In Shakespeare's comedy, "The Taming of the Shrew," one of the most important themes is that what a person is really like is more important than how they appear to be. One of the main ways that the this is shown is by mistaken identity. This is shown by Petruchio's relationship with Katherine; the changing roles of Tranio, Lucentio, and Hortensio; and the true characters of Bianca and Katherine. All three of these situations help to build the theme.

             The first thing that supports the theme is Petruchio's relationship with Katherine. When we first meet Petruchio, he is only after the money of Katherine, and accepts her harshness as simply a goal he must overcome. He is mistaken for a person who is only after money, not love at all. Yet when he meets Kate, he begins to fall for her. While he still argues and attempts to train her, it is for his own benefit. He wants her to be less harsh so she can fall in love with him. Petruchio ends up truly caring for and loving Kate, despite the front he puts up before having his true identity revealed. As a result of this Katherina, whom we thought would never love anyone, at the end of the story is the only wife who comes when she is beckoned. The other wives only make up excuses. This shows how Kate has a mistaken identity because she appears rude and insolent. This situation is one of the ways Shakespeare uses mistaken identity to display this .

             theme. .

             Another part of the theme is that when a person changes outfit's and roles, their personalities and attitudes stay the same. The first and most prominent role change is the one between Lucentio and Tranio. Lucentio, in order to marry Bianca, exchanges outfits with his servant Tranio in order to become a tutor for Bianca. Although Tranio appears to be a nobleman, he is really just a simple servant. His identity did not change despite the fact that his outfit did.