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“In the literature of Love, men are always more dominant and have more to say than women to prove this”
In light of this view, discuss how Shakespeare presents Petruchio in this extract (from 2
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As an Elizabethan playwright Shakespeare is inevitably going to be influenced by 16th
century culture and ideals - at this time marriage was seen as a financial transaction and women were the
property of men
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Although the extract contains evidence of Petruchio and Katherina’s badinage - “‘Asses are made to bare and
so are you
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’” Petruchio is given a soliloquy to outline his intents
with marriage that Katherina is denied: “If she deny to wed, I’ll crave the day when I shall ask the banns and
when be married
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Male
dominance is integral to this extract: adding the soliloquy so Petruchio can directly address the audience creates an intimacy with the audience so they are more likely to sympathise with him; Katherina is denied this
(in the extract and throughout most of the play) and as a result she becomes an un-relatable, mythical character that few sympathise with
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Reducing Katherina’s name to ‘Kate’ not only takes away her name but also her identity; this scene
marks the beginning of Petruchio moulding Katherina into his ideal woman despite her clear admonishment
of him (“No such jade as you”)
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” The proxemics of this
shows clear power emanating from Katherina whereas Petruchio looks foolish and confused
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The characterisation of Petruchio as a brash misogynist who doesn’t listen to women is evident throughout
the play, but especially after the wedding in Act 3 Scene 2
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” This is a further example of Katherina being deliberately alienated from the audience
- her eight line speech is cut short by Petruchio who is again allowed to outline his own ideology; he is allowed to speak, Katherina is denied a voice
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The stage directions after Petruchio’s speech are “Exeunt Petruchio, Katherina and Grumio”: this is
open ended as to whether Katherina leaves of her own will or is physically dragged from the stage by her
new husband
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” [PET] “Grumio, my horse!”) however Marxist feminist interpretation could take great issue with the notion of equating women with “house-hold stuff ” and the
disrespect of Katherina’s bodily autonomy as “she must with [Petruchio]
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Although Katherina engages
in arguments with Petruchio in different parts of the play she is spoken over and debased to the point where
she finally gives in - “I see now our lances are but straws
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As a production, the Taming of the Shrew is structurally designed to deny women any real chance of having
as much to say as men: there are only four women throughout the play, with only Katherina and Bianca having major roles
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This soliloquy is essentially reducing Katherina to a wild animal in need of taming; Petruchio’s speech in Act 4 Scene 1 uses a semantic field of wild animal imagery to describe his new wife “My falcon…her keeper’s call…these kites”, the
effect of which is to fully dehumanise Katherina and make her entirely un-relatable to an audience
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” Not having any female characters on stage to rebuke this speech proves that
Shakespeare intended the character of Petruchio to be far more verbose than his female counterpart
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Shakespeare closes the
soliloquy with: “He that knows better how to tame a shrew, now let him speak
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For Shakespearean standards, Petruchio’s portrayal as far more dominant and verbose than Katherina is typical for that era of romantic literature: societal expectations of women restricted their rights heavily so they
were merely the property of men, with their fathers and husbands figuratively and literally speaking for them
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Shakespeare’s characterisation of Petruchio as an arrogant and domineering individual - both in how he is allowed
to speak more often than Katherina and his general attitude towards women - is typical of Shakespearean
literature and gender expectations, however by modern standards his behaviour would be considered highly
abusive and manipulative

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