Who Is Petruchio In The Taming Of The Shrew

In the play “The Taming of the Shrew” , written by William Shakespeare, Three men want to marry the youngest daughter, named Bianca, of a man named Baptista. However, Bianca can not be married until the older daughter Katherine is married. Katherine has the mouth of a sailor (to put it lightly) and is vicious with it. She is also very violent. However, Hortencio (one of Bianca’s suitors) convinced his drunk, violent, and poor friend Petruchio to marry Katherine, for the dowry that Baptista would provide. I am here to convince you that Katherine, though vicious with her words and actions, is a better person than Petruchio, not on her own morals, but through the horrible actions of Petruchio.
The first reason Petruchio is a horrible person is
Starvation. Petruchio plans to actively starve Katherine of Both food and Sleep. Our first example is from Act 4, Scene 1, Lines 124-134. “Thus have I politicly begun my reign,
And ’tis my hope to end successfully. My falcon now is sharp and passing empty, And, till she stoop, she must not be full-gorged, For then she never looks upon her lure. Another way I have to man my haggard, To make her come and know her keeper’s call. That is, to watch her, as we watch these kites
That bate and beat and will not be obedient. She ate no meat today, nor none shall eat. Last night she slept not, nor tonight she shall not. As with the meat, some undeservèd fault I’ll find about the making of the bed, And here I’ll fling the pillow, there the bolster, This way the coverlet, another way the
Those people direct our direction to Act 2, where Petruchio “kills” Katherine with kindness. When she would insult him with words such as : “Go, fool, and whom thou keep’st command.” (Translating to: Go away you fool, don’t tell me what to do) and Petruchio’s response is to be kind. He says “Did ever Dian so become a grove as Kate this chamber with her princely gait? Oh, be thou Dian, and let her be Kate, And then let Kate be chaste and Dian sportful.” But I would say that Petruchio is an actor in a mask, and those who believe and support him enthralled in his act. I ask you, what his Petruchio’s goal when he came to the city of Padua? To marry a wealthy wife so that he could buy more alcohol. And a dowry of 20,000 crowns is certainly a good wealth to receive. Poor Baptista, this whole play has just been people manipulating you for their own gains. Clearly Petruchio has not yet given up his act, for when he next sees Baptista, he assures him Katherine is acting, and that they are to be married Sunday, so as to assure the dowry of 20,000