PETRUCHIO

a gentleman of Verona who comes to Padua in search of a wife and becomes the aggressive suitor of obstinate Katharina in The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. Their unconventional courtship is actually a stubborn battle of wills as Petruchio attempts to break Katharina's vicious temper with his own outrageous behaviour. At the end of the play Petruchio proves to have "tamed" Katharina, transforming her into an obedient wife.