VINCENTIO
Despite Vincentio, who
belongs to ‘The Taming of the shrew’,is not one of the main character
and he is not as relevant as the other starrings of the plot, we must also
consider him important, as without his participation in the play, the story
wouldn’t have developed as it does.
In each play or story,
even the most secondary character, who plays the smallest part, is necessary to
make sense to the text.
In this case,
Vincentio, who only appears twenty times, is not introduced by the author until
the Fourth Act, specifically in the Scene Five, when he meets Kate and Petruchio on the way to Padua. The
city where Lucentio and Bianca’s wedding is going to take place. He plays
the role of a merchant of Pisa and whose son is Lucentio, one of the
protagonists. In this first appearance, Vincentio seems to be very polite, a
very well mannered man, even when Kate and Petruchio are pulling his leg and
they are treatying him as a woman, he doesn’t lose his touch. His only
reaction is based on the surprise about the facts.
• A quote from the text: Vicentio: -
‘Fair sir, and you my merry mistress, That with your strange encounter
much amaz’d me’. (IV, v, 53).
This old man with a
lot of personality has known how to earn a living thanks to his job, and with
all his profits has been able to bring up his child in recognised institutions
of Florence, apart from providing him with servants, such as Tranio and
Biondello.
Note: Due to the
dialogue of the text between Petruchio and Vincentio in the public road, where
it is said that he is going to Padua to visit a son of him, we can guess that
he might have had more than one child. However, through Tranio’s role as
Lucentio, we observe that according to the text Lucentio is an only child:
• Tranio: -‘That
‘only’ came well in. Sir, list to me: I am my father’s heir
and only son’ .(II, i. 383).
So, we can’t
know how many children he has with absolute certainty. Considering him as a
good father, he sends his son Lucentio with his servants to Padua, where he is
going to be instructed in philosophy, he doesn’t worry about the
maintenance costs whenever it was well used.
• Lucentio: - and therefore, Tranio,for
the time I study, Virtue and that part of philosophy will I apply that treats
happiness by virtue specially to be achiev’d’ (I, i, 13).
Vincentio, thanks also
his jobs, has been lucky on meeting a lot of people and through the
characters’ dialogues, we imagine that besides being admired by his son,
he is also loved by his friends, so all this helps his son to introduce himself
to Bianca’s father and be welcomed to her house, even when his role is
being played by Tranio.
• Tranio: - ‘hear me with patience
Baptista is a noble gentleman, to whom my father is not all unknown,
and...’(II, i, 226).
However, the most
important intervention of this character in the play is in Act V, Scene I, when
he is in front of Lucentio’s house in Padua, and he meets the Peadant,
who is playing his role as the merchant of Pisa and who has robbed his own name
as part of Lucentio’s plan to meet Bianca. In this occasion, opposite to
the first behaviour that is showed of the merchant by Shakespeare as a calm
person, Vincentio has become a man with a very bad temper, fearing about the
death of his son. Fortunately, Lucentio appears just in time to discover the
lie.
• Vincentio: -‘Oh he hath
murder’d his master! Oh my son, my son! Tell me thou villain where is my
son, Lucentio?’ (V, i, 95).
After all, Vincentio
decides to forgive his son and he goes to the wedding. So, at the end he is a
good man whose biggest concern is his son.
I must say that probably,
if this character wouldn’t have appeared in the text, the play would also
have ended into the weddings. The two couple would have got married as they do,
because another dressed up character would have played Vincentio’ role.
But we should consider too, that with his contribution, the conception of
Lucentio’s role changes, as he does not seem to be as liar as firstly he
is considerated.
Academic year 2006/2007
© a.r.e.a./Dr.Vicente Forés López
© Lucia Mataix Garcia
lumagar@alumni.uv.es
Universitat de Valčncia Press