Taming of the Shrew: Was Kate Tamed or Not?
The question is weather or not Kate was tamed in the play, “The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare. It seems that she was not tamed, but brainwashed, because the way that Petruchio tamed her involved cruel methods that were manipulative and exploitative. Kate changed because she didn’t want to be abused anymore; she was doing nothing more than putting on an act to please Petruchio.
Kate was depicted as a horrid person to be around at the beginning of the play. She had done many things in the play that proved that point, like yelling at her father in public, tying up her little sister and beating her, throwing tantrums and claiming that her father didn’t love her. Other characters in the play think of her as nasty, including her father, Baptista. Our first look at Kate is through the eyes of Vincentio and Lucentio, who say, “That wench is stark mad or wonderful froward.” She was an unpleasant person to be around, but why? The public misunderstood Kate, because she was a smart woman with a mind of her own. She just didn’t fit into society compared to the woman of the 16th century. The way she acted had reasoning, for example, when her father, Baptista, was trying to get her married, he was very crude with the way he asked men to marry his daughter, almost like she was his property and she was a mere commodity to be traded. Even though her actions had reasoning, the other characters in the play wanted her to change and become a lady that was quite and nice; they wanted her to be like her little sister Bianca. Another example is when she hit Hortensio with a chair, it was because he had commented on how everybody hates her. When Petruchio got married to Kate, he made it a mission to change her, no matter how cruel the methods would be.
Petruchio was a wealthy bachelor who wanted a rich wife, and he didn’t mind marrying Kate even though she acted the way she did. He thinks he will be able to tame her. He even gives advice to other men on how to tame their
Kate was depicted as a horrid person to be around at the beginning of the play. She had done many things in the play that proved that point, like yelling at her father in public, tying up her little sister and beating her, throwing tantrums and claiming that her father didn’t love her. Other characters in the play think of her as nasty, including her father, Baptista. Our first look at Kate is through the eyes of Vincentio and Lucentio, who say, “That wench is stark mad or wonderful froward.” She was an unpleasant person to be around, but why? The public misunderstood Kate, because she was a smart woman with a mind of her own. She just didn’t fit into society compared to the woman of the 16th century. The way she acted had reasoning, for example, when her father, Baptista, was trying to get her married, he was very crude with the way he asked men to marry his daughter, almost like she was his property and she was a mere commodity to be traded. Even though her actions had reasoning, the other characters in the play wanted her to change and become a lady that was quite and nice; they wanted her to be like her little sister Bianca. Another example is when she hit Hortensio with a chair, it was because he had commented on how everybody hates her. When Petruchio got married to Kate, he made it a mission to change her, no matter how cruel the methods would be.
Petruchio was a wealthy bachelor who wanted a rich wife, and he didn’t mind marrying Kate even though she acted the way she did. He thinks he will be able to tame her. He even gives advice to other men on how to tame their