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In Taming of the Shrew does Petruchio tame Katherine?
The play ‘Taming of the Shrew Katherine’ was written by William Shakespeare. The role of the shrew is acted by Katherine, and she is known for her negative outlook concerning life. She does not believe that there is good in anything and is often in an extremely foul mood. The main reason why she acts in such a manner is because she envies her beautiful and younger sister known as Bianca. She is envious of her younger sister who had many suitors, while she did not have any. Many men wanted to marry Bianca and often ignored Katherine, and most likely it is due to her negative attitude. It is a fact among people that if any man would want to marry Katherine, then it would be the same for Bianca. This is the reason why Katherine is a shrew that needs to be tamed.
This paper seeks to give a critical analysis concerning how Katherine was tamed by Petruchio using the methods he used.
Critical analysis on the taming of Katherine by Petruchio
It is in a town known as Padua that Bianca and Katherine lived, and Petruchio set out to visit the town. If Petruchio could be paid the right amount of money, then he would indeed make an attempt of taming Katherine. Everyone in the town had become tired of the manner, which Katherine handled matters, and thus wanted to tame her. Katherine used to cause chaos among people and some referred to her as being ‘terrible’. There is no single person who did not have extreme hate for Katherine. She seemed to be the reason why the people at Padua did not live peaceful lives. Most times, she would pick fights with her sister Bianca with no reason. It had even reached a point whereby, she would often hit her sister just because she had beauty as well as many suitors.
It seems that Petruchio is a gift from God, which would save everyone in Padua from the misery caused by Katherine. Petruchio had come to Padua in order to find a wife whom, he had dire need of. In fact, he claims that “I come to wives it wealthy in Padua; if wealthy, then happily in Padua” (Rackin 38). This means that Petruchio was aware of the fact that, in Padua, the women were wealthy and thus more reason to find a wife. During a conversation with one of the suitors in love with Bianca, he found out about Katherine. The suitor known as Luciento joked about Petruchio marrying Katherine, as a way of obtaining immense wealth. Many people had told Petruchio about the problems he would encounter if Katherine became his wife. One person in Padua claimed that “Petruchio can have no illusions about the fabled shrew, Katherine, form others are quick to tell him quite frankly what to expect” (Schneider 236).
Petruchio takes up on this challenge and goes ahead and meets Katherine’s father. After consultations, they agree that if Petruchio agrees to marry Katherine, he will be paid twenty thousand crowns. This shows how everyone was fed up with Katherine to the point whereby, her father would pay a man to marry his daughter. Even before, the marriage began, the two did not get along well, and this is expected. This does not deter Petruchio who knows that, in the end, he will be Katherine’s conqueror. A date is set for their wedding and this where some of the taming is experienced. Petruchio seeks to make it known to Katherine that he has the capability of also being annoying. He appears at the wedding dressed ridiculously, also extremely drunk. This continues till the wedding reception whereby, Petruchio tells Katherine that they have to leave. It seems that Katherine has no obligation, but to give in to the demands of Petruchio.
It is evident that in order for Petruchio to tame Katherine, he must do it without changing her inner spirit. Kate shows different personalities as the process of taming begins. Some of the methods chosen by Petruchio to tame Katherine can be to some extent referred to as being torturous. In order to control Katherine’s outward actions, Petruchio finds ways of exploiting and manipulating Katherine’s character. At the same time, he is aware that he should not change her inner being. If he does the latter, he might break her spirit, and this would be considered unethical. Petruchio claims that “Thy gown’s Why, aye. Come, tailor, let us see’st. / O mercy, God! What masquing stuff is here’s / What’s this’s A sleeve’s Tis like a demi-cannon. / What, up and down, carved like an apple tart’s / Here’s snip and nip and cut and slish and slash, Like to a sensor in a barber’s shop” (Aspinall, 98). This means that he seeks to tame Katherine using acceptable ways, and without causing her heart ache.
Domestication has been used in order to bring about taming in the play. In order to tame Katherine’s hostility, Petruchio finds a suitable way to cure this problem. This means that Katherine is considered a wild animal that needs to be domesticated. People encourage Petruchio by giving him the confidence, which he needs, in order to tame Katherine. It seems that, in the society, women were meant to be tamed by their husbands, and Petruchio had to complete this task. At first, people thought that Petruchio would not succeed, but he proves that he has the capability. He chooses to use kindness and training as the methods to tame his wife Katherine. In fact, some people referred to Petruchio’s house, as a place where women men would be taught how to tame their wives’. Others referred to it as the ‘taming school’ as Petruchio had indeed proven that he could tame Katherine the wild card.
Conclusion
It is evident that Petruchio succeeded in taming his wife Katherine, and he did it because he loved her. In turn, he had achieved one of his life’s tasks, as well as that, which other people had failed to do. He had succeeded in changing the outward action expressed by Katherine. People saw the change in Katherine as she had learnt how to speak pleasant words. At the same time, she spoke with malice and vigor, as her nature dictated. Indeed, the taming of the shrew known as Katherine, by Petruchio had taken place successfully. The woman who people knew before had changed and to the surprise of everyone in Padua. In turn, Katherine became submissive towards Petruchio as well as being tame.
Work Cited
Aspinall. Dana, The Taming of the Shrew: Critical Essays. London: Routledge, 2001.Print.
Schneider, Gary. “The Public, the Private, and the Shaming of the Shrew”, Studies in English Literature, 1500–1900, 42, 2 (2002), 235–258.
Rackin, Phyllis. Shakespeare and Women. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.Print.
