Essential #8

Are Katherine and Petruchio in love?

In The Taming of the Shrew, Katherine and Petruchio are far from being in love. From the moment that the audience was introduced to Petruchio, his motives for pursuing Katherine were known: “I come to wive it wealthily in Padua; If wealthily, then happily in Padua” (1.2.76-77). Yes, Petruchio was willing to put up with Katherine, but not because he was in love with her, because he was well aware of the benefits. Once Petruchio is married to Katherine, because her father is so wealthy, Petruchio will receive a large dowry. This marriage was more of a business proposal than the union of two people who love each other. Also, towards the end of the play when Katherine is talking about a wife’s duties and obligations towards their husbands, she talks of these obligations as if they were for a king or as a form of repayment: “Such duty as the subject owes the prince, Even such a woman oweth to her husband” (5.2.171-172). When a woman talks about the good deeds that they do for their husbands it should not be because they owe it to them, but because they deserve it. After Katherine makes her speech to the other wives about how they should be obsequious to their husbands, Petruchio treats Katherine as if she were a well trained dog. Thus, Katherine and Petruchio’s marriage was based on wealth and Petruchio’s ability to tame Katherine, not on love.