The Merchant of Venice, though ostensibly a comedy, is one of the more serious plays in the comedic genre. The Taming of the Shrew is far more humorous and light hearted, but it is not without its lessons. The specific lessons vary greatly depending on one's interpretation of the play, especially in performance, but one key lesson that most of the female characters fail to learn is the advantage of working in tandem with their husband. Petruchio manages to win a substantial amount of money through his new wife Kate's quick obedience; she has learned through the course of the play to at least give the appearance of docility and subservience, which the other women lack -- they have failed to learn anything from her transformation, seeing no problems in themselves form the outset. This failure costs them some cold, hard, cash.

It is in Julius Caesar, however, that Shakespeare...
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