ize” that will be awarded to the winning side? I find it very insulting that Shakespeare’s only significant female role in the whole play, is being used as a “ Prize” to be given away. Shakespeare doesn’t even try to hide the fact that he is setting Katherine up as a prize. I find this kind of arrogance to be offensive and very belittling to women. While the men are off fighting the battle, Katherine, the future Queen of France, does not appear to be a bit concerned over the fate of her own country. Instead, she readily accepts her fate as she prepares herself for the role of Queen of England.This play is very biased and one-sided. Most of the English men are portrayed as noble, humble and superior to the French. Henry himself can do no wrong, and is portrayed through out the play as the best leader that the English have ever had. This image that he can do no wrong and is as close to being perfect as one can get, only holds up if you don’t go digging around in Henry’s past, in which he had been portrayed as a spoiled, pampered partying boy. The French, in contrast to the English, are presented as arrogant, incompetent, and weak, very similar to what Henry had been not to long ago. There is, however, one thing lower than a Frenchman, and that is, a French woman. The fact that Shakespeare subjected Katherine’s character, (she, who had been born into royalty which was the highest social position one can reach), to being treated as a possession or prize for a man, only adds credence to the argument that Shakespeare had very little respect for women.Katherine character, for the most part, adds very little, if anything at all, to the play. In fact, the role of Katherine could have easily been omitted altogether, and personally, I wish it had been The last act, in which Henry easily manages to win the affections of Katherine, is a weak attempt on Shakespeare’s part to end the pl...
