Katherine Minola Taming Of The Shrew

Lies and deception that consume William Shakespeare’s play are made out to be a joke in The Taming of the Shrew, yet the center of the comedy revolves around the most honest character on set. Katherine Minola, the first daughter of Baptista Minola, was only portrayed as “shrewd,” through other characters’ assuming perception of her persona (Shakespeare 1.2.91). Those characters openly criticize her throughout the play and treat her like an animal by not giving her any sort of acknowledgment. Furthermore, Katherine has no voice at the beginning because she was silenced by the stubborn patriarchal sovereignty that degrades the idea of a woman’s opinion, thus their society perceives Katherine’s outspoken nature to be shrewish. She understood that

these men only heard what they wanted to hear, so Katherine went along and played out to be remarkably bold and harsh, the only interpretation of her that Shakespeare provides without giving Katherine’s own perspective. Katherine’s inability to gain listeners can explain why Shakespeare had drawn Petruchio another strong-willed character that rivaled Katherine’s rough attitude, into the picture.

Petruchio’s arrival not only marks new opportunities for Baptista to sell his most prized daughter, Bianca, which had allowed Bianca’s suitors to fully boast and appeal, and get rid of the despised Katherine, but also introduces an escape for Katherine to establish a new reputation. Petruchio sought to pursue Katherine through methods of positively taming her and his persistent personality lead them to accomplish Shakespeare’s joyous ordeal of marriage. The outspoken Katherine and selfish Petruchio were initially battling each other from opposite ends of their aberrant relationship, however as they discover parallel traits and succumb to one another’s schemes, their strange compatibility reveals that a shared passion is key to success in the ideal form of long

