The Character of Petruchio “Spells Out the Brutal Realities of Patriarchal Ideology.” Rather Than Admire Him, Shakespeare Invites Us to Criticize the Character and the Patriarchal Social Structure That Has Created Him.

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When one first encounters the character of Petruchio, it would appear that he is the hero in this play. He is dominating and masculine. The first hint of the masculinity Petruchio exudes is in Act 1 scene 2: where we first meet him. The way he treats his servant, Grumio, is with impatience and violence (although in this scene Grumio is deliberately winding him up.) You can compare the character of Petruchio to the part of Il Capitano (The Captain); a character from the commedia dell’arte. For example Il Capitan is typically portrayed as a soldier, and Petruchio often talks of war and battle, for instance in Act 1 Scene 2 Petruchio boasts to his comrades; “Have I not in my time heard lions roar?...Have I not heard great ordnance in the field, And heaven’s artillery thunder in the skies?” Another similarity between the two characters is they are both shrouded in mystery. One of the ways he maintains this image of a victorious veteran is the fact he is usually not from the area where it’s set, so there is no-one who truly knows him to correct him if he twists the truth. Il Capitan is depicted as being greedy and opportunistic; which clearly, Petruchio is as his only motive for wooing Katherina in the first place is in order to procure her generous dowry. The wedding scene is a scene of much all-round confusion; for both the characters on stage and the audience. Petruchio, who has already been playing mind games with Katherina when first attempting to woo her, starts acting yet more strangely. Where before he was playfully twisting her words, and acting as though she and he were completely in love, Petruchio has completely changed his game. He turns up to his own wedding hours late, and dressed in ridiculous, old clothing. Not only is Kate confused and embarrassed but we as the audience are also perplexed as to what Petruchio is trying to achieve by this; we know

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