The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare has been christened by modern audiences as one his most controversial plays. The story is a rendition of a classic folktale in which a husband tames an abysmal wife. Katherine [Kate], the "shrew," is portrayed as a strong spirited woman who speaks her mind with a sharp tongue. She marries Petruccio who attempts to tame her and is successful by the end of the play. In the final scenes, we see Kate as a humble, submissive wife. Petruccio tames his wife by utilizing a few different methods which some critics argue are modern day brainwashing and torture techniques. These methods include sleep deprivation, starvation, and the exploitation of fear. The "taming" of Kate has lead modern critics to the chastening of Shakespeare. Although this treatment sounds gruesome, it has been blown out of proportion by the cynics of our time. What seems to the audience as chauvinistic and controversial, is actually a small step towards the happiness of Petruccio and Kate. This paper will analyze the controversy in the taming of Kate.
             Many critics argue that Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew is not politically correct in the way that it treats the woman's role in marriage. They argue that the story teaches that in marriage, the wife should display total submissiveness to her husband to live happily. Dr. Ed Berry argues that the couple is not happy at the end of the play, "Some try to evade the play's thoroughly chauvinistic message that a subservient woman is a happy woman by dismissing the play as a farce, but I disagree with that. Some try to romanticize the ending and say that Kate and Petruccio are truly in love. I find that attractive, but not compelling" (Berry). Some who agree with Berry believe that Kate is generally satirical towards Petruccio, and that her final speech is overdramatic and false. With this negative
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