Research of Shakespeare's female characters

The classic plays of William Shakespeare have been considered as "universal" and "timeless" works until today. Although Shakespeare's genius is an undeniable fact, the female characters he has created in his works were drawn within the patriarchal boundaries of his time. Our age is in a historical process in which gender debates come to the fore, the principle of equality is defended, and women continue their constant struggle for rights and freedom. In this sense, it would be appropriate to evaluate Shakespeare's works once again in terms of his approach to the female characters, and to question how well they meet the "universal" and "timeless" characteristics under contemporary conditions. The texts that new translations shed light on, offer new opportunities to better understand the works. Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew was retranslated into Turkish in 2020 with the title Şirret Evcilleşmesi. A new evaluation on the axis of this new translation is important in terms of contributing to the discussions on the timelessness of Shakespeare's works and their relevance to our age in terms of gender equality. In this study; Shakespeare's approach to female characters in his plays has been examined together with the conditions of the period, and his play called The Taming of the Shrew is evaluated within this framework as the main text. It is aimed to reveal the problems of the text and propose solutions under the light of the new translation. Keywords: Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, Female Characters, Patriarchal