In the play Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare there are many .
The most predominant theme in my mind is the meticulous way the shrew is tamed. Katherine Minola is a shrewish bitch who is similar to the way the women are today. She is an early women's rights activist who doesn't like a man telling her what to do. Petruchio on the other hand is the kind of man every man hopes to be. Petruchio is about money, alcohol, and sex and he sees the opportunity to gain wealth by taming the shrewish Kate. During the course of the play you will see that Petruchio will get everything he wants and Kate will finally subdue to his demands.
Gremio and Hortensio want to woo Bianca and in order to do this they needed to find Kate a husband. Gremio expresses his willingness to find such a man, "I am agreed, and would I have given him the best horse in Padua to begin his wooing that would thoroughly woo her, wed her, and bed her and rid the house of her."(William Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew, Folger Edition, Page 41, Lines 144-147) This is where Petruchio is found and take up the offer from Hortensio and Gremio, to wed Kate. In addition I agree with Heffernan's view, "All these remarks share an assumption that a women and a horse are commodities to be bought and sold."(Heffernan, S.C. Volume 31, Page 336) Heffernan is referring to the money given to Petruchio to marry Kate. Gremio and Hortensio give Petruchio money to marry Kate and so does Kate's father Baptista Minola. Petruchio makes out in this deal. Petruchio says, "I come to wive it wealthily in Padua; if wealthily, then happily in Padua."(Page 53, Lines 76-77) When Petruchio explains this to Hortensio he is saying that he has come to Padua for the money and anything more that he gets will be a bonus. Petruchio is man without a heart and all he cares about is money. Now that Petruchio has taken the money he is ready to start the taming process.
