The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare can be interpreted as an account of the tyranny of man over woman. In Elizabethan England men were the head of the household, while the women were expected to be polite, and meek. In The Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio seeks a young and beautiful woman with a wealthy background to be his wife. However Katherine, the woman he sets his sights on, is independent, straightforward, and unapologetic. In this scene Tranio, a servant, explains to Bianca, Katherine’s sister, that Petruchio has attempted to “tame” Katherine. In the story Katherine is viewed as a shrew due to her sharp tongue and harsh attitude to those around her. Tranio says, “He has gone to unto the Taming School.” Here the “He” being referred to is Petruchio. Tranio is setting up the idea that Petruchio is a master teacher that will be able to teach Katherine to control herself, and to conform to the norms of society at the time. Tranio also uses the words such as "tricks" and “charm”. This choice of mystical language makes Petruchio sound like a magician, who is capable of anything. In this case, Petruchio can work his magic on Katherine and change her harsh personality. However this could also mean that Petruchio’s so called “magic” is fake. Even though he has attempted to tame Katherine, all of his tactics are slight of hand, to fool the audience into thinking that Katherine has actually changed. In Act V of the play, Katherine delivers a speech to a room full of women urging them to, like her, conform to their husbands’ wishes. One interpretation of this monologue is that Katherine is speaking literally and that she had been “tamed” by her husband. However others believe that Katherine was speaking ironically and was never truly “tamed”. I believe that although at the end of the story Katherine may appear to have become the typical wife, no one, not even Petruchio can truly change her.