WILD CAT FOR A WIFE (TAMING OF THE SHREW)

The story promotes inequality of females by forcing them into submissive roles.

·         Baptista treats his daughter, expecting them always to do his bidding. It is he who decides whom Bianca will marry (the richest bachelor) and it is he who orders Kath’s betrothal to Petruchio a man she despises.

·         Petruchio forces Kath to acknowledge that he is always right. At the end all the husbands brag about what they apparently believe is an important quality of a wife: submissiveness.

Using reverse psychology, Petruchio praises, pampers and coddles Katharine in order to rob her of the occasion to complain and thereby kill her scolding tongue.

Various issues arise from the story, such as the question of what roles men and women can and should play in society and in relationship to each other. Is Petruchio a loving husband who teaches his maladjusted bride to find happiness in marriage, or is he a clever bully who forces her to bow to his will? Does Katherina's acquiescence in playing the part of the obedient wife reflect a joyous acceptance of her assigned role as a married woman and the beginning of a fulfilling partnership with her husband? Does it, instead, mean that she has learned to play the obedient wife in public so as to get her own way in private? Or does it reflect the defeat of a spirited and intelligent woman forced to give in to a society that dominates and controls women and allows them only very limited room for self-expression?