Although Kate is one of Shakespeare's most enigmatic heroines, she is not the only complicated character in The Taming of the Shrew. Her groom, Petruchio, has nearly as much mystery surrounding him as does Kate herself. Yet exploring Petruchio forces us to ask questions that can become difficult largely because, frankly, we want to like him. In a sense, it's initially hard to explore a side of him which may, in fact, make him less likable. Is he a man of honor or a mercenary seeking only to marry into money? Is he domineering and truly worthy of the title "tamer," or does the role he takes with Katherine constitute something less aggressive and ultimately more democratic? To be sure, in the end, it's clear Petruchio is not nearly as mercenary as we might initially think. In fact, when all is said and done, Petruchio is a successful match for the strong-willed and ebullient Kate.
The first difficult issue we must deal with if we are to look at Petruchio fairly is his early claim that he has "come to wive it wealthily in Padua; / If wealthily then happily in Padua" (I.2, 74–75). Certainly this doesn't sound like a declaration from a man destined to marry for love. Rather, it sounds like a man who is following the common, traditional pattern for the time: making the best alliance he can for himself, elevating his status as much as possible through marriage. If we accept that Petruchio does indeed want to marry solely for financial gain, then another line of questioning arises: If all he wants is money, once he has Katherine's hand (and dowry), why then does he try to help her (and himself) to a better life? It would have been far simpler to treat her poorly, as most shrews in the literature of the time were treated.
