Essay on The Taming of the Shrew; Is Kate Tamed?

The Katherina that gives the final speech in The Taming of the Shrew is quite a departure from the Katherina we were introduced to in Act I. This new Kate is modest, quiet and obedient. All of these qualities were not present until Act V. Such a profound personality change prompts the questions how this happened and what purpose do her changes serve?

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.

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.

In the play Taming of the Shrew, written by William Shakespeare, many characters are reshaped and given new personality traits. Petruchio is known as being a cocky man who intends to help tame a shrewish young lady named Kate. There are many critics that believe Petruchio is solely obnoxious and a bully but through out his interactions with Kate it is shown that he truly cares about the well being of others. Of course at the beginning of Petruchio’s plan to tame a young lady he is acting off of his confidence and trying to impress those around him but this soon changes once he begins to interact with Kate. Petruchio proves that his ways have changed and he is only taming Kate to make her feel better about herself, “Petruchio uses psychological methods, not aggressive or barbaric ones, to tame Kate, which alls her to still be witty and intellectual, but also happily married, at the end of the play”(Natale,98). Petruchio truly believes that by taming Kate he is preforming a good deed and helping her accept herself in this process.

In the play Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare includes several appeals of pathos, ethos and logos. In the last passage of the book, Katharina speaks out to all of the characters with a speech. Katharina describes how she has changed into a person who looks to her husband as her lord, her care taker. The characters who listened to her speech seemed impressed on how she has finally changed her rude attitude and how she obeys her husband Pertruchio’s every word.

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 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

In the play, The Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio is a foolish nobleman who tames the character of Kate because she is a shrew. A shrew is ill-spoken woman who has a negative reputation in the Elizabethan period. Petruchio tames Kate by abusing her physically and mentally, Petruchio starves Kate and deprives her of any sleep, finally he humiliates her. Kate is forced under submission because of Petruchio trying to “...cure her wild and willful nature...” (Act 4, Scene 1, Pg. 10). Petruchio explains that all his abusing is because he loves her and for her own good, when in fact he is trying to break her down. The Taming of the Shrew is about the conflict between Kate and Bianca in which their father’s rule which does not allow Bianca to get married

The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, and has weathered well into our modern era. For all the praises it has garnered throughout the centuries, it is curious to note that many have considered it to be one of his most controversial in his treatment of women. The "taming" of Katherine has been contended as being excessively cruel by many writers and critics of the modern era. George Bernard Shaw himself pressed for its banning during the 19th century. The subservience of Katherine has been labeled as barbaric, antiquated, and generally demeaning. The play centers on her and her lack of suitors. It establishes in the first act her shrewish demeanor and its repercussions on her family. It is only with the introduction of the witty Petruchio as her suitor, that one begins to see an evolution in her character. Through an elaborate charade of humiliating behavior, Petruchio humbles her and by the end

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.

Petruchio says these things to Katherine a little while after the “my tongue in your tail” comment. He basically tells the reluctant Katherine his intention as to why he wants to marry her. He says since her father has agreed to the marriage and the dowry is settled, he will marry Katherine no matter what she wants. Petruchio even blatently says that “I am he am born to tame you, Kate,” which is another example of the idea of animal domestication in this play. He says that he will bring her from a wild Kate to a Kate. This language sets the terms for the future of Petruchio and Katherine's relationship. Also, in a bit of a twist, Katherine who now knows what Petruchio intends, consents to the marriage which protests against Petruchio's false

Petruchio planned to change Katherine’s personality but he did not succeed because Petruchio was forcing Katherine to do things he wanted her to do. For example, before Katherine was married to Petruchio, Katherine mentioned, No shame but mine. I must, forsooth, be forced to give my hand, opposed against my heart, unto a mad-brain rudesby, full of spleen, who wooed in haste and means to wed at leisure,” (5.1.177-180) she is upset about how she was forced to get married to