William Shakespeare's
The Taming of the Shrew
A Character Analysis of Katherine
Written by:
Crystal England
March 27, 2007
The Taming of the Shrew is one of many of Shakespeare's works that spoke of the epic and constant battle of the sexes. This play involves several subplots, but the most interesting takes place between Katherine, or Kate, the shrew, and her suitor Petruchio. Kate is of great interest because not only is her character widely discussed, but the opinions of which vary depending on the perspective of the reader. The controversy of her character lies within her supposed personality and behaviour, which often times seem not to compliment one another. However, this only seems true if Kate's character is not well studied because her actions are often subtle and ironic. Her character is considered to be a shrew before she is even allowed to speak (Koory, 2). In considering time and social situation, it can be understood that she is not allowed to freely express herself even though she may be outspoken and violent. The main problem of her shrewdness may be the fault of her younger sister and her detached father. The relationship among these three causes Kate to become jealous and unhappy. Secondly, Kate is extremely intelligent and cannot bear to succumb to any suitor who is her intellectual inferior. She is able to use bold language and violence to thwart all attempts at courtship, until she meets Petruchio. It is not until then that a softer side of Kate can be seen. It is he who provokes her slow, but sincere, transformation. After the wedding Petruchio begins a more exaggerated form of mirroring Kate's behaviour so as to show her the image that she projects of herself. Even though Petruchio goes to great lengths to tame Kate, it is only love that can truly tame her.
Kate's character was written in Elizabethan times and females were not allowed to be much more than property of a man. Women could not earn nor inherit money, they could not own property and it was unlawful for them to go to school (Stockel). Kate was unhappy as a shrew, but her independent personality would not allow her to take a husband just because it was socially expected of her. If she chose a bad husband she would be trading the oppression of her father for the oppression of another man. Petruchio's exaggerated husbandly dominance does not support the power inherent in such male dominance, but rather its inefficiency (Zoch). For this reason it can be said that Kate falls in love with Petruchio and is not dominated by him.
Not only is Kate unhappy because of her father's oppression and willingness to sell her to the highest bidder, she is jealous of his treatment of her sister Bianca (Tillyard, 78). Bianca is the obvious favourite because she projects herself perfectly into the role of the classy lady that society and her father expect. Even though Kate hates Bianca because she can see through her prissy princess act, she is jealous of the preferential treatment that Bianca receives from her father. Kate can see through Bianca's false behaviour and it enrages her to point of physical violence. She hates that Bianca pretends to be so easily convinced by the men in her life and it causes Kate to overreact and behave as oppositely as possible. During the beginning of the play it seems that Kate may actually enjoy being a shrew if it means that she will not end up like her sister.
Although it is illegal for the sisters to go to school, they are taught by private tutors (Stockel). Kate is extremely intelligent and linguistically able to assert her own intelligence. She verbally, and physically, assaults her suitors because they are not on her level intellectually. Even though she and Petruchio have a duel of words it is actually he who submits to her after she slaps him because he allows her the chance to save face in front of everyone by saying that her violence was assumed and not deliberate (Bloom). This may have been the only time in her life that she has had a male figure defend her erratic and impulsive behaviour. She may think that this is a man who can understand her and for this reason she is silent when he tells her father that she has agreed to marry him on the coming Sunday.
Her silence in regard to the wedding proposal is probably the best way for her to truly express her acceptance. In every other instance Kate has had a comment to rebut anything anyone says to her, none of which have been kind. However, this time she does not want to refuse, but her personality does not yet allow her to be pleased with the idea of accepting a man’s proposal. This is the first sign of Kate’s willingness to transform her confrontational character into one of love and faithfulness.
The second sign of Kate’s genuine will toward a transformation is evident when Petruchio arrives late for his own wedding (Tillyard, 79). She becomes genuinely distressed and tearful while she is left waiting for him at the altar. It may be believed that these tears are shed for fear of public humiliation, but this is not the commonly accepted answer to her obvious display of grief. The reason that it is not out of fear of public humiliation may be because she has been subjected to a kind of humiliation by her father throughout her entire life. For this reason it is more commonly believed that her tears are shed for a fear of lost love. After the wedding Petruchio does not let Kate enjoy the celebration and they leave straight away for his house in the country. Kate protests, but he claims her as his property and thus begins the taming process.
It is important to understand Petruchio’s behaviour during the taming process because it mirrors Kate’s previous behaviour. It may seem cruel at first, but even though Petruchio keeps Kate from sleeping and eating, he also does the same. He mirrors her image in an exaggerated way, but he does not let her suffer alone. In this way they are able to switch gender roles. Kate leads the prayer while Petruchio complains of the burnt meat. Petruchio is the one who refuses to consummate the marriage and it is he who worries about the way the hat looks on her head (Smith). In the end it is not the physical fatigue or hunger that causes Kate to comply and tell Petruchio that the sun is the moon, but rather Hortensio’s comment that they will never make it to Padua unless she agrees. She then becomes aware of the game that Petruchio is playing and decides to go along (Tillyard, 83). In this way she has not been tricked, but rather convinced of the error of her ways and decides to change.
During the wedding celebration she decides to declare her transformation publicly as a loving gesture toward Petruchio and a humorous mockery of the very social constrictions that she defines in her speech. The speech is not her defeat, but rather a manifestation of her natural role as a leader as she lectures her sister on their matrimonial duties (Smith). The speech is longer than anything Petruchio gets to say and is obviously exaggerated. The speech is Kate’s way of publicly taking Petruchio into her heart. This turns into a private joke between the two of them because they both understand how one has adapted to the other. Finally, the whole point of the play is explained as Kate kneels to Petruchio and he raises her up to kiss her and make her his equal.
In a way, Kate was tamed from being the violent and angry shrew that she once was, but only by her own will. She was not deceived nor way she forced to succumb to Petruchio as her husband. She chose to because she realized that she was unhappy as a shrew and that her negative behaviour and actions were only perpetuating her unhappiness. Kate’s character could never submit to a man, but it could submit to love. If Kate did not truly love Petruchio she might have obeyed his wishes, but she would have never made such a brilliant and heartfelt speech.
Works Cited
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Smith, Amy. “Performing Marriage with a Difference: Wooing, Wedding, and Bedding
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