Kate (The Taming of the Shrew)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Katherina Minola (also called Kate or occasionally Katherine) is a fictional character and the female romantic lead in the comedy The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. Kate is the elder outspoken daughter of Baptista Minola and the sister of apparently sweet-tempered Bianca. Kate's headstrong ways and sharp tongue initially make her poor material for a wife but Baptista refuses to allow his younger daughter to marry until Kate has a husband. Bianca's suitors find a fortune seeker called Petruchio willing to take the shrew in marriage. Once the two are wed, the comedy follows the couple as Kate's antagonistic behaviour (and latent kindness) is "tamed" by her husband. The play, character, Petruchio's methods and Kate's fifth act soliloquy have caused considerable controversy among feminists and modern critics. The role of Kate has been interpreted by notable actresses, including Elizabeth Taylor in a 1967 film directed by Franco Zeffirelli, with Taylor's then husband Richard Burton opposite her as Petruchio.
In 10 Things I Hate About You
In the modern movie 10 Things I Hate About You, Kate's character is a rebellious high school student named Katarina Stratford (the last name is a reference to Shakespeare's home of Stratford-upon-Avon) and is played by Julia Stiles.
In the movie it is established that Kat abandoned a popular and sociable lifestyle similar to that of Bianca to adopt a headstrong outsider nature, because (according to her sister) she suddenly "got bored of it or something"; however it is later revealed that after a scarring peer pressure-motivated sexual experience, she decided to do things for herself and not because other people wanted her to. In the ABC Family television series 10 Things I Hate About You, Kat is played by Lindsay Shaw.
