In The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare uses a variety of different ways to put across to the reader or audience his views on marriage and relationships. These vary in both view and approach throughout the main characters. There are many marriages and relationships within the play, which are Petruchio and Katherina; Bianca and Katherina; Bianca and Baptista; Katherina and Baptista, and Hortensio and the Widow.
The general view of the public at the time of the play was chauvinistic, and men were generally seen as the ultimate power in any family. This is reflected in the play quite heavily, especially between Petruchio and Katherina.
Petruchio and Katherina are the main characters in the primary plot of the play (for it has more than one), and both of them provide the same view on what marriage should be like. The first main view is that Petruchio thinks that the husband should always be the "head" of the family and in control of his wife, who does exactly what he asks her to do. He spends the vast majority of the play trying to "tame" Katherina, changing her into a more stereotypical woman. This act culminates in the final scene where Katherina gives a speech to the reception party after the wedding between Hortensio and the Widow, concerning wives should be like to their husbands. Much is said concerning Shakespeare's views of marriage in here, such as "Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, thy head, thy sovereign.".
The "lord" section means that the husband has ultimate power over his wife, as a lord of an area would. "Life" can be interpreted as meaning more than one thing. Firstly, it can mean that a woman needs this "life" in order to truly live, which means that a woman needs a husband to life truly. Secondly, as everyone needs life, if a woman does not have a husband then she is depriving herself of "life.".
"Keeper," however, can mean a different thing altogether.
