A reading of The Taming of the Shrew can make women shake their heads in disbelief at Kate's change in behavior to her husband's pleasure. A more careful reading and analysis of the methods used by Petruchio to tame his wife, however, provide an opposite vision. Perhaps Petruchio seems cruel in the way he treats Kate, but does he really have any other choice? What other ways could he have gotten closer to Kate and her character? Her method is unique and is obviously adapted to Kate's demanding ways. Indeed, this unique craft method chosen by Petruchio himself is not only perfect for "taming" Kate, but also demonstrates his love for his wife. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Petruchio, from the first mention of Kate, has an obvious desire for challenge. One of the first things he mentions is that he is determined to find a rich wife. Hortensio points out, perhaps recognizing Petruchio's desire for challenge and playing on that desire to have a better chance of winning Bianca, that Kate is so shrewd that he would not recommend her to a good friend (1.2.62-3). If he really didn't want to recommend it, he wouldn't even mention it as a possibility. Petruchio, however, asks: "if you know / One rich enough to be Petruchio's wife - / […] / May she be as disgusting as Florentius' love was, / Old as Sibyl, and as cursed and cunning / As Socrates' Xanthippe , or worse, / It does not move me, or at least it does not remove, / the edge of affection in me” (1.2.64-72). Surely there are other rich women in the area who are more like Bianca, but Petruchio does not want any other woman than Kate. Recognizing that taming Kate will be a challenge, he longs for her. Petruchio's method is unique well, but in a way that seems to be looking out for his best interest. As for the meat to eat and the sheets of the bed, he finds in each “some undeserved guilt” (4.1.188). a wife with kindness, / And so […] curb his foolish and stubborn humor” (4.1.197-8). By seeming to over-protect and over-indulge her, he will annoy her to the point of obeying. Since Kate is very stubborn and does not respond well to criticism, this method is suited to her specific needs. At first Kate doesn't respond well to this method. She reacts angrily towards him, which only makes him act nicer. He refers to her as "pleasant, playful, almost courteous, / But slow of speech, yet sweet as spring flowers" (2.1.246-7). In return, he continually throws out sarcastic responses. He gives her no choice whether to marry him or not, but simply walks away stating that they will be married on Sunday, acting as if she agrees (2.1.325). When the two get married, he appears dressed in old clothes and even curses the priest during the ceremony (3.2.155-63). After the wedding, she tries to challenge him by stating that she will stay at her father's house for the wedding celebration while he returns home. He doesn't allow her to linger, however, and on the way home he even lets the horse fall on top of her while cursing the servant for allowing this to happen instead of helping her. This makes even his servants wonder if he is not more cunning than her (4.1.76). Her defiance and anger, she quickly realizes, will get her nowhere. She soon realizes that, to find freedom, she simply needs to agree with everything he tells her, even if she knows he's wrong. You might wonder if Kate isn't simply playing the part of onesubmissive wife to get what she wants. wants. This is most likely and almost certainly his plan. After trying to resist him and with an attitude of defiance, he realizes that he will not be able to continue in this way. Instead, she comes to the conclusion that it is better for her to agree with him, if only to please him. His transformation occurs while traveling to his father's house. He states, after a brief disagreement over whether the sun or the moon has come out, that if Petruchio says the sun is out then "from now on I swear it will be so with me" even if it is really the moon (4.5. 15). He realizes that simply by agreeing with him, or at least pretending to agree with him, he is much kinder and easier to please. Petruchio may seem cruel in the way he treats Kate, but it is most likely an act. His servants are surprised to see how he acts, showing that he doesn't normally act like this. For example, Nathaniel asks, “Peter, have you ever seen such a thing?” to which Peter responds: “He kills her according to his mood” (4.1.169-70). He tests her new submissive nature by telling her that the man who approaches them as they go to her father is a girl. She humors her husband by praising the man's feminine traits and only apologizes when her husband points out that the traveler is indeed a man. The method itself also seems cruel, but perhaps it is the only choice he has. Kate may never have responded to any other method. First, being beaten into submission usually only causes the victim to become timid and terrified of the attacker. If Petruchio had beaten Kate, she would have hated him and would never have become the woman he wanted and knew she could become. Secondly, Kate proved that she can't be taught like the average person. After trying to teach her music, Hortensio claims that she will become a better soldier. When her father asks why this happens, Hortensio replies: I only told her that he had exchanged the keys and bent his hand to teach her the fingering, when, with a very impatient devilish spirit, "Keys, are you called these?" she said, "I'll get mad at them." And with that word he hit me on the head, […]While he called me a rascal, a fiddler, and a posh jack, with twenty such vile terms (2.1.150-9 ) It is obvious from this experience that he does not have the patience of the average person to learn in an average way. Ultimately, if she had been allowed to continue on her path – even as others hoped her cunning would grow – she would never have changed. Her father doesn't know what to do with her or how to handle her because the situation has gotten out of hand. He even warns Petruchio to prepare for “some unhappy words” from his wayward daughter (2.1.140). By exploring the different methods that could have been used, it becomes clear that Petruchio's method is the only one that would have worked for Kate. Some might argue that Petruchio's goal is to make Kate more like Bianca, but this is not the case. Bianca is conniving in her own way and is not the submissive wife Petruchio is trying to make Kate. Bianca pretends to be absorbed in her studies, as when she tells her father, "My books and my instruments shall be my company, / Upon them I will look and practice alone" (1.1.82-3). Although it is impossible to know for sure whether he intends to study, it could be argued that he only accepts to make his father happy. Later, when Lucentio is "teaching" her, he tells her who he really is and that he is not a teacher. Unable to face Hortensio and tell him that she is not interested in him – as Kate would have done – she allows him to continue his failed attempt to play his instrument. She also reads aloud his scale of notes in which he makes each note an acronym demonstrating his desire for her (3.1.72-7)., 2002. 147-180.