The Taming of the Shrew Petruchio Quotes

Petruchio

Quote 7

PETRUCHIO
Be patient, gentlemen. I choose her for myself.
If she and I be pleased, what's that to you?
'Tis bargained 'twixt us twain, being alone,
That she shall still be curst in company.
I tell you, 'tis incredible to believe
How much she loves me. O, the kindest Kate! (2.1.321-326)

Petruchio obviously lies when he says Kate has agreed to marry him. His alliterative insistence that it was bargained "twixt [them] twain" underscores the fact that the marriage was bargained between Petruchio and Baptista, not between Kate and Petruchio.

Petruchio

Quote 8

PETRUCHIO
I will be master of what is mine own.
She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house,
My household stuff, my field, my barn,
My horse, my ox, my ass, my anything.
And here she stands, touch her whoever dare. (3.2.235-239)

Petruchio's words may be delivered when he plays the "role" of a domineering husband (as a part of his wife taming scheme) but his insistence that Kate is his property echoes the very real circumstance of all Elizabethan women regardless of their husband's attitudes – once married, women had no legal rights of their own.

Petruchio > Lucentio

Quote 9

PETRUCHIO
Come, Kate, we'll to bed.
[…]
To Lucentio.  'Twas I won the wager, though you
   hit the white; 
And being a winner, God give you good night. (5.2.200; 202-204)

Petruchio's final words in the play and his insistence that he and Kate "got to bed" is emblematic of the way comedies always end in marriage and consummation. Presumably, order has been restored to the world. Yet, Petruchio's excessive bragging before he exits may also hint that Kate's final speech was delivered ironically, leaving Petruchio a bit off-balance and feeling the need to validate his masculinity and control.