienating the impressionable Rowland. Rowland rejects her outright, but the two are reunited and secretly married through the connivance of Biancha and Tranio.
MAIDS
Although listed among the women characters in the dramatis personae, the Maids are not mentioned as such in the text but presumably mix in with the City Wives and Country Wives in protest against overbearing husbands. See CITY WIVES.
MARIA
Livia's sister, Biancha's cousin, and Petronious' daughter, Maria has just become the second wife of Petruchio, the celebrated tamer of his first wife, Katherina, the shrew of Shakespeare's comedy. Seemingly obedient to society's expectations, Maria surprises everyone by refusing to come to the marriage bed, locking herself in her rooms instead and staging a sex strike to tame Petruchio. She and Biancha debate with Petruchio, Petronius, and the other men, rejecting their demands that she submit like a good wife. After mass marches by City Wives and Country Wives in her support, Maria extracts promises of respect and contentment from Petruchio. While surrendering her fortress she retains her virginity, going on costly sprees of clothes buying and redecorating in an effort to tame her recalcitrant husband. She declares that Petruchio has the plague, confining him to his room and emptying the house of people and furnishings. Still seeking equality in her marriage, she flirts with Sophocles, making Petruchio jealous, and then supports Petruchio's plan to travel. He sets off on a journey, returning soon in a coffin, pretending to be dead. After Maria's oration against his foolish life, he sits up in his coffin, and Maria declares him tamed. He orders Jaques to arrange a celebratory feast and announces that he is "born again," now opposed to husbands who were stern or jealous.
MOROSO
Rich, old Moroso has been promised Livia as wife by her father, Petronious, and Mososo cannot wait to sleep with her even though she abuses him. He banters lustily with Petruchio who calls him Will, and debates alongside Petruchio and Petronious with Maria and Biancha. He tells Petronious that he wants neither a fawning woman nor a fighting woman, but will give Livia clothes and jewels in return for love and an heir. In the end he and Petronious are hoodwinked into signing papers that allow Livia to elope with Rowland. Moroso accepts this fate and joins the newlyweds at Petronious' celebration dinner.
PEDRO
Pedro is servant to Petruchio, but seems subservient to his master's other servant, Jaques. Pedro warns Rowland about marriage, and joins Jaques in describing to Petruchio, Petronious, and Sophocles the women's march in support of Maria. When Petruchio appears plague stricken, Pedro runs for a doctor at Jaques' command, and he later runs for Maria at Petruchio's bidding, only to return reporting her to be mad. He and Jaques banter constantly, often in criticism of Maria's behavior, most famously when they are packing for Petruchio's trip, and they joke about stuffing Maria in a barrel and throwing her overboard at sea.
PETRONIUS
Father to Maria and Livia and uncle to Biancha, Petronious promised the former daughter to old Petruchio and Livia to even more elderly Moroso. As Maria refused to sleep with Petronious and Biancha abused Moroso, Petronious cursed them and demanded their obedience. Throughout the play he spoke more harshly about his daughters than any other character, even as Tranio urged him to be more understanding and his son-in-law, Petruchio capitulated. In the final scene he called Maria a "whore" and declared that he would see her hanged, if Petruchio perished. Only in the closing lines, after learning that Livia had eloped with Rowland and slept with him, did he soften, accepting the match, providing the dowry, and asking for grandchildren.
PETRUCHIO
Famous for taming his late first wife, Katherina, in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio expects a pleasant life when he marries Petronious' quiet daughter, Maria. She immediately goes on a sex strike, however, and spends the rest of The Woman's Prize taming him. He begins by boasting of his expected first night prowess to Petronius, Moroso, Tranio, and Sophocles, but finds himself locked out of his bride's rooms, and ultimately must surrender a promise of respect. Because he still wanted obedience, she refused to let him touch her and went on a shopping spree. When she declared him with plague and quarantined him, he raged at everyone, frightening the doctor and apothecarie into flight. He threatened to go abroad, and then sets off on a journey, returning soon in a coffin, pretending to be dead. After Maria's oration against his foolish life, he sits up in his coffin, and Maria declares him tamed. He orders Jaques to arrange a celebratory feast and announces that he is "born again," now opposed to husbands who were stern or jealous.
PORTERS
Porters lug chests, trunks, and hampers at Jaques' command for Petruchio's sea voyage to Paris.
POTHECARY
The Pothecary appears in the text but is listed as Apothecarie in the list of characters. See APOTHECARIE.
ROWLAND
Livia's beloved Rowland fails to pursuade her to elope with him early in the play and despairs that she will marry Moroso. Consumed with lust he spars verbally with Pedro, Jaques, and Sophocles, and complains to Tranio that women are devils. As the women demand equality, he tells Tranio that he will not become a slave and bets him that he will not love woman again. Knowing that Rowland still loves Livia and she him, Tranio accepts the bet and maneuvers the two back together, despite Rowland's rejection of Livia and return of her gifts. When Tranio and Biancha trick Petronious and Moroso into signing a contract permitting Rowland to marry Livia, Rowland is first incredulous and then ecstatic in his rush to marry and bed his beloved. In the closing lines he promises his reconciled father-in-law, Petronious, to make him a grandfather within a year.
SERVANT
A Servant of Petronious rushes past Rowland looking for his master, informing Rowland that Petronious' "jewell," Livia, is stricken with illness.
SOPHOCLES
Sophocles, one of Petruchio's two close friends, joins with Tranio, the other close friend, in discussing Petruchio's two wives and the prospect of Livia marrying Moroso. Sophocles bets with Petruchio about the latter's wedding night and then stands with him in blockading Maria's locked house. He urges Petruchio to bargain with Maria rather than fighting with her, and he reminds the new husband that his wife is chaste. Maria flirts with Sophocles in her strategy to tame Petruchio, and Sophocles tries to be evenhanded when speaking with his friend about his new wife, supporting, for example, Petruchio's trip to Paris. Sophocles announces that Petruchio died on this trip from grief for Maria and sends Jaques and Pedro to Maria to break the news and tell her to act wifely.
TRANIO
Tranio, one of Petruchio's close friends, is a voice of reason in deflating Petronius' wrathful rages against his daughters and in leading pigheaded Rowland into admitting his passion for Livia and marrying her. By wagering with Rowland that he loved Livia, he set a trap to reconcile the couple to each other, and he conspired with Biancha to trick Petronious and Moroso into consenting to the marriage.
WATCHMEN
Two watchmen are stationed to guard the supposedly plague stricken Petruchio and to treat him well. Angry Petruchio rails against them, insisting that he is not ill, and they counter by charging him to prepare for death. The confrontation ends when Petruchio chases them off with a fowling piece.
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