Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew Essay: about Petruchio and Katherine's need for eachother and the effect give off by the times of the play.

Essay by Satisfxn November 2003

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Many critics have observed and noted that the characters Petruchio and Katherine from Shakespeare's comedic drama, The Taming of the Shrew, had a need for each other, due to their strong personalities. They thrive on the intellectual games they play throughout The Taming of the Shrew. Both have a witty intelligence that attracts them to each other. Also, each of them had something to prove; Petruchio needed to confirm his manhood, while Kate needed to steer her demeanor toward the ladylike side of things. The whole plot of the play drives toward these goals, and those goals could only be achieved because of the customs and standards that were representative of those times.

It was Kate's submission to Petruchio which makes him a man, finally and indisputably. Kate earned bountiful respect from the other men in the closing scene, as she proved to fit the mold of the conventional woman in those times better than their wives did when the men placed a bet on who's wife would come to them first when called.

Petruchio did not break Kate's wit and will as a result of his process of 'taming', as some might perceive; he simply used them to his advantage, as is quite noticeable in the wager scene. This shows how Kate is becoming a statue sculpted by Petruchio. A Statue does what its creator intended it to do, with the statue of Katherine, her creator Petruchio intended to make her a conventional and obedient wife, and she makes clear Petruchio's process is working when he tests her when the couple is leaving for Baptista's residence. "Forward I pray, since we have come so far, and be it moon, or sun, or what you please. And if you please to call it a rush candle,