Montag Revealed

HORTENSIO: Now go thy ways, thou hast tamпÑ--Ð...d a curst shrow.

LUCENTIO: пÑ--Ð...Tis a wonder, by your leave, she will be tamпÑ--Ð...d so.

Indeed, HortentioпÑ--Ð...s assurance in the taming of the пÑ--Ð...curst shrowпÑ--Ð... Katerina seems a wonder to all the audience in the final scene of пÑ--Ð...The Taming of the Shrew.пÑ--Ð... After hurling furniture, pitching fits and assaulting her sister, Katerina delivers a speech that lauds obedience and censures rough behavior. Allegedly, this speech demonstrates KaterinaпÑ--Ð...s obedience to her husband, Petruchio, who has forced her to realize the error of her former behavior. Genuine submission, however, is an unlikely disposition for Katerina to adopt. A complete reformation becomes more improbable after an examination of the scenes surrounding her пÑ--Ð...taming.пÑ--Ð... Several of these episodes attest to excellence of her acting ability. This evidence suggests her ability to impersonate the character of a tamed shrew. Her dialogue during these moments of obedience seems to mirror the language Petruchio uses earlier to tame her, suggesting that Katerina employs PetruchioпÑ--Ð...s own dissembling devices against him. Even the nuances of her language, filled with double meanings, belie her supposed transformation.

Katerina first reveals her aptitude for deception as she and Petruchio head toward Padua for her sisterпÑ--Ð...s wedding. When her husband falsely labels the daylight as the пÑ--Ð...bright and goodly shiningпÑ--Ð... of the moon, she immediately protests (4.5.2). However, the moment Petruchio threatens her journey home, she begins to act. In order that she fulfill her desire to return home, she pleads that they continue and vows that пÑ--Ð...be it moon, or sun, or what you please; / And if you please it be a rush-candle, / Henceforth I vow it shall