Katerina Vs. Petrucio Essay, Research Paper

In the beginning of “The Taming of the Shrew”, some say Shakespeare

portrays Katherina as a very shrewish figure. Others may argue that she is not

shrewish but just a very strong willed person. At the end of the play some

people say she is transformed into a very kind and gentle person, while again

others will argue that she is not “tamed” but just putting on an act to “show up”

her younger sister Bianca, whom has always been more beautiful and

charming. Kate is “like a wasp, like a foal, like foal that kicks from his halter;

pert, quick and determined, but full of good heart.” 1. This statement made by

one author, shows clearly that he does not see her as shrew-like, even at the

beginning of the play. The same author states that at the end of the play she

has not really transformed, rather she has just fallen in love with Petruchio, in

essence she is free from torment because she is no longer seen as the shrew.

In the beginning of the play Kate is “consistently in opposition to everything

around her”2, meanwhile “Bianca obeys so gently and with such sweet

submission that it is obvious why she is Baptista s favorite daughter”2. In the

end of the play, the roles switch and Katherina is submissive to every word of

Petruchio and Bianca resists the commands of her new husband. Kate s first

reaction to Petruchio, her “mad wooer”, is self-pity, and even her father feels

that his treatment of her would “vex a saint”. He takes her away from the

home she is used to, with servants and maids to wait on her hand and foot, to

the country. There she is away from the luxurious town life and is cold, hungry

and tired. She somewhat learns to watch her temper and obey Petruchio so

that he will feed her so she can survive peacefully rather than miserably. I

believe that his method of taming her is not cruel yet very effective. He shows

her that she can get much farther and live life a lot happier if she is nice and

“entreats” him rather than fighting him. One author (pattern in carpet) says that

Shakespeare sees Katherine and Petruchio as in love at first sight. He says

that their fights are partly like a game and partly a matter of egoism. He sees

Katherine as “testing” Petruchio making sure he is “man” enough to put up

with the worst of her and prove to be the husband she requires. Petruchio

accepts her challenge with delight (and to get Baptista s money), passes all of

her tests with ease and in fact does prove to be a suitable husband. Petruchio

starts to tame her from the very first time they meet. He stays calm when she

yells and does exactly the opposite of what she expects him to do. He

continues his taming at the wedding by acting even worse than she does, and in

a way, he paints a portrait of her for her to see. He believes that if she sees the

way she acts by repeating her actions, that she will want to change, to be more

pleasant. I think she acts the way she does in part because she doesn t realize

what she does and to people and doesn t fully know why people call her the

shrew. By repeating how she acts Petruchio not only tames her but he wins

her love. Even on their wedding day Kate is still furious and does not want to

marry Petruchio. She begins to declare that she will NOT marry him, but he

cuts her off and gives her a kiss. Then he will not even let her stay for her own

wedding dinner. I believe that this is all part of his plan to tame her. In the end

of the play, some may say she is tamed, while others will say she has just

plainly fallen in love. But any way you chose to look at it, she is definitely a

changed person. When the other men call for their wives, they send back a

reply stating that they are busy and just plain ignore their husband s commands.

On the other hand, when Petruchio beckons Kate all of the men expect her to

yell and scream as she always did. But to their surprise obediently came

immediately. She even makes a speech to the other girls on how they too

should be obedient to their husbands. Once she is finally tamed, she would do

anything to please Petruchio. One author states “she would call the sun the

moon, and address old Vincentio as a young girl”3. She is so tamed by this

point that she would even kiss him on a public street at his command. An act

like this would have been completely unthinkable at the beginning of the play.

He even tries to kiss her in the beginning and she refuses so he must lie to

Seignior Baptista to convince him he has done a good job at wooing her. He

also says that she has a new-built virtue, that not only wins the wager but it

convinces her father to raise her dowry by twenty thousand crowns. The other

view, that she is not really tamed has its arguments as well. Some people see

the end of the play as not a sign of obedience, but just change. It is thought that

she still has control over what Petruchio does, but in a different, more mind

manipulative way. She may be submissive to him, but at the same time, he is

just as submissive to her. I think that he didn t only tame her, but she tamed

and controls him by craft and not violence. Katherina is not the only one in the

play to undergo a transformation. Petruchio, in the beginning went to woo

Katherina only for money. He was offered a dowry by Seignior Baptista to

“get rid of” Kate so he could wed his younger daughter Bianca to one of her

many suitors. By the end of the play, it is made clear that Petruchio too

changed and had fallen in love with Kate. The relationship that they have at the

end of the play is truly love. They both are willing to change to make each

other happy and they both try in every way possible to make peace in their

family. The ironic part of the play is that they both think that they have control

over the other one. All in all Katherina undergoes a complete metamorphosis

from the beginning of the play to the end of the play. She starts out a girl,

acting like foal trying to kick free from her harness and ends up a submissive,

sweet, gentle and kind woman, whom is controlled yet, controls her husband

Petruchio, whom she ends up loving dearly.

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