Act IV, Scene 1, when coupled with the wedding scene just prior, gives modern audiences a rather negative view of Petruchio. Elizabethan playgoers, on the other hand, would have had very little problem with the tactics Petruchio takes to tame his wife (and they are, in fact, tactics, rather than a reflection of his true self). For Elizabethans, few problems were worse than an unruly wife. A woman dominating a man was considered an affront to his masculinity, and therefore men were encouraged to keep women in tow by whatever means possible. Men, in fact, were sometimes punished for having an adulterous wife, for instance. As if her infidelity were not enough, the husband (or cuckold) would often be subjected to additional public humiliation for allowing his wife to be out of control.
Although Petruchio's tactics seem strong to our modern sensibilities, they are nowhere near as forceful and unpleasant as some of the sermons and stories of Shakespeare's day suggest. The Taming of the Shrew, based in part on A Merry Jest of a Shrew and Curst Wife, Lapped in Morel's Skin, thankfully does not employ the same sort of punishment recommended in A Merry Jest (where the wife is tamed by being whipped bloody with switches and then wrapped in the freshly salted skin of Morel, the plowhorse). (See the Critical Essay section for more on this and other sources.)
In keeping with the farcical tradition in which The Taming of the Shrew belongs, Shakespeare fills Act IV, Scene 1 with Petruchio's comic taming tactics. We can only laugh as Grumio recounts how Kate's horse slipped in the mud, throwing her and, to make matters worse, landing on her. Petruchio, with a touch of reverse psychology, berates Grumio for letting Kate's horse slip rather than helping Kate. Later, he sends back her much-anticipated dinner, claiming it was burned and therefore would be bad for her (by producing choler, the humor supposed to bring about ill temper. She has enough of that already, reasons Petruchio). Again, he couches his remarks, appearing to be acting in her best interest. We later learn his plan is to continue to deprive her of food, rest, and other necessities, hoping to bring her to the breaking point. He admits, too, "That all is done in reverent care of her" (192) and that he'll "curb her mad and headstrong humor" by killing her with (supposed) kindness (196–197).