companionship.
In “The Good Marriage of Katherine and Petruchio,” by David Daniell, the author criticizes the Shakespeare’s purpose in conjoining the two eccentric characters together. Daniell accuses Petruchio to have treated Katherine as an animal in order to her to satisfy his and society’s expectations of an ideal wife. He also claims that Shakespeare’s purpose of the placing Petruchio and Katherine together was to support the “central metaphor of the play” that is “a shrewish woman is less than human, even less than a woman, do may be treated like an animal” (Daniell 329). With that notion in mind, Daniell asserts that Petruchio’s show towards Katherine was never sincere, rather it was simply to benefit himself by having an object that bends to his rule, like an animal. He concludes that the comedy is no longer humorous “when Petruchio begins to give Kate ultimatums, which I know he can and will enforce, that the play begins to give me a sinking feeling” (Daniell 330). For example, Petruchio further imposes his power over Katherine by “physical taming,” such as starving her after they got married and left for Petruchio’s house in the countryside because he has complete control over her there, representing Daniell’s declaration of their unfair relationship (Daniell 331). As Petruchio gained greater access to Katherine’s vulnerable side through patriarchal ideology, the Daniell pronounces in this article that Katherine had gradually lost her authentic voice, and began to lose herself as she conformed to social standards as Petruchio is the only one who gains through their marriage.
However, there remains to be the possibility that Petruchio is not a character that stands against Katherine. He was the only one that was able to pierce through her false barrier of acting like a shrew because he had discovered that facade of hers due to his heavy persistence. Petruchio’s recognition that she is simply pretending to be what she is not because of a strong patriarchy in their society, transformed his initial goal from selfishness to developing a consideration of Katherine’s feelings and position. To Katherine, Petruchio is different in comparison to the other men in her life because it appears as if he has interest in her, he had never insulted her nor rejects her outright, but simply battles her brave and strong demeanor with his and even killing her with compliments in their first encounter. For instance, he proclaims to Baptista that “she’s not froward, but modest as the dove; She is not hot, but temperate as the morn,” which in turn shocks everyone, including Katherine (Shakespeare 2.1.310-11). He pursues to tame her by making her vulnerable to seeing their similarity in being unique and authentic, such as humiliating the both of them at their wedding by oddly dressing in rags and ditching the reception. Nevertheless, her walls do begin crumbling when he proudly announces “I choose her for myself” and that they will marry on a Sunday because she exits at the same time as Petruchio without a rebuttal (Shakespeare 2.1.321). Katherine’s unanticipated actions reveal that she is starting giving in to Petruchio’s plan, becoming less opposed against the idea that their marriage would cause her to be even more miserable than her current situation. As their bond strengthens, so does the theme of social expectations that these two characters further enhance through their bickering because of Katherine’s defiant language that goes against Petruchio’s words and signifies her maintained backbone in their marriage, despite the outside appearance of Petruchio having the upper hand.
The couple’s compatibility is supported in “Neither a Tamer nor a Shrew Be: A Defense of Petruchio and Katherine” by Corinne S. Abate. The article insists that Katherine does not lose herself in a situation where she has no control, instead Abate pushes forth that Katherine had gained more stability and power than she did before her marriage to Petruchio. Katherine and Petruchio’s similar strong-willed personalities that isolate them from the rest of the characters allows her to speak and be heard, and have a partner whom stands by and guides her in faulting others’ misinterpretation of her. Rather than perceiving that Petruchio’s actions towards Katherine is of inhuman domestic training, Abate asserts that Katherine “understands that it is all a game. To win, she must attain for and by herself a constructed artifice and the knowledge that in creating an artifice, she is ironically achieving a more essential ontology in private” and Petruchio has made that opportunity available to her (Abate 305). Petruchio acknowledges her pitiful situation, “for it is only Katherine who can regain her agency that was so wrongly appropriated by her father and in the resulting, unjustified shrewish reputation she has had to bear,” so he attracts her attention and forces her mask to break for her to come out of the shell and truly display herself (Abate 305). Through their marriage, Katherine has finally found the power it takes to prove the accusers wrong, and she will do so with her husband’s help. As Daniell declares, Petruchio had unfairly starved Katherine, but in argument, when she exited that scene Petruchio had also left with her and did not eat as well because she did not, symbolizing equality in both roles. Abate proclaims that their reciprocating relationship concerns with the notion that Katherine provides him with the image of an obedient wife whom he can trust to boost his prominent reputation, a large dowry, and a partner whom he can The mutuality between the two inspires the idea of secrecy and isolation that separates the married couple from the rest of the world. They have spent a plethora of time with each other that the audience did not thoroughly follow, including their journey to Lucentio and Bianca’s wedding. Between their discovery of Lucentio’s father and their arrival at Baptista’s, the characters nor audience can perceive what they converse about. The possibilities range widely, however with Katherine’s sudden submissive outcomes, which baffled everyone, may lead to the assumption that they have sealed a secret deal that only they know of. Through analyzing Katherine’s shockingly reversed attitude about patriarchal sovereignty and female submission to males in the last act lead to both the characters’ and audience’s astonishment. Her sudden transformation can be taken as her final answer to Petruchio’s game, that she has accepted his provided opportunity to mock and revenge for her mistreated esteem.
Though their brazen nature clashes, it also mends the two to form an ideal liaison.

By being dauntlessly audacious, Katherine’s truthfulness draws in Petruchio’s trust and devotion, and Petruchio’s security and boldness to go against the current for them both appeals to Katherine’s loyalty. She recognizes his trick in mocking the other characters and jumps in to humiliate them and gain their respect, such as Hortensio attempting to follow Petruchio’s footsteps. Petruchio helps her realize that she does not have to stand alone against a world filled with those who had refused to give her a chance to truly present herself, thus his respectable status helps her by being a partner who can make her look like the idea wife that disproves everyone’s initial perception of her. She could never prove them wrong because of the patriarchal ideology, and he gives her that opportunity by marrying-something others highly doubted. Kate provides Petruchio with dowry and a strong-minded wife whom he enjoys because she is honest to herself and does not conform. Furthermore, she also provides him the satisfaction of triumphing the other men with an ideal wife that he has seemingly molded her into through the powerful speech she addresses. Both characters share a secret understanding of what society desires and they help each other’s cruel satisfaction by mockingly representing that through their compatible

marriage.