Okay so Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare's strangest plays to me. The man writes stories rife with women pulling one over on everyone, cross dressing, etc.
So why the fuck did he write a play where the female lead is utterly broken by a man and it is viewed as a comedy. This is the man who wrote a play about a mediocre white dude's greed and lust destroying a black man's otherwise internally happy marriage. This is the man who wrote Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. This is the man who wrote All's Well That Ends Well. This is the man who wrote Merry Wives which is entirelyabout some middle aged women having fun at a man's expense. Why did he write Taming of the Shrew?
I have seen it played very straight with Katherine being broken and I have seen it played as them tricking the asshole parents. I don't know which was the bard's intent and it doesnt really matter. More, it is strange to me that someone with the body of work of Shakespeare, with numerous fun and active women in his stories, would write something like Shrew, if we take the text at very face value, that it is good that Katherine becomes subservient. It has been a while since I read or watched Shrew, but when it is done winking to the audience, the story feels fuller. I'll admit I haven't seen Katherine and Petruchio's romance done especially well, but I do think there is more there than the straightforward reading lets on. Maybe I'll do my own version of it eventually who knows