Why was it necessary to have the page dress up as a woman?

Question

In the beginning of *The Taming of the Shrew*, the Lord has his page dress up as a woman: >Sirrah, you go get Bartholomew, my page, And dress him in all suits like a lady. That done, escort him to the drunkard's chamber, And call him "Madam", do him obseisance. I get why it was necessary to have a wife there; it improves the ploy. But why did they need to have Bartholomew dress up? Couldn't they have gotten a real woman to do it?

Answer 1

There's a couple of things going on here: first of all, in Shakespearean times all of the actors were men anyways (because of sexism at the time in theater). So to have Bartholomew dress up as a woman adds to the hilarity of cross-dressing that was necessary at the time. On top of that, Shakespeare himself was fond of spicing up his plays with gender-bending antics because it was a little risque as well as titillating for audiences. Technically, Bartholomew didn't "have" to dress up, but it does add to the hijinks factor because disguise is funny by itself, but cross-dressing disguises are even funnier.

(Context: I am transgender and I love Shakespeare; I'm not saying "cross-dressing" is funny innately, but it was used for comedic purposes in Shakespearean times and even today in modern media. I love the gender-bending in Shakespeare because it reminds the audience that things such as gender roles, class, and piety are all sort of a farce to begin with, which is why his comedies are still lauded today.)

Answer 2

Elk gave a beautiful answer, so I hesitate to weigh in, but I might add that it's especially appropriate for the induction to this play in particular, since it will go on to examine what men do and should expect from their wives, and what actually is "womanly" behavior anyway.

Answer 3