Petruchio arrives late on Sunday, and so brings distress then shame to poor Katherina. Initially she fears that she will become an old maid, and then at his arrival she is embarrassed more so as he appears in a manner to ridicule her. She shows a more soft, emotional and vulnerable side in the period where she awaits Petruchio, and this femininity is something she previously would not have allowed to show. He proves his dominance over her through the ridiculous attire and poor horse. It shows that by the mere clothes he wears he can crush and humiliate her. Kate may not wish to be matched to someone dressed in this way, but she and Petruchio both realise that she has no alternative and so will have to accept whatever bad treatment she may receive.
Katherina consents to continue with the wedding and the tone of the relationship is set, as he has dominated her and humiliated her, put his needs before her own before they are even married. This shows Kate’s new acceptance of reality, and shows how she now must accept that she cannot always get her way though violence and rudeness, and now she must pursue happiness through kindness to others, since it is at his mercy that he should take her. Before she has merely complained of injustices, now she begins to accept her position, and soon after, her newly prescribed social role.
Another aspect of the wedding is that it is here she first pleads with a member of the opposite sex, and for the first time sees being polite can be an asset in attaining what you want. She makes a personal plea when Petruchio informs the guests he is leaving, “Let me entreat you” and he answers “I am content”, she asks again in hope “Are you content to stay?”, and he replies “I am content you shall entreat me to stay – But yet not stay, entreat me how you can”, which also makes the first polite compliment received in public by her.
Katherina is worn down, which again shows that Petruchio can dominate her. So she says, “Gentlemen, forward to the bridal dinner. I see a woman may be made a fool; If she had not a spirit to resist.” Her husband then echoes the command, giving the idea that any power she has must be dealt out initially from him now. Katherina does not appear to resist this, and is beginning to realise that she must accept a new social role, submissive to a husband.
Petruchio stating to all at the gathering that Kate is his property, declaring that he “will be master of what is mine own. She is my goods…”, this hints to his intentions of taming her, and enforcing the idea of marital harmony of the time upon their relationship, with himself as “master”. However, like any other item of his property, he bids to protect her, comforting her to “-Fear not, sweet wench, they shall not touch thee, Kate; I’ll buckler thee against a million”, this echoing the idea of marital harmony and how he shall in turn offer her comfort and protection.
The pair then swiftly head to Petruchio’s country house, even before the wedding banquet. At the house, he continues through a variety of plots in his course of taming her. During dealings with the servants, Petruchio is particularly harsh in his manner, and interestingly we see the equally harsh and unreasonable Katherina attempting to reason to her husband that he should not be so unkind, “I pray you, husband, be not so disquiet. The meat was well, if you were so contented”. She sees how he is to people, and realises it is wrong. This is for her like a view on how she has been to others, and viewing it from an onlooker’s eyes means she can feel pity and empathy, making her understand and show a softer side. This feminine quality has previously been particularly lacking, and so this is another significant change. Supported by her almost instantaneous change in demeanour, she is now more softly spoken and polite, and intimidated by her present male company – something new for Kate, all this shows she has respect for Petruchio, also a major ingredient of love and the marital harmony.
Petruchio then plots to enforce a respect and intimidation, to “make her come and know her keeper’s call”, and proudly explains how “She ate no eat today, nor none she shall eat. Last night she slept not, nor tonight she shall not” in his efforts to “kill a wife with kindness And thus I’ll curd her mad and headstrong humour.” He is confident he shall succeed, and onlookers find these events ironic, such as Peter when he comments that he intends to “kill(s) her in her own humour”. This all explains Petruchio’s harsh actions, that he intends to show her the results of the way she is, and he must therefore ‘become a shrew to tame a shrew’.
Later Kate confides in Grumio how she feels; she seems personally hurt, and very unhappy. She seems deeply wounded and does not at that stage fully understand how this terrible treatment can be justified “under name of perfect love”. On a personal level she is despairing and appears to feel lonely and hopeless. Kate is led to believe that Grumio will provide her with food, but each time withdraws the offer once she accepts, declaring it unfit for her. She then loses her temper, and though it still happens, it is significantly less so to how she would have reacted previously. It shows her will is breaking, and she is less concerned with her own rights now. It is also interesting that she never hits Petruchio, which could show a fear, respect, love or intimidation in the relationship, which was believed to be healthy in the period of this play’s writing. Resistance was more evident here, but then she was still upset. The way she still beats him and shows a glimpse of her past shrewish self is a similar device as to used by Shakespeare in other plays such as Macbeth, where he shows a glimpse of what once was but then destroyed just before the end and his fate has been sealed. The audience is reminded of how she used to be, which increases awareness of the changes that have taken place.
Shortly after this she is asked to describe her condition, she says she is “as cold as can be”, showing she is less strong, just bitter, annoyed, betrayed and frustrated, since there would have been a time she would have taken the chance to strike out. Katherina begs Petruchio for food, then thanking him, and she has lost her rudeness and has begun to act to his will. Another occasion, in the tailors, she is again forced to beg for the gown and cap, and this time her opinion goes unheard and undervalued. This continues to break her and helps her to understand that she should be less opinionated, which naturally was a very unfeminine, and thus undesirable feature of that time.
On the journey back to visit Baptista, Petruchio tests the value of his opinion when it contradicts her own, the truth. He tells her the light in the sky is the moon, and she at first challenges it. He then threatens to turn back unless she agrees with him, and so she says it is the moon when it is, in her initial opinion, and in truth, the sun. He then changes his mind and it is the sun, so she says she will say it is whatever he please it is, displaying her lack of independent thought how she now holds his thoughts and opinions above her own, that he can control and dominate her thoughts. This all encourages her dependence and the apparent worship he now receives from her.
Petruchio then tests the extremity of what Kate has declared, and tells her that an old man before them is in truth a beautiful maiden. Then, Petruchio turns and says the truth, that “This is a man, old wrinkled, faded, withered, And not a maiden, as thou say’st he is.” Then, interestingly, Katherina apologises to the old man for the mistake, and takes the fault upon herself. This shows she will from there onwards take a submissive role and avoid standing up for herself, and not be concerned about things like pride, which previously would have dominated her social interactions. Instead, her husband takes precedence. The old Kate, before her marriage to Petruchio, would have jumped to assert blame onto someone else. However, her current devoted and passive nature means she jumps to the defensive, in this action being graceful, polite, calm and subdued, much like the idealised woman of the period, and the initial perception of Bianca.
By this stage, Kate has become very subdued, and is far more close to the perception of ideal womanhood held at the time. She has changed completely, and her surrendering continues to amaze an audience remembering the past behaviour of this shrew. She has changed very much in demeanour, as she now fits a social role model of being a wife, though at this stage still integrating the details. She is undeniably more passive, calmer, sweeter, more graceful and thus, more desirable, and we see such a great change on the character that this man Petruchio has had upon her.
