Wooing a Shrew
Taming of the Shrew is a show all about a mixture of mistaken identity, "taming" of women, and the views of the people within the play. From the time period, there was no real domestic abuse. Now, looking at the play, people can see the abuse of Katharina from Petruchio in the actions throughout the play. There is the gender roles that are tested, especially towards the end of the show. There are modern adaptations that allow for a more current view of the turn of events. While the story line is almost exactly the same, there are different takes on the actions taken by the characters.
Katharina and Petruchio are the two main characters in Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. Their "love story" is the central plot of the entire play. While there are other plot lines going on at the same time, most of the play is about their interactions. Petruchio is centered on "taming the shrew" for the dowry she comes with. On this subject, he says,
"Thus in plain terms: your father hath consented
That you shall be my wife, your dowry ‘greed on,
And will you, nill you, I will marry you.
Now Kate, I am a husband for your turn,
For by this light, whereby I see thy beauty—
Thy beauty that doth make me like thee well—
Thou must be married to no man but me,
For I am he am born to tame you, Kate,
And bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate
Conformable as other household Kates.
Here comes your father. Never make denial.
I must and will have Katherine to my wife."
Katharina is dead set on not losing her fiery personality. In fact, at the beginning of the play, she abhors the idea of marriage because she believes she doesn't need a man's attention to be who she is. She does not wish to lose herself to someone else's wishes. She does show a kind of jealousy towards Bianca, her sister, however. With all the attention from men that Bianca receives, which I believe includes their father, Kate feels almost unwanted even in her own home. Between Petruchio and Kate, there is plenty of fighting, anger, and yet somehow, there still seems to be love beneath society's requirements of them.