The Taming of the Shrew In Shakespeare's comedy, "The Taming of the Shrew," one of the main ways that the theme is shown is by mistaken identity. The main theme of this play is that what a person is really like is more important than how they appear to be. 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 enrich the theme. The first predicament 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