Who Is Katherina Minola

Saunders 1 Kim Saunders 18 April 2013 Katharine the crust! A title for a maid of all titles the worst. Grimier Who is Katherine Manila? As I sat listening to the first read thru of Taming of the Shrew I started hearing answers to this question, through the descriptive words of the other characters. The words were not complimentary. This led to my next question… Why is she perceived this way and is it true? This complicated lady I was about to play shows her true nature in her own words (if you listen closely) The story is that of the wealthy Manila family.
Senor Baptists has 2 daughters Katherine the eldest who is known for her bad temper and sharp tongue and the youngest Bianca known for her beauty and sweet nature. Bianca has several suitors but Baptists will not let her marry till the eldest is married first. Enter Epithetic a friend of one of the suitors who is looking for a wealthy woman to marry. This is the main plot with a subplot where the various suitors for Banana’s hand vie for her affection. Saunders 2 The first thing I noticed was the lack of a mother.
It is left to the actors and director to decide how long the mother has been dead. This would leave Katherine with the responsibility of the household as well as the rearing of the younger sister. Also in many households when a younger child is born the elder child feels abandoned and acts out. If the younger child has a more moderate temperament that might cause a parent to become more distant from the one acting out and it becomes a vicious cycle. We see how others (mostly men) see Katherine through their conversation. Grimier calls her “a fiend of hell” and says “she’s too rough for me”.

He also does not believe anyone could love her as he says in these next 2 statements. L say, a devil, any man is so very a fool to be married to hell? ” and “l had as life take her dowry with this condition, to be whipped at the high cross every morning”. Horniness confirms this when he tells her: “no mates for you, unless you were of gentler, milder mucous”. He also calls her a devil and though he believes someone will marry her it is only for her money as in this statement” “though it pass your patience and mine to endure her them, would take her with all faults, and money enough”.
To add insult to injury Gathering’s own father calls her: “thou welding of a devilish spirit” and at our first eating of this family we find Baptists trying to foist Katherine onto one of Banana’s suitors in this quote: Saunders 3 “Gentlemen, importune me no farther, For how I firmly am resolved you know; That is, not bestow my youngest daughter Before I have a husband for the elder: If either of you both love Katharine, Because I know you well and love you well, Leave shall you have to court her at your pleasure. Katherine expresses Jealousy about her father’s treatment of her sister” Katherine What, will you not suffer me? Nay, now I see she is your treasure Also the fact that “he rosier about Banana’s studies when he desires to hire schoolmasters for her but neglects to mention Katherine. Later in the story Epithetic compliments her, something she is not used to and proposes to her. Epithetic Thy virtues spoke of, and thy beauty sounded, Yet not so deeply as to thee belongs, Myself am moved to woo thee for my wife.
And Saunders 4 I am a husband for your turn; For, by this light, whereby I see thy beauty, Thy beauty, that doth make me like thee well, Thou must be married to no man but me He is also able to keep up with her quick mind and a flirtation develops between hose two. Gathering’s intelligence and quick wit are evident throughout in the clever verbal exchanges and repartee between them. This is most evident in Act 2 scene 1 . EPITHETIC KATHARINE Moved! N good time: let him that moved you hither Remove you hence: I knew you at the first You were a movable. Why, what’s a movable? Thou hast hit it: come, sit on me. Katherine is looking for love as well as a way out of her current situation. If this were not true why in act 3 SC 1 would she be waiting for him on the day they are to be married in wedding attire and so distraught? Saunders 5 Katherine Manila is a perceptive, clever and shrewd woman. She is emotional and responsive to others around her.
Due to circumstances within the family structure she has armed herself with a wall of antagonism and resentment and uses her violent behavior to keep everyone removed from her. She has withstood deprivation from her family and her desire for affection, appreciation and respect will continue until someone can see past this barricade she has constructed. Works Cited Morris, Brian. The Taming of the Shrew: The Arden Shakespeare, Britain, Methuen & Co. Ltd. 1997 print Bloom, Harold.