The Taming of the Shrew · Chapter
Scene II explained
The newlyweds and their families gather for a feast at Lucentio's house in Padua.
What happens
The newlyweds and their families gather for a feast at Lucentio's house in Padua. After a series of witty exchanges, Petruchio proposes a wager on whose wife is most obedient. Bianca and the Widow refuse to come when summoned, but Katharina obeys instantly. Petruchio then commands Katharina to deliver a speech on wifely duty, which she does at length, arguing for female submission to husbands. Petruchio wins the wager and exits with Katharina, leaving the others astonished at her transformation.
Themes in this chapter
Taming and Obedience
The wager and Katharina's final speech directly illustrate the theme of taming a shrew and the ideal of wifely obedience.
Gender Roles and Power Dynamics
The scene contrasts the obedient Katharina with the disobedient Bianca and Widow, reinforcing patriarchal gender roles.
Marriage as Economic Transaction
Baptista offers an additional dowry to Petruchio after Katharina's transformation, linking obedience to financial reward.
Characters to notice
- Katharina
Obeys Petruchio's summons immediately and delivers a lengthy speech advocating wifely obedience, demonstrating her tamed state.
- Petruchio
Proposes the wager on wives' obedience, commands Katharina to fetch the other wives, and wins the bet, celebrating his victory.
- Lucentio
Hosts the banquet, participates in the wager, and loses when Bianca refuses to come.
- Bianca
Refuses to come when summoned by Lucentio, showing disobedience and costing him the wager.
- Hortensio
Agrees to the wager, sends for his wife (the Widow), but she also refuses to come.
- Widow
Hortensio's new wife; she refuses to come when summoned and later mocks Katharina's obedience.
Key passages
“At last, though long, our jarring notes agree: And time it is, when raging war is done, To smile at scapes and perils overblown.”
Finally, after much conflict, we are in harmony; now that the fierce struggle is over, we can laugh at the dangers we have escaped.
Lucentio opens the feast, celebrating the resolution of earlier conflicts.
“Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee, And for thy maintenance commits his body To painful labour both by sea and land...”
Your husband is your master, your protector, and your ruler; he works hard to provide for you, so you owe him love and obedience.
Katharina's speech outlines the doctrine of wifely submission, central to the play's resolution.
“Come, come, you froward and unable worms! My mind hath been as big as one of yours, My heart as great, my reason haply more, To bandy word for word and frown for frown; But now I see our lances are but straws...”
You stubborn and weak creatures! I used to be as proud and argumentative as any of you, but now I realize our resistance is pointless.
Katharina admits her former shrewishness and urges the other women to submit.