18 Facts About Petruchio

Petruchio is a fortune seeker who enters into a marriage with a strong-willed young woman named Kate and then proceeds to "tame" her temperamental spirit.

Petruchio takes an interest in Kate, owing to the dowry he could potentially receive, and agrees.

Petruchio then starts to try to "tame" his wife in a variety of ways.

Petruchio then offers Kate dresses and jewellery, only to return them saying that they too weren't good enough.

When Bianca and Lucentio are married, Petruchio refuses to let Kate go to the wedding unless she agrees with everything he says, regardless of the validity of his claims.

Petruchio puts her to the test by telling her that a man is a woman and that the moon is the sun – she agrees with both statements.

At the wedding, Petruchio is taunted by Hortensio and Lucentio for having married a "shrew".

Petruchio proposes a contest to see which man has the most obedient wife: The three men are to call for their wives to see which ones respond.

Petruchio is debatably the most complex character in The Taming of the Shrew.

One popular opinion is that Petruchio is, for the most part, a selfish misogynist determined to tame Katharine for his own convenience and pride.

Petruchio simply wanted to tame her to be able to say he tamed the most shrewish woman.

The counterargument is that Petruchio develops love for Katharine and tames her because he sees her shrewishness as a condition that she cannot cure on her own.

Regardless, Petruchio seems to believe, like most members of Christian society did at the time, that society is most stable if women are submissive to their husbands.

Petruchio's character is very powerful in that the light in which we view him can change the play from a story of male chauvinism to an absurdist comedy.

Petruchio believes that the only way to get through to Katharine is by giving her a taste of her own medicine.

Petruchio takes on the role of a shrew to prove to his wife that this kind of behaviour is unpleasant.

Petruchio makes a scene as he shows up late to his own wedding, and dressed inappropriately for the occasion.

Petruchio decides that he will be the one to determine when Katharine will eat or sleep, believing that depriving her of her needs makes her more submissive to him.