Transformation through Relationships in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew

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Throughout a person’s everyday life, he or she grows as a person through the relationships and encounters they have with others. Similarly, William Shakespeare writes a play called The Taming of the Shrew that tells the tale of a young woman, Katherine, who is known to be erratic and short tempered. She is later married off to a man named Petruchio, who only agrees to marry her for her dowry. Katherine is unhappy with the marriage, because Petruchio interacts with her the way she does with other people. However, near the end of the play she learns to love and respect Petruchio. It is evident that she honors Petruchio as her husband through her drastic change in attitude towards her family and friends.
Before Katherine was married to Petruchio she was stubborn and resentful of her entire family. She believed that her father, Baptista, did not care for her as much as he did for her fairer sister, Bianca. She did not want to hear anybody’s opinions or advice, and she felt as if no one would ever want to marry her. Her relationship with her father, Baptista, was not strong either and she believed that he did not have any concern for her. Baptista sends Petruchio to Kate so that he could get to know her better, and when Petruchio came back, Baptista asked how Katherine reacted. He showed genuine care for her asking why she was so unhappy even though she was finally getting married, referring to her as his daughter. She overreacted and immediately screamed, “Call me your daughter? Now I promised you, you have showed a tender fatherly regard to wish me wed to one half lunatic” (2.1: 302, 304). Even after Baptista finally found a man who wanted to take her as a wife, she still seemed to be ungrateful. She accused him of showing her no a...

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... for Petruchio at the end of the play. She came to realize that her beliefs were immoral, and that she should have been more respectful towards her family. Her metamorphosis from an ungrateful daughter to an appreciative wife showed how much she cared for her husband, enough to give up her strong influence on others. She began the novel being uncouth and offensive, but as the play progressed she grew to be grateful for what she had. Readers should be able to compare to Katherine’s sacrifice, because in their everyday lives they must give up what they value as well. Students must give up sleep and energy to study hard, and parents must forfeit their youth to support their children and family by working for jobs and raising money. Change can be hard, but overall, it can make a big difference in people’s lives and affect not only themselves, but others around them.

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