The first difficult issue we must deal with …show more content…
For instance, he doesn't buy into the notion of "birthright," as we see by his refusal to treat Katherine as a woman of her status traditionally expects to be treated. Rather, Petruchio's treatment of Kate is based on how she behaves. She has to earn her privileges. We see another good example of Petruchio's willingness to go against convention in an ends-justifying-the-means fashion when he arrives late for the wedding. To be sure, though, it is this exact willingness to go against convention that keeps Petruchio from being a paragon for the Elizabethan man (remember, class and social stratifications were encouraged by those in power during Shakespeare's time). Many of the ordinary people who initially viewed the plays (they made up the bulk of the audience) would likely have seen Petruchio as a hero, but to those in power, aspects of Petruchio's behavior would have been cause for