In “The Taming of the Shrew,” the suitor who marries Katherina is Petruchio.
Petruchio arrives in Padua seeking a wealthy wife and is told about Katherina, whose sharp temper has made her difficult to marry off. He is attracted by her family’s money and accepts the challenge of courting her, even though their first exchanges are openly combative and full of verbal sparring.
Their wedding is deliberately chaotic. Petruchio arrives late and dressed absurdly, then takes Katherina away before the wedding feast. At his country house, he uses calculated deprivation and contradiction—claiming food, clothing, and even the time of day are unsuitable—to force her to conform to his demands.
The play’s final wager presents Katherina as the most obedient of the newly married women, though modern productions and critics disagree about whether the ending represents genuine submission, strategic performance, or mutual negotiation. Gremio and Hortensio are rival suitors, while Lucentio marries Katherina’s younger sister, Bianca.