If I be waspish, best beware my sting

As I've been going over "Taming of the Shrew" in my mind the past week or so I continue to be conflicted in my perception of Petruchio. As I was searching around to internet for what others thought of him I cam across an intriguing blog that has a few posts about Petruchio's character and Kate's as well. The first post from this blog that I read compared the Richard Burton portrayal and the John Cleese portrayal. The blogger also compares Kate's abusiveness to that of Petruchio's and makes the point that Kate's abuse is worse than Petruchio's ever was, and that in the end she wasn't a hollow person (like I see her), but says that she has transformed into a "dignified, self-controlled rock; half of the foundation of what will become a strong family unit." 

I myself am torn. I don't believe that Shakespeare meant Kate to become a sad, completely submissive to her husband's will, but I know she needed to change because she was very much out of control in her throwing apples, shoving midgets, tying up her sister, beating her music teacher over the head, slapping people, and verbally degrading everyone around her ways. I'm just trying to create a happy medium of Kate between crazy, enraged woman and an anything-you-say-my-lord female.

The one thing I enjoyed most about this play that I'm not conflicted on, is that Petruchio and Kate are definitely a good match. They are both very spicy characters and the banter between them is humorous and equally matched. One scene in particular I enjoyed thoroughly was the first meeting of the two. Instead of being insulted by all the harsh things Kate says to him, Petruchio turns everything into a joke which makes Kate made because she can't get a rise out of him. Petruchio was made to handle a "wild" woman. I feel as if he would have been terribly bored if he had been paired with Bianca instead. And if Bianca had been paired with him, she wouldn't have been able to keep up with his sense of humor and temperament. While she is portrayed as the more perfect and lovable sister, she's the more boring and petty.