Essay About Friend Hortensio And Petruchios Response

The Taming of the Shrew
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Taming of the Shrew 2
In the Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio recognizes, respects and
desires Kates intelligence and strength of character. He does not
want to conquer or truly tame her. He is a man who is very
confident in himself and does not want or need someone to
massage his ego. Petruchio seems to me to be a man of sport
and challenge and likes to surround himself with witty, challenging
people. He wants in a mate what Kate has – fire.
From Petruchios response to his friend Hortensio (I.ii.64-75), it
might be said that Petruchio came to Padua to make himself
richer by marriage, to any woman, no matter how wretched.
Petruchio is not in desperate need of money (I.ii.56-57). He tells
Hortensio (I.ii.49-57) that his father has died and that he is out in
the world to gain experiences he cannot at home and only
secondarily to find a wife. Also, immediately before this
declaration, is the scene of misunderstanding between he and his
servant Grumio about knocking on the gate (I.ii.5-43). I see this
exchange as demonstration of his enjoyment of verbal sport, a
good example of Petruchios sense of humor and his appreciation
of things non-conventional. Though Petruchio may not agree with
what society has determined to be proper and dignified, he is
aware of the importance of appearing to conform. In what he
says to Hortensio, I feel he is simply extending this sport and
humor into the ironic.
It is in Hortensios description of Kate that I believe Petruchios
interest is captured. Hortensio describes Kate (I.ii.85-89) as
wealthy, young, beautiful, properly brought up intolerably cursed,
shrewed and froward. Though Hortensio finds the last three traits
negative characteristics, Petruchio appears to be a man who also
posses, and is proud of, these negative qualities. That the
qualities are considered negative in Kate and not Petruchio is a
reflection of the societal standards of the fifteen hundreds. It was
okay for a man to be that way, but not a woman. Petruchio is the
kind of man who would want a mate with similar qualities to his
own to challenge him, sharpen his wits and keep his interest. If he
had wanted someone who was conformed to societies
expectations, or who had already determined to deceive by
concealing opinions and views, he would have chosen someone
more like Bianca. However, Petruchio is a clever man who sees
beyond faħades because he uses them, in addition to a lot of
irony himself (II.i.46), (II.i.283-289).
It is clear in Grumio and his other servants (as demonstrated in
the opening of act 4 (IV.i.1-113) that Petruchio prefers the
interesting to the conventional. But because Petruchio
understands the ways of society, he knows he must demonstrate
to Kate the importance of proper public appearance. To
Petruchio it is appearance rather than genuine conformance that