Shakespeare, after carefully setting up his story through the Induction and the opening scene, finally allows us to have more than a momentary look at one of the story's protagonists — however, it isn't Katherine Minola we see. Instead, Shakespeare shifts his focus away from the woman who will be at the heart of the comedy and directs our attention to Petruchio, a Veronese man who has come to Padua on a mission: to "wive it wealthily in Padua; / If wealthily, then happily in Padua" (74–75). Unlike Katherine, whom we learn about largely through the questionably biased perspectives of other characters (she speaks only thirteen lines in all of Act I — hardly enough for us to determine whether she really is a shrew or not), Petruchio appears and through his own account, we learn more about his motivation.
The initial encounter with Petruchio reveals a young man of some means who is traveling through Padua with his servant, as if on a quest. Indeed, he does seek an elusive prize — fortune. His witty banter reveals a quick mind and an even quicker tongue (although his servant Grumio does a fine job of keeping up with his master), both traits he'll need if he is to go against Baptista's shrewish daughter. Petruchio is not a tolerant man, though he is by no means an ogre. His quibble with Grumio rapidly escalates to physical confrontation, demonstrating he is not a man afraid to use force to get his point across. Petruchio is used to holding a dominant position, and his treatment of Gremio serves as a warning of that which he is capable.
