The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, tells the tale of a beggar named Sly who is tricked into thinking that he is a lord. The story of Katherine and Petruchio is put on by many servants and hired actors. Katherine, who is also known as Kate, is portrayed as the evil shrew and Petruchio as the one whose job is to tame her. Once they get married, Petruchio shows his authority by taking her away from their own wedding celebration. Subsequently, he starves Katherine and demands that she obey his every word despite her desire to speak out against him. Throughout this play, Shakespeare emphasizes the gender roles in society at the time by shedding light on the way women play the part of obedient wives to keep their limited control in relationships. Katherine's irony and sarcasm show that after constant abuse, she has learned to play the part of an ideal wife to hold more power in her situation.
Kate displays her hatred towards Petruchio by implementing sarcasm into her last speech. One of the ways she does this is by bringing an extreme to how she takes the role of an obedient wife: "Thy husband is thy lord, thy keeper/Thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee" (5.2 162-163). By saying this, she shows the clear contrast from her true personality, where she would have rather died than be married to someone who acts as if he owns her. Kate further exhibits her true thoughts about women standing up for themselves when she says, “My mind hath been as big as one of yours/My heart as great, my reason haply more/To bandy word for word and frown for frown/But now I see our lances are but straws” (5.2 186-189). By stating the exact opposite of what she would say before her marriage to Petruchio, Kate brings attention to her prior beliefs, which suggests that she still does believe these things. Kate does this once again when she shares her opinions on the way women act up: “I am ashamed that women are so simple/To offer war where they should kneel for peace” (5.2 177-178). When Kate says that women “offer war,” she refers to how she would talk back to Petruchio, and by constantly mentioning this, she brings attention to how women should not sit idle, but express their inner thoughts.
By continuing to emphasize the characteristics of a good spouse, Kate uses irony to show that Petruchio is in fact, not a caring husband. For instance, Kate describes what a good husband should do when she says, “To watch the night in storms, the day in cold/Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe”(5.2 166-167). It proves to be ironic as Petruchio has done the exact opposite when bringing Kate home on a horse. She falls into the mud, and he does not help her in any significant way. He instead, as Grumio describes, beat him “as her horse stumbled” (4.1 71-72) and Kate “stumbled through the dirt to pluck him off” (4.1 72-73). Petruchio did not help Kate get up, but started a fight with Grumio, causing more chaos than needed. Kate also hints at the torture she has gone through when she mentions what husbands want from their wives: “And craves no other tribute at thy hands/But love, fair looks, and true obedience” (5.2 168-169). By explaining what a good husband wants from his wife, Kate shows a deep and ironic contrast to what her husband wants from her. A good husband wants love while it seems that all Petruchio wants is to change his wife. He does not want her for who she really is, which is what initially causes her to lash out at him before going into a pretend state of obedience to satisfy her husband.
Although it is not of her own desire, Kate further gives in to Petruchio’s abuse in order to gain the most control in her relationship, thus getting what she wishes for. An example of this is when she is the only wife to respond to her husband’s call, resulting in Petruchio winning a bet against Hortensio and Lucentio. As she says, “What is your will, sir, that you send for me?” (5.2 113), Kate puts the decision in her own hands to obey Petruchio in order to have a successful marriage. By listening to Petruchio, she improves her reputation, which is one step closer to others seeing Kate in a positive way. Once she is seen in a positive way, it gives her more room to be free, possibly allowing her to say what she believes. Kate continues to listen to Petruchio’s commands to manipulate the situation and have a chance at love, which is shown when she says, “Nay, I will give thee a kiss/Now pray thee, love, stay” (5.2 153-154). Deep inside, Kate does seem to want love, and as she listens to Petruchio, it gets her what she initially wants despite how unusual it may be. The results of Kate’s plan are clearly shown as he spoils her with many expensive belongings: “With silken coats and caps and golden rings/With ruffs and cuffs and farthingales and things/With scarves and fans and double change of brav’ry/With amber bracelets, beads and all this knav’ry” (4.3 59-61). Not only does Kate now have a road to potential love, but she has satisfaction from materialistic things, adding to the beneficial aspects of her situation.
To conclude, by explaining the situation between Kate and Petruchio, Shakespeare shows society the injustice and powerlessness that women faced and yet continue to face every day. Kate’s relationship starts out with Petruchio attempting to tame her as if she were an animal. It causes her to start obeying her husband. At first, it may have been to satisfy Petruchio, but it seems that Kate somehow changes her own situation by at first going against her beliefs. It ends up changing the dynamic between them, which leads to a more successful relationship. Overall, the play shows a unique plot where a woman uses obedience to go against the powerlessness faced by every other woman around her. Although Kate’s obedience seems to clash with her character, it shows another aspect of her strength that helps her get to the better part of her relationship, which helps her to achieve love, a true goal of marriage.