著者

稲富 健一郎

出版者

香川県立保健医療大学

雑誌

香川県立保健医療大学紀要 (ISSN:13495720)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.2, pp.1-10, 2005

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This commentary is Romantic in its emphasis on the analysis of Petruchio, the main character of the play. Hazlitt was one of the earliest Romantic commentators to explore Petruchio's taming method. Hazlitt as well as other celebrated commentators, such as D. Wilson, J. Wilders, M. Charney, and V. L. Cahn, havereferred to it, and most of the attention is devoted to Petruchio's strength of will, his detachment from his own emotions, and his scheme to tame Kate. It is based on a series of inversions calculated to astonish, overwhelm and teach her, which work as a mirror to reflect her own behaviour. Petruchio exerts not only a moral discipline, but also adopts a strategy of physical discipline similar to that in which falcons are trained through sleep deprivation, hunger and observation. Related to this theme, this paper also traces how Katharina was cured of her waywardness by use of these methods.