Katherina’s wooing, or rather, her taming is portrayed through many scenes. The initial “sale” of Katherina by Baptista reflects and foreshadows how she is treated by all – a burden. This is until Pertucio come along; he does not see her as a burden. However, nether does he see her as an ideal wife or woman. Instead, he looks upon her as a source of wealth, and, like all great fortunes, she can only be achieved with some suffering, thus resulting in the ‘taming’/‘wooing’.
Up to, and including act 3, the closest thing to which Petrucio came of wooing is the first conversation which he has with Katherina. Here, Katherina is clearly hostile. However, Pertucio correspond to her taunts and takes opposites of exactly what she means, thus degrading her, as well as making her submissive. Another example of the wooing process is when Pertucio arrives, late and dressed in rags, for his wedding day. This clearly annoyed and frustrated Katherina – as well as leading her to be more humiliated. However, these were essentially not wooing processes, but rather, processes of taming. Therefore, we must conclude that there was no such wooing present between Katherina and Pertucio.
Bianca, on the other hand, is courted by three gentlemen, who seek her hand both for her beauty and her womanly qualities. Therefore, when she is kept locked in her house by her father, two of her suitor’s disguise themselves as tutors in order to woo her. Once again, a classic fairy tale.
What follows is a series of complicated wooing procedures where Bianca is clearly in control. She has both the freedom and the opportunity to pick her suitors, as all of them come from wealthy backgrounds and would be accepted by her father.
In conclusion, while Katherina is simply “carted” away by Pertucio, who then proceeds to tame her, Bianca’s suitors employ a complex wooing dance in order to win her hand.
