A Shrew or not a Shrew

1314 Words6 Pages
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 li’st 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

More about A Shrew or not a Shrew

Open Document