The ending of the play suggests what about gender roles?

• A. They are definitively reversed.
• B. They are reinforced as traditional.
• C. They are complicated and perhaps performative.
• D. They are unchanged.

Answer: (C)

The ending shows that gender roles aren’t simply fixed or reversed; they’re negotiated and performed within social expectations. Kate’s outward obedience at the close follows Petruchio’s coercive tactics and her earlier sharp resistance, so what looks like submission is wrapped in a performance shaped by power dynamics. That suggests gender roles are constructed and fluctuating—they can appear to change, but the change often occurs through social theater and manipulation, not a straightforward inner conviction. Because of that, the scene invites multiple readings: it can be seen as a critique of patriarchal authority or as a commentary on how wifely roles are performed to maintain harmony, rather than as a simple reinforcement of tradition or a clean reversal.