Upon meeting Hortensio, an old friend, Petruchio recounts his situation and what brings him to Padua. His status, we find, is not terribly unlike other sons. After his father's death, he has come into his inheritance. "Crowns in my purse I have, and goods at home," Petruchio declares (56), but we must not read too much into that confession. Just prior he has noted his overarching goal is "Happily to wive and thrive as best I may" (55). Some critics theorize that although Petruchio has come into his inheritance, it is not of considerable quantity, and therefore he needs the financial resources of a wealthy wife in order to secure his position as one of the up and coming gentry. Hortensio seems to be aware of his friend's precarious status because he immediately, albeit half-comically, offers to fix him up with someone who is assuredly rich, although she is also hard to handle and most likely not worth even the largest fortune. Petruchio's ears immediately perk up at Hortensio's offer, and he shows us just how ready he is to marry for money.
Although Petruchio's motives may seem a bit mercenary to us today when we espouse marrying for love, at the time in which the play was written, marriage for reasons other than love was not at all unusual. Political alliances and family fortunes were often at the heart of marriages, especially in the upper classes from which people like Petruchio and Kate come. Petruchio is clearly interested in solidifying his net worth, and how better to do it than through marriage? Kate, the elder daughter of a wealthy man who has no sons (nor any promise of ever having any) is a prime catch. She brings a generous dowry and stands to inherit half her father's worth upon his death. Her personality has kept suitors from capitalizing on her economic potential, but we must wonder, given what mercenary tactics may underlay marriage, perhaps Kate's behavior is merely a defense against men seeking her fortune rather than her company (an issue which is explored further in Act II).
