A reading of The Taming of the Shrew may cause women to shake their heads in disbelief at Kate's change in behavior for the pleasure of her husband. Further reading and analysis of the methods Petruchio used to tame his wife, however, provides an opposing view. Maybe Petruchio seems cruel in his treatment of Kate, but does he really have any other choice? What other ways could he have addressed Kate and her character? His method is unique and is obviously adapted to Kate's requirements. In fact, this unique method chosen by Petruchio himself is not only perfect for “taming” Kate, but also proves his love for his wife. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay From the first mention of Kate, Petruchio has an obvious desire for a challenge. One of the first things he mentions is that he is determined to find a rich wife. Hortensio points out, perhaps recognizing Petruchio's desire for challenge and playing on this desire to have a better chance of winning Bianca, that Kate is so astute that he would not recommend her to such a good friend (1.2.62- 3). If he really didn't want to recommend it, he wouldn't have even mentioned it as a possibility. Petruchio, however, demands: "if you know / One rich enough to be Petruchio's wife - / […] / Let her be as foul as Florentius's love was, / As old as Sibyl, and as cursed and cunning / Like Socrates' Xanthippe, or worse, / She does not move me, or does not take away, at least, / The side of affection in me” (1.2.64-72). There are surely other rich women in the area who are more like Bianca, but Petruchio doesn't want any other wife than Kate. Realizing that taming Kate will be a challenge, he yearns for her. The method used by Petruchio is unique. In his soliloquy, Petruchio explains this method to the reader. He keeps her hungry and unable to sleep well, but in a way that seems to look out for her best interests. As for the meat they must eat and the sheets on the bed, he finds in each “some undeserved fault” (4.1.188). He states that “it is a way to kill a woman with kindness, / And thus […] to curb her wild and stubborn temper” (4.1.197-8). By seeming to overprotect her and act excessively, he will annoy her to the point of obeying him. Because Kate is very stubborn and does not respond well to criticism, this method is well suited to her specific needs. Kate doesn't respond well to this method at first. She reacts angrily towards him, which only makes him kinder. He describes her as “pleasant, playful, fleeting and courteous, / But slow of speech, but sweet as spring flowers” ​​(2.1.246-7). In return, she continually throws out sarcastic responses. He gives her no option whether to marry him or not, but simply walks away from her stating that they will get married on Sunday, acting as if she had agreed (2.1.325). When the two marry, he shows up in old clothes and even swears at the priest during the ceremony (3.2.155-63). After the wedding, she tries to defy him by stating that she will stay at her father's house for the wedding celebration while he returns home. He does not allow her to linger, however, and on the way home he even lets his horse fall on top of her while cursing the servant for allowing this to happen rather than helping her. This even makes his servants wonder if he is not more astute than she (4.1.76). Her defiance and anger, she soon realizes, will get her nowhere. She quickly realizes that she simply has to agree with everything he tells her, even though she knows he haswrong, in order to find freedom. One wonders if Kate is simply playing the role of a submissive wife in order to get what she wants. This is most likely and almost certainly his plan. After trying to resist him and being defiant, she realizes that she will not be able to continue in this way. Instead, she realizes that it's better for her to agree with him, if only to please him. Her transformation occurs while she goes to her father's house. She states, after a brief disagreement over whether the sun or the moon came out, that if Petruchio says the sun came out then "from now on I swear that it will be so for me" even if it is truly the moon (4.5.15). She realizes that by simply agreeing with him, or at least pretending to agree with him, he is much nicer and easier to please. Petruchio may seem cruel in his treatment of Kate, but it is most likely an act. His servants are surprised to see how he behaves, proving that he doesn't normally act like this. For example, Nathaniel asks, “Peter, have you ever seen anything like this?” to which Peter responds: “He kills her according to his own mood” (4.1.169-70). He tests her new submissive nature by telling her that the man who approaches them on their way to her father's house is a young girl. She pleases her husband by praising the man's feminine features and only apologizes when her husband points out that the traveler is indeed a man. The method itself also seems cruel, but it may be the only choice he has left. Kate may never have responded to any other method. First, being beaten into submission usually only makes the victim timid and terrified of the attacker. If Petruchio had beaten Kate, she would have hated him and never become the woman he wanted and knew she could become. Second, Kate proved that she couldn't learn like the average person. After trying to teach her music, Hortensio declares that she will make a better soldier. When his father asks why, Hortensio replies: I simply told him that she had the wrong frets and that she lowered her hand to teach him the fingering. When, with a most impatient diabolical spirit, "Frettes, do you call that?" she said, “I’m going to get mad at them.” And with this word she struck me on the head, [...] While she called me a rascal, a fiddler, and a tinkling valet, with twenty such vile terms (2.1.150-9) It is evident through this experience that she doesn't have the patience of an average person to learn in an average way. Finally, if she had been allowed to continue on her path – even if others hoped that she would lose her cunning – she would never have changed. Her father doesn't know what to do with her or how to handle her because the situation has gotten out of control. He even warns Petruchio to prepare for "some unfortunate words" from his rebellious daughter (2.1.140). As we explore the different methods that could have been used, it becomes clear that Petruchio's method is the only one that would work with Kate. Some may say that Petruchio's goal is to make Kate more like Bianca, but that is not the case. Bianca is complicit in her own way and not the submissive wife that Petruchio tries to make Kate out to be. Bianca pretends to be absorbed in her studies, as when she tells her father: "My books and my instruments will be my company, / It is for them to look at and practice for myself" (1.1 .82-3). Although it is impossible to know for sure if she intends to study, it is safe to say that she only agrees to make her father happy. Later, when Lucentio “teaches” him, he, 2002. 147-180.