and his overall view of marriage as a way of gaining wealth. Any audience can appreciate the wit of what she says, indicating her intelligence that other characters are not able to handle. Note too, however, that she is shown as a character who is able to care for others. For example, she protects the servants from her new husband's whims and anger.

Bianca in contrast is described as someone who is attractive, being the character quite a few male characters are said to be in love with. Her looks are able to snare Lucentio at his first glimpse of her. Clearly, when compared to her sister, Bianca must appear incredibly tempting as a character who is submissive and modest. However, it is clear that in spite of this appearance that Bianca cultivates, she reveals a somewhat darker side, clearly showing her selfishness to her sister and her resentment at the way that Katharina's reputation is a barrier to her receiving all the attentions that her many suitors would like to give her. Note how this anger reveals itself quite openly when Bianca is slapped by Katharina when she suggests her elder sister must be jealous of her.

Of course, one of the major comparisons you need to make between the two sisters is what happens in the final scene with Petruchio's "competition." Katharina's promptness in responding to her husband's call in comparison with the tardiness of Bianca shows that there are different rules in operation depending on the marriage. Bianca has now married Lucentio and so she obviously feels she does not have to obey him any more and can use her marriage to indulge her selfish desires, whereas Katharina shows that she takes her role seriously.

Bianca Minola is the younger of the two Minola sisters. Her personality is humble and modest, and she is a dutiful daughter. She is not, however, without considerable strength; there is distinct sibling rivalry between her and her older sister, Katherine, and Bianca does not crumble when she and Katherine clash. Ultimately, it is, as the title implies, Katherine who is "tamed" and Bianca becomes bolder, more outspoken, and more of a "shrew" in a role reversal with her sister.

Katherine Minola is the elder sister, and as the play begins, she is the titular shrew. To her father's despair, she seems unmarriable because of her cutting personality; in the eyes of Gremio, for example, she is "a fiend of hell." The truth of Kate's personality is more complicated than that. She does not want to be married off thoughtlessly to please her father, and clear the way for Bianca to marry. Kate requires a strong man who will be able to match and appreciate her spirited nature, and she is willing to wait for that.

Kate feels, perhaps rightly, that their father, Baptista, overtly favors Bianca. This slight may be one of the reasons that Kate acts impetuously and acts in a way considered unfeminine. Ultimately, Bianca either evolves or shows her true colors when she shows herself to be less compliant and obedient than she has always been perceived to be.

A thesis must be clear and provable. In Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, the two sisters make an interesting subject to write about because they appear to be so different. What is surprising about them is the fact that appearances are deceiving: Bianca is actually more shrewish than her sister. Start by making a list of each of  their behaviors and see where they match up and where they diverge. For example, Bianca says she obeys her father, but she secretly gets married without his permission--the ultimate act of defiance for a young woman in Medieval times. Katherine protests, rants, and raves against her father, but she is obedient when he gives her in marriage to the madman Petruchio. If you decide to explore some of those kinds of issues, a thesis might look something like one of these:

Though Bianca appears to be the docile and obedient sister, it is Katherine who actually follows her father's wishes.

Though Katherine's behavior is outrageous and even violent, she is more obedient than Bianca, who appears to be obedient but is actually defiant and self-willed.

Whatever position you take, your thesis must reveal a clear position and be supported by sufficient evidence to make your case.