In this final scene, all the characters come together to celebrate Bianca and Lucentio's wedding. Hortensio has arrived with his new wife, the Widow, and the three couples begin to converse. Petruchio notes how Hortensio appears to be afraid of his wife, with the Widow offering a few particularly nasty retorts. Kate and the Widow exchange words, and shortly thereafter the three women exit, leaving the men to their devices.
The men decide to wager on who has the most obedient wife. They bet one hundred crowns and one by one send for their wives. Lucentio is immediately refused by Bianca. Hortensio is next to be refused, with his wife adding the command he should come to her. Finally Petruchio takes his turn, and all are surprised when Kate comes to do his bidding. Petruchio sends Kate to fetch the other women and, upon their arrival, tells Kate to destroy the hat she wears (which she does) and then lecture the women on "What duty they do owe their lords and husbands" (135). After Kate delivers an elaborate speech about a woman's duty to her husband, the party-goers are left dumbfounded, and Petruchio and Kate leave the party, headed to bed.
