Essay on the Growth of Katherina in Taming of the Shrew

The Growth of Katherina in Taming of the Shrew Although Katherinas final speech in The Taming of the Shrew may sound subservient on the surface, it actually reflects her growth and development into a stronger and more complex character. Without losing the forcefulness that she displayed earlier in the play, the delivery of her final speech exhibits the cleverness and deceptiveness that she has learned from Petruchio throughout the taming process. At the beginning of the play, Katherina is seen as the forceful sister and Bianca as the clever one. Katherina is described by Grumio as the fiend of hell (I.i.88) and by Tranio as curst and shrewd (I.i.180). In contrast, Lucentio sees in Biancas silence mild behavior and†¦show more content†¦After he wins Biancas love with his cleverness, he assumes that she will remain silent and obedient when she becomes his wife. He doesnt realize that Bianca is also very clever and that her earlier mild behavior has been a pose. Lucentio is so sure of Biancas subservience that he wagers a hundred crowns with Petruchio that Bianca will come when he sends for her. However, the cleverness he used to win Biancas love did not ensure her obedience as his wife and he loses the wager. Petruchio--like Katherina--is very strong and forceful. However, his forcefulness is viewed as a positive masculine attribute, whereas Katherinas forcefulness is seen as a negative, shrewish trait. But Petruchio is not only forceful; he--like Bianca and Lucentio--is also quite clever. He seems to relish the challenge of taming Katherina, both for the sport of it as well as the monetary rewards that she will bring to their marriage. In order to tame Katherina, Petruchio freely uses both force and cleverness. At their first meeting, he cleverly sings her praises: Hearing thy mildness praisd in every town,/Thy virtues spoke of, and thy beauty sounded,/Yet not so deeply as to thee belongs (II.i.191-93). While he proceeds with witty praise, Katherina responds with insults and at one point strikes Petruchio (II.i.219). Petruchio is unfazed and warns Katherina that he will