It is a common belief among men that women should be tamed to achieve a more harmonious relationship. The concept of domination is prevalent in Shakespeare's plays Much Ado About Nothing and The Taming of the Shrew. Katherina and Beatrice in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado About Nothing (respectively) react differently to men in a chauvinistic society. Katherina initially presents herself as the quintessential shrew, which causes despair among the other men who want to court the already tamed Bianca. Her cleverly witty speech and demeaning treatment and disposition towards men can be interpreted as a method of weeding out weak men from strong men or as a way of showing the independent nature that women can choose to employ. Undeniably, towards the end of the play she seems to adopt a more docile demeanor, perhaps the result of Petruchio's unorthodox taming methods. In Much Ado About Nothing, Béatrice advances the idea that going against the passive role that society demands of women leads to better consequences. She seems to have a better and more trusting relationship with Benedick than Hero has with Claudio; Yet, at the end of the play, we don't know what true emotions lie beneath the surface: is she really in love? Although Katherina and Beatrice are fundamentally similar, through an analysis of their initial reaction to their future husbands and an analysis of the events in the plays' plots, Beatrice establishes greater control over her husband. Beatrice's dialogue with Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing establishes her control. on him, unlike the speech between Katherina and Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew. Beatrice's first lines say a lot about her attraction to Benedick. “Please, is Signor Moun... middle of paper... a combination of both and to no avail. A more mature aspect of Beatrice's personality is that she recognizes her love for Benedict and tries not to fight them. Katherina does not recognize her love or admiration for Petruchio, which makes taming him more difficult. While Beatrice engages in a battle of wits with Benedict and results in Benedict's abandonment, Katherina is the one who gives in to Petruchio's advances and becomes his wife. This dichotomous result illustrates Beatrice's initial control over Benoît. This control is further illustrated in the plot of the play. Making Benedick challenge and eventually kill his best friend, Beatrice shows her power and control over him. The opposite is true in Katherina's case. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The Shakespeare by the River. Ed G. Blakemore Evans, et al. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.