In William Shakespeare’s “The taming of the shrew” is about two sisters and their love interests. Bianca is incredibly beautiful and has numerous suitors asking for her hand, and Katherine, is quick tongued and has been deemed as a shrew. Their father, Baptista, decides Bianca cannot be married off until Katherina is, thus Bianca’s suitors plan to ‘tame’ the shrew so they can finally attain Bianca’s hand in marriage. The play explores the themes of hate, sexism, love and how in societies eyes that the perfect wife is obedient.
Although Katherine and Bianca are sisters their relationship is quite strained, Katherine feels envious of her sister’s beauty and status. Their relationship is filled with hatred from Katherine along with Bianca’s sense of superiority towards the other as their father is fonder of her, as she has numerous men courting her. In a general sense, the common rivalry between siblings is also often manifested in physical violence. This is portrayed in a specific sense in the play in Act II, scene I, where “the cruel Katherine” has bound Bianca's hands and is questioning her about suitors, when Bianca laughs at Katherine, Katherine hits her. Their relationship is filled with jealousy, and we only really get to see their growth once they both are getting
…show more content…
Petruchio tries to manipulate Katherine by using techniques to “tame” her. “Eventually, she becomes so enraged that she hits him, but he continues the game just the same, saying that he will marry her whether she is willing: “will you, nill you, I will marry you” (II.i.263). Petruchio goes to Kate’s father and manipulates him into thinking that Katherine has consented to marry him, but Baptista when met with the truth from Katherine, does not believe her, as she may be his daughter, but Petruchio is a