The Taming of the Shrew Essay: The Taming of Katherina

Additionally, in the movie, Petruchio locks Kate in a room while he tells the Minolas that he and Kate will wed. Again, this does not occur in the play.

Petruchio wears the psychological mask of a guy who only has eyes for money. He makes his mask clear to the reader when he tells Hortensio to “wife wealthily” adding “you don’t know the power of gold.” after being told about Katherina’s bad behavior, not to mention her temper. It appears that Petruchio marries Kate for her money, but immediately starts to “kill her with kindness”. He begins going so by depriving her of food and sleep because he claims that neither the food from the kitchen nor the bed is good enough for her. Petruchio puts on a show of bad temper towards his servants for every fault, showing Kate what it is like to live with a bad-tempered person. For the first time in her life, Kate finds herself trying to get someone else to control their anger. Petruchio also shows Kate that she will get the things she wants when she learns to agree with what her husband says. By treating Kate in this manner, Petruchio seems cruel, but there is a reason for it. If he were truly interested only in money, he could have left Kate at home and gone out on his own. In the end, his efforts to improve his wife have worked. He improves Kate’s life, so that she does not continue to live an unhappy life. Because of Petruchio, Katherina the shrew is happily married in the end, and comes to be a good example to

Kate is also very tough and modest like most men, who are raised and taught to hide their emotions in public. However deep inside Kate is still a female. In the second investigation which Kate had with Ellen, Kate does end up allowing herself to break down with tears in the midst of her conversation about her dead lover Anne. Here, Forrest shows that even though some women are masculine, they are limited to an extent because they are in custody to the biological determinism which determines the limits for the advancing of success based on sex (Rubin Thinking Sex). It is important that Forrest was able to show both sides of Kate: the tough masculine side and the soft elegant feminine side.

In addition, Kate’s final monologue, also in Act 5, scene 2, tells the audience a lot; about the play itself, as well as the society in Shakespeare’s era. On face value, Kate’s final monologue seems to be a long lecture about serving your husband, no questions asked. “Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot, / And place your hands below your husband’s foot” (v, ii, lines 92-3, page 221). However, Shakespeare gave Kate the last word in the play, a sign of her consistent power and control. As well, her monologue can be perceived as quite ironic. Kate is aware of the beliefs about how women in the household should act and, as clearly portrayed throughout the entire play, the role Petruchio has been trying to get her to fill. By playing along fullheartedly with society’s expectations, in front of the large audience of guests, Kate becomes “truly tamed” - or just incredibly

Ironically, they prove to be perfect for one another. Though Katharina seems heartless and unemotional, her one true fear is losing Petruchio. " It is surely worth remarking that Kate has only one true moment of agony, when Petruchio's deliberately tardy arrival for their wedding makes her feel jilted" (Bloom 30-31). Their mutual roughness seems to be their way of flirtation. Though Katharina feels that Petruchio is "a mad rudesby full of spleen," she realizes that she is truly in love and is lucky to have any husband at all, and will not, as the villagers say, "lead apes to hell" (Draper 95). The ironic counterpoint of their relationship is that while Katharina is easily tamed, Bianca, who needs no taming, is difficult for Lucentio to tolerate.

Petruchio may have been mean to her in order to tame her but by the end; he shows how he truly loves her. “Come, my sweet Kate/Better once than never, for never too late” (Shakespeare Vi 149-150). Kat’s sonnet about her feelings towards Patrick show that she has accepted that she can be in love. This is her version of being “tamed” because she can rely on someone other than herself. Patrick uses the money he made dating her to buy her a guitar and beg for her forgiveness. He has fallen for her though that was no his original intention. “I thought you could use it. You know, when you start your band. Besides, I had some extra cash, you know. Some asshole paid me to take out a really great girl but I screwed up. I fell for her” (10 Things I Hate About You). Besides the story, the filmmakers have used several exact lines from the play in the movie. Cameron echoes Lucentio’s line, “I burn, I pine, I perish”(Shakespeare Ii 155) when he sees Bianca for the first time. Kat, like Kate, tells her sister “You don't always have to be who they want you to be” (10 Things I Hate About You). The filmmakers kept Shakespeare’s story of love and deceit intact in the modernization.

Kate shows change in a way where she is innocent but obedient, before Petruchio enter the wedding party for Bianca, and right as they are about to enter Petruchio asks for a kiss. Kate denies him this because she has become modest and innocent which is a major change from the start, but shows obedience when she gives in and kisses him,”Nay, I will give thee a kiss. (kisses him) Now pray thee, love, stay,”(V.i.228).

