Taming of the Shrew Theme exploration In the play Taming of the Shrew William Shakespeare tells the story of two sisters Bianca and Katherine and their needs to find a husband. The catch is that their father, Baptista, will not let Bianca marry until Katherine does. Katherine is considered a shrew and will be very difficult to find a husband for. Petruchio is in great need of money and becomes determined to tame Katherine and become her husband. William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew explores numerous themes. Three themes especially deserving of a deeper dissection consists of companionship as salvation from oneself, manipulation through one’s gender roles, and winning by losing. These three themes combined creates the overall message William Shakespeare was trying to share in Taming of the Shrew. The message of how marriage is more about oneself than about true love between a husband and wife. Petruchio …show more content…
She will not come! O, vile, intolerable, not to be endured! Sirrah Grumio, go to your mistress. Say I command her to come to me.”(5, 2, 91-94).Petruchio is rageful towards Katherine because she did not come when she was called. This is showing how Petruchio doesn’t see her as a human and he sees her more as a puppet, something he can control without any backlash. He believed that all wives should behave this way. Petruchio shows his misogyny once again when he is speaking with Batista, Katherine’s father and says “Yea, and to marry her, if her dowry please” (1, 2, 183). A dowry is a payment given to the groom from the bride's family after a marriage. Petruchio is saying he will marry Kate if her dowry is satisfying to him. He is not interested in love, he is just interested in the wealth Katherine’s family holds. Once again Petruchio is dehumanizing his future wife by seeing her simply for her money and not for who she