Student Question
What is Baptista's relationship with his daughters in The Taming of the Shrew?
Quick answer:
Baptista Minola has a complex relationship with his daughters. He favors Bianca, who is sweet-tempered and manipulative, over Katherina (Kate), who is outspoken and independent. Although Baptista claims to love them equally, he prioritizes Bianca’s desires, delaying her marriage until Kate is wed. Despite his love for Kate, he ultimately compromises her freedom by allowing Petruchio to "tame" her, reflecting his deference to societal norms and Bianca’s wishes.
In Shakespeare's comedy The Taming of the Shrew, Baptista Minola, one of the wealthiest men in Padua, has two daughters—the lovely Bianca and the shrewish Katherina (known as "Kate")—and no sons.
Bianca is perfect in every way. She's beautiful, soft-spoken, sweet-tempered, unassuming, and well-behaved (deceptively so). She entertains suitors behind her father's back, secretly runs off the get married, and tries to undermine Kate's relationship with him whenever possible.
Kate isn't perfect in every way. She's quick-witted and wholly self-sufficient but is also sharp-tongued, outspoken, quick-tempered, and somewhat prone to violence; she's been known to throw a stool or take a swing at whoever displeases her at any given moment. On occasion, she ties up Bianca and beats her (though not badly) for no reason other than "Her silence flouts me" (2.1.132).
Baptista's relationship with Bianca is everything that Bianca wants it to be. Although Baptista says...
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that he loves his daughters equally, Bianca is clearly Baptista's favorite daughter (if for no reason that his other daughter is Kate).
Bianca can get whatever she wants from her father with a petulant frown, a quivering lip, or a tear, except that Batista won't allow Bianca to be married until Kate has a husband.
Bianca's situation is complicated by the fact that Kate does not wish to be married and has made this abundantly clear in word and deed, and she has no desire whatsoever to be ruled by any man.
Baptista's relationship with Kate, unlike his relationship with Bianca, is complicated. Although Kate has never threatened violence against Baptista, as she has to others (she has too much old-world respect for him), she will nevertheless speak her mind and impose her will on him by the sheer force of her personality and through occasional intimidation.
Baptista clearly loves both of his daughters, each in his own way, but he compromises Kate's freedom and individuality and allows her to be "tamed" by Petruchio in deference to Bianca's desire to be married.