Two Shrews Make a Right in The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. Act Three, Scene Two.

"TRANIO

    Let us entreat you stay till after dinner.

PETRUCHIO

    It may not be.

GREMIO

    Let me entreat you.

PETRUCHIO

    It cannot be.

KATHARINA

    Let me entreat you.

PETRUCHIO

    I am content.

KATHARINA

    Are you content to stay?

PETRUCHIO

    I am content you shall entreat me stay;
    But yet not stay, entreat me how you can.

KATHARINA

    Now, if you love me, stay.

PETRUCHIO

    Grumio, my horse."

In William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, The Bard tells a comedic tale set in the sixteenth century in which an outspoken woman named Kate marries a shrewd man named Petruchio. Although both of similar demeanor, Shakespeare keeps the outcome of their abstract matrimony unclear, foreshadowing both successful and disastrous endings.  Shakespeare indirectly characterizes Petruchio as sophomoric and uncaring about his marriage through the couple’s banter over his decision to leave directly after his wedding ceremony without his wife. Kate, who had allegedly felt repulsed by the thought of marrying Petruchio, almost begs for him to stay home with her: “Let me entreat you” (3.2. 200). Her pleading tone implies that she secretly does admire Petruchio, despite her earlier objections. When he challenges her to convince him not to leave, she responds: “Now if you love me, stay,” (3.2. 205). Because Kate expects this to persuade him to linger, the reader can infer that if Petruchio had asked that of her, she would have obeyed him as a demonstration of her love. Her sincere wish for him to remain may foreshadow a successful marriage based on admiration of each other’s shrewd personality. However, Petruchio immediately reacts to her challenge with: “Grumio, my horse!” a comical yet off-putting reply to Kate’s objections (3.2. 206). His uncaring and immature attitude toward their marriage foreshadows a tragic ending in which Kate may likely have her heart broken “If she had not the spirit to resist” (3.2. 221). Luckily, the direct characterization of her persistent personality allows the reader to have faith in their marriage.