Taming of the Shrew- AO2: Act 5

Question 1

‘What, in the midst of the street?’- Kate’s response to Petruchio asking to kiss her in the street

Answer 1

Kate shows a final flicker of resistance.

Question 2

‘Nay, I will give thee a kiss. Now pray thee love’- Katherina

Answer 2

Ultimately gives into Petruchio, kissing him in the street- marriage + expectations, gender roles

Question 3

What does Kate’s final speech show?

Answer 3

In Kate’s final speech, Kate reprimands them for their angry dispositions, saying that it does not become a woman to behave this way, especially toward her husband. A wife’s duty to her husband, she says, mimics the duty that “the subject owes the prince,” because the husband endures great pain and labor for her benefit (V.ii.159). She admits that once she was as haughty as Bianca and the widow are now, but that she has since changed her ways and most willingly gives her obedience to her husband. The other men admit complete defeat, and Petruchio leaves victorious—he and Kate go to bed happily, and Hortensio and Lucentio remain behind to wonder at this miraculous change of fates.