Meaning & Analysis
Everyone believes they know how to control or manage an ill-tempered woman (a 'shrew'), except for the man who is actually married to her and must deal with the reality of the situation.
Insights
Theory vs. Practice
The proverb symbolizes the vast gulf between theory and practice. It is easy to devise solutions for a problem from a distance, but implementing them is far more difficult when faced with the messy, unpredictable nature of reality.
The Arrogance of the Observer
It serves as a powerful critique of 'armchair experts' or outsiders who are quick to judge and offer simplistic advice on complex situations they do not understand. The proverb highlights the arrogance of offering solutions without bearing any of the consequences.
The Intractable Problem
The 'shrew' can be seen as a metaphor for any intractable problem—a difficult job, a chronic illness, a financial crisis. Everyone on the outside has a simple answer, but only the person experiencing the struggle understands its true complexity and resistance to easy solutions.
Historical Gender Roles
The proverb is deeply embedded in a patriarchal social context where a wife's assertiveness was often labeled as 'shrewishness'. It reflects historical anxieties surrounding female agency and a husband's perceived failure to maintain domestic control, which was a significant social expectation at the time.
The Psychology of Judgment
Psychologically, the proverb illustrates a form of cognitive bias, akin to the Dunning-Kruger effect, where outsiders with no direct experience possess an inflated sense of their ability to solve a complex problem. The husband's failure is seen as a personal failing, not as evidence of the problem's true difficulty.
Literary and Cultural Resonance
The proverb resonates with the enduring literary archetype of the 'taming of the shrew', most famously depicted in Shakespeare's play. However, while literature might offer a comedic or didactic 'taming', the proverb provides a cynical and realistic counter-narrative: for the person actually living it, such control is an illusion.
Critique of Unsolicited Advice
The cross-reference to 'Bachelors' wives and maids' children are well taught' reinforces the core theme. Both proverbs critique those who confidently dispense advice on matters—marriage, child-rearing—of which they have no practical experience, highlighting a universal human tendency toward hypocritical judgment.
Rhetorical Devices
Antithesis
The proverb is built on a sharp antithesis between the collective 'Every MAN' and the singular individual, 'he that has her'. This stark contrast effectively isolates the experienced individual from the ignorant crowd.
Irony
The core of the proverb is its situational irony. The one person who is socially expected to have control is the only one who cannot achieve it, while all unqualified outsiders believe they can, exposing the absurdity of their confidence.
Hyperbole
The use of the sweeping generalization 'Every MAN' makes the subsequent exception ('but he...') more pointed and impactful. It frames the dynamic not as an occasional occurrence but as a universal truth of human nature.
Transcription
Quotations
(saue he)
For the shrewd wife, read the booke of taming a shrew, which hath made a number of vs so perfect, that nowe euery one can rule a shrew in our country, saue he that hath her.
(Everie man can guyd ane ill wyf bot)
(saue he)
(saue he)
(can skill of a shrew, but)
Every man can tame a Shroe but he who hath a wife unruly.
(rule an ill wife, but)
Every one can tame a shrew, but he who hath her.
(rule an ill wife, but)
(tame a shrew, but)
(guide an ill Wife, but)
Cross References
Annotations
- Often, and justly, apply'd in a literal Sense; but in a general when one apprehends that he could order such a Station, Post, or Business, better than he that has it.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.