In Taming of the Shrew many of these events were particularly significant in terms understanding Kate’s disposition throughout the story. Kate’s character, being dynamic, goes through a very important inner change toward the end of story. At first, Kate was described as rude, sharp tongued, and stubborn. Kate was an envious woman who would punish her sister so she could get answers out of her. She would also yell at her father for not cherishing her as he did to her sister. This, however, changes when Kate meets Petruchio who, unlike others, has a tolerance for Kate. Petruchio successfully tames her to behave properly. His taming methods consisted of starving her, having her wear the clothes he likes and making her do things that were

In contrast to this, Kate is very angry and frustrated by the Petruchio, and immediately becomes "shrewish," resorting to insults, 'A joint stool,' and violence. This gives the effect of Kate being much less in control of what is going on, and perhaps reflects the direction their relationship is going to take, that Petruchio will be the one in charge, and Kate will not have any control. This could however also demonstrate Kate's intelligence and wit, that she is able to keep up and match Petruchio's wordplay. However Kate feels the need to resort to violence, again demonstrating Petruchio's intelligent wordplay and calm attitude, as he does not react violently towards Kate, but simply

As mentioned above, Katherine was the elderly daughter of a wealthy merchant, who was known throughout the city of Padua for her scolding tongue and her fiery tempered attitude. Most men had excluded her when suggestions arrived in terms of marriage. Due to this situation, Katherine had set her mind to not getting married at all. “Good, Morning Kate, said Petruchio, as the haughty lady swept in. ‘my name is Katherine’, she pouted. ‘No is isn’t, you are called plain Kate and Bonny Kate and sometimes Kate the wild cat . . . . But I think you are the prettiest Kate in Christendom- gentle, beautiful, modest and kind. Yes I’ve heard all about you, and I’ve come to ask you to be my wife’. She slapped his face” (page 3) .This quote gives details in how arrogant Kate is towards Petruchio. It is known to be very disrespectful manners to answer back to an opposite gender, but slapping someone who has come to ask for your hand is revolting. But poor Katherine doesn’t remain in this high position throughout the novel. As soon as she and Petruchio are wedded she experiences many changes within her and around her.” All her life she had had everything she wanted. Now,

The sun: it is not moonlight now./Pet: I say it is the moon that shines so bright." (4.5.2-4). Petruchio first called the sun the moon and Kate argued with him because it was obviously the sun (at the time, they were on their way to Baptista's house), but Petruchio insisted that it was the moon. Kate finally agreed, "I know it is the moon that shines so bright" (4.5.5). People just reading through the play and not studying it would say that Petruchio is controlling Kate by making her agree with him. I don't think this is so - Kate most likely just gets sick of arguing with Petruchio because she can tell he will continue to insist that the sun is the moon. If you think about your childhood, there is probably at least one example of a time you were arguing with a friend of yours about something and neither of you wanted to give up and let the other person "win" the argument, but eventually, one of you gives in. The reason Kate might be so quick to give in this time is because she knows Petruchio is trying to tame her and that she won't be able to get anywhere with him. Petruchio tells her when they first meet, "For I am he am born to tame you Kate,/And bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate/Conformable as other household Kates" (2.1.308-310).

This story also depicts that a woman is not suppose to be strong and opinionated. Kate is viewed by most suitors as undesirable because she speaks her mind and doesn't let the male population walk all over her (Dolan 32). She is very precautious of the intentions of the men that claim they would like to marry her. Throughout the story it's made clear that Petruccio's objective is to "tame" Kate so that she will be suitable to be a wife. It's not that it's in her nature to be mean but she has a different that on the role of a wife. She indeed believes that she should be good to her husband and do all that things that are expected of her but feels that it should be deserved. Her husband needs to be worthy of all of her affection and attention. Not only that, he needs to love her in such a way that makes her want to be a good woman to him (33).

The relationship between Kate and Petruchio is completely different from the love of Bianca and Lucentio. "Kate is a neglected, hurt, and humiliated daughter who disguises her grief from herself as well as others with a noisy shrewish temper" (Craig 342). She has a fiery disposition and a reputation for reacting violently to people. The challenge of capturing her is Petruchio's real attraction to her. He can be seen as a rough, unfeeling, greedy, "swash-buckler" who cares nothing for Kate's feelings (so long as she has money). "

Also, Katherine herself apprehended the error of her ways, making the women feel sheltered and making the men feel self-assured about their dominant position in society. The audience presumably went home contented, because such a shrew was tamed, and could be tamed so well. Katherine’s soliloquy reinforced the moral values of the Elizabethan era, making the conclusion of the play more enjoyable and entertaining. The final scene of The Taming of the Shrew shows ”the triumph of the unconventional over the conventional”, it shows that Katherina and Petruchio’s marriage, which has started rather unconventionally, seems to have better chances of being a happy. Shakespeare speaks out in clearly favors of the unconventional concept of love present in the relationship between Petruchio and

As the play continues, we learn even more about Kate. For example, when Kate and Petruchio go back to Baptista’s, Kate begins to see how Petruchio operates. She learns that if she does what Petruchio says, even if she knows it is not true, she will get something she wants out of it, like going back to her father’s house. Petruchio test Kate when they meet the real Vincentio on the road and he asks Kate if she has ever seen a finer young women. Knowing what he is up to, Kate shows her amazing wit and decides to play his game. She has figured out that Petruchio has a method to his madness and if she plays her cards right, their relationship can be a partnership with a series of actions and rewards.