Similarities Between Petruchio And Maggie

Both Petruchio and Maggie use flattery in order to achieve their aims of getting Kate and Will to marry them.

‘Her best chance’. Maggie flatters Will truthfully as she genuinely believes everything she says. ‘There’s the making of a man about you’. On the other hand most of Maggie comments are related to Wills skills at making boots. ‘You’re a natural born genius at making boots’ and ‘… ones good boots you make that sell themselves’. This tells the reader that Maggie isn’t focusing on romance or good looks; she is interested in her boot making skills. This is because his skills will later provide them with money as they will be able to set up a business. ‘You’re a business idea in the shape of a man’. Maggie is a good business woman and Will

This tells the reader that Petruchio flatters Kate on her beauty and personality. ‘I find you passing gentle’. However he later contradicts what he has previously said as he claims to be repeating what others have said. This leads the reader to believe that his flattery isn’t genuine as he has already planned what he is going to say to Kate. He is flattering her with reverse psychology but saying that everything harsh she does is kind.

Kate’s behaviour already in the scene contradicts Petruchio ‘If I be waspish best beware of my sting’. Kate is saying that if she is wasp like then he should be scared of her. As she is portraying this kind of behaviour Shakespeare makes it obvious he’s lying. Kate is notorious for her temper and is frequently referred to as a shrew.

Men in Petruchio’s time would have been expected to flatter women they were trying to woo. Petruchio does just that. ‘The prettiest Kate of Christendom’. Men were expected to woo women because it was seen as a man’s job to make the woman fall in love with

Due to the time periods women were expected to marry; if they weren’t to marry it would be frowned upon.

Although Maggie is proposing to Will, ‘You’re leaving me to do the work my lad’. She still wishes he would propose and has been waiting on him to do so. *FINISH SECT* Maggie calls it work as she is the one left to propose to Will when in actual fact Will should be the one proposing to Maggie. *FINISH SECT*

Despite Maggie being an intelligent business woman she will still have to rely on Will’s income because as a woman she couldn’t bring an income in to the family. Will’s boot-making skills would compensate. ‘Her best chance’. Will is her best chance as he will be her escape from Hobson’s. Maggie wouldn’t be able to leave Hobson’s as it would have been frowned upon if she had set up her own business because woman were meant to have low paid jobs and quit work after they had married.

Kate has to marry Petruchio as the marriage has already been agreed to by Baptista and the dowry arranged. A dowry is the property or amount of money brought by the bride to her husband on their day of marriage, ‘…your father hath consented that you shall be my wife; your dowry ‘greed