Katharina's Character in The Taming of the Shrew Essay

A Shrew or Not a Shrew

In my argumentative analysis of the Taming of the Shrew pieces I will be presenting proof of a character that has been debated, interpreted, and discussed into different forms: Katharina, the shrew, was she tamed, open-minded, or just a good enough actress to make everyone think she was in fact, tamed? I will present arguments for and against each of these points, using the actual play and the BBC television production of The Taming of the Shrew.

In this first paragraph you will be shown how Katharina is the tamed shrew. There is evidence that supports Katharina was tamed by Petruchio. For instance, in the opening of the play, Katharina is very out spoken and aggressive. Men, women and children tremble whenever she comes around, even her father and sister. However, by the end of the play she is presented as being mild and submissive to Petruchio, leading up to her greatest speech, her soliloquy, in the dialogue of the play: .Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee, And for thy maintenance commits his body To painful labor both by sea and land, To watch the night in storms, the day in cold, Whilst thou list warm at home, secure and safe; And craves no other tribute at thy hands But love, fair looks and true obedience: Too little payment for so great a debt (5.2.108-109). In looking at this outtake of Katharina's speech, it can be seen that she has been tamed by Petruchio's actions throughout the first four acts of the play. It is difficult to take Katharina's message here and say, "She is still the same person." Her monologue reveals that she now sees it is her duty to respect her husband and to be submissive to him. Her speech shows the audience that the duty of the wife is one that is a repayment to the husband for all the hard work he does to support her, a debt that the wife could never possibly repay. Reasons why Katharina might not have been tamed can be found in the fact that the play takes place in what seems to be just a few days. One might ask the question: Is it possible to cause such a great change in a person's behavior in such a short amount of time? It is very unlikely that it is possible, since Katharina, by the opening of the play, is at least 20 years of age and is very much set into her ways. It would take much longer to cure Katharina of this attitude problem she possesses. With this in mind, it is very likely that Katharina was either enlightened by Petruchio in how to control her temper, or she acted as if she had been tamed to get everyone off of her back.

In this next paragraph you will be shown how Kate may not have been quite tamed. Since it is not possible for Katharina to have been tamed by Petruchio in the short time period of the first four acts, it is possible that she was made civil by Petruchio's actions. In the BBC television version of Taming of the Shrew, starring Shirley Henderson as Katharina and Rufus Sewell as Petruchio, there is a scene that supports this claim. In the ending sequence we are presented with the widow (mother of Bianca and Kate; Mrs. Minola) and Bianca refusing to get married without their suitors (Harry and Lucentio) signing a prenuptial agreement. The widow asks for Katharinas opinion on the matter, expecting for her to agree with her and Bianca. Instead, Katharina exclaims that she thinks it is unnecessary. It was at this point she delivered her speech quoted above. It was not the precise same words but they both have the same meaning. Now, if she was tamed, it is doubtful she would have stated that he, Petruchio, would not expect anything of her that she would not expect of him. I see this as evidence that Petruchio has civilized Katharina in a sense that she no longer needs to be brash and aggressive at all times, but more she can use her assertiveness for her husband's advantage, and more importantly for her own advantage. Like when she states: I think you should be prepared to place your hands below your husbands feet in token of your duty to him. In other words, together, they made a great team with Petruchio's great wit and ability to play word games at the drop of a hat and Katharina's strong will and stubbornness. I find that they no longer use these on each other, except for amusement, but to influence and gain stature and control to those around them.

I say Katharina is civilized because she still displays some of her shrewish attitudes at certain points in the BBC production, when she is hash towards her sister, in talking about her putting off Lucentio by frowning, and using language in the court room. If she was tamed at this point, she would not have been aggressive. If she was acting, she would have risked being discovered if she showed herself being aggressive towards Petruchio. Since she is civilized and able to be as an equal with Petruchio, she was able to act the way she did - aggressive towards those who were being stubborn about their husband's authority. I see it as Katharina was trying to show them that if they are obedient to their husband, the husband would treat them as an equal.

Katharina: The Acting Shrew. In the BBC television production of Taming of the Shrew while Kate and Petruchio are on their honeymoon. Petruchio marches up to the bedroom speaking of his intentions of having sex with Kate. In the scene Kate threatens to scream, as Petruchio begins to approach her, after have taken off his shoes and pants, and then pushes her onto the bed whilst getting on top of her. Kate then begins to go along with him, encouraging him to get on with it, then much to her surprise he changes his mind and says that he is not going to have sex with her until she starts being nice to him. I find this evidence plausible as well, since I can see Katharina willing to give in to Petruchio and find a middle ground with him, even if their aggressive nature is so much alike. After all, if Katharina is just acting as if she were tamed, then it is likely she would still have her shrewish attitude. Which is later presented in the court room before everyone is back in Biancas place discussing the prenuptial agreement.

Final Arguments Throughout this essay: you have been presented with three different arguments about the subject of Katharina's taming. In analyzing the text of the play and seeing how different interpretations have presented the taming, one may find that they have to agree with two of the interpretations, the first that Katharina is acting tamed, and second that she is civilized. First, they may feel that she was just acting in the room when they were going to have sex; that she was still just pretending to be tamed so she could find what he was up to. I feel this with how quickly she changed her attitude about the situation then just leaving it be and going to bed. But, I also feel that her acting job here backfired against her emotionally. When she saw that by being obedient to Petruchio he treated her as an equal, she realized she needed to compromise her nature to keep this man she was falling in love with, which leads to her being civilized.