About Relationships

In the Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio forces Katherine into marriage with him. They basically skip the part where they’re supposed to get to know each other. This shows how relationships were different then vs. now. In About Last Night, Bernie and Joan meet and hit it off instantly, they rushed things and consequently, their relationship suffered temporarily. They go from have sex occasionally to arguing out of spite every time they see each other. The Taming of the Shrew and About Last night are similar in their message which is love has happy endings and that the road to happiness isn’t always easy. However in contrast, Katherine has no say in whether or not if she wants to be with Petruchio, and Bernie doesn’t take the time to get to really know Joan before he makes her his girlfriend, all he wanted was sex.


In Act 2, Scene 1, line number 202 says, “Myself am moved to woo thee for my wife.” At this point in the book, Petruchio has just met Katherine and is telling her his intentions. Katherine does not know the man at all but yet he plans a wedding on the next Sunday to come. This is how relationships were in the past. Similar to About Last Night, Joan and Bernie hardly know each other and hop right into having sex the very same night they meet.
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Screen Shot 2015-04-26 at 8.00.09 PM

In this scene, Bernie is explaining to his best friend Danny about last night. He tells him that he met Joan at a bar and the only reason they really wound up in the bed is because of the fact the he dated a woman Joan hated. This is the good part of their relationship but because they didn’t take the time to get to actually know each other, their relationship eventually wasn’t so great.

Both relationships reach a point where all they do is argue and someone eventually just gives in. In this particular part of the book, Petruchio is arguing with Katherine telling her to say that the sun is actually the moon. In Act 4, Scene 5, lines 21-22, Katherine submits to Petruchio by saying,“Then God be blest, it is the blessed sun. But sun it is not, when you say it is not.” Katherine is realizing that she just has to give in to Petruchio, and maybe in her mind things will get better.


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Screen Shot 2015-04-28 at 7.41.21 PM

In this scene, Bernie is explaining to Danny the complexity of him and Joan’s relationship. While they were constantly arguing with each other, they got to know more about each other. Bernie is thankful that they can put the bickering behind them and is so happy to have a genuine relationship with Joan. If he had never given in to Joan by telling her how much he missed and loved her, they wouldn’t be in this happy place.


The last stage of the relationships are the part where they basically start over. They forget the previous animosity that they had in their hearts for one another and move on to be happy with each other. In Act 5, Scene 2, lines 162-163, Katherine is talking about what a husband’s job is and accepting the love they provide. She says, “Thy husband is thy Lord, thy life, thy keeper, Thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee.” At this point Katherine realizes that her and Petruchio may have gotten off on the wrong foot, Petruchio will truly care for her. At the end of her speech, she kisses him and you can imagine the smiles on their faces as the finally reached true happiness together.


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Screen Shot 2015-04-28 at 8.05.27 PM
This is the end of the movie. Bernie and Joan are so happy and it’s real happiness. They laugh, joke, and treat each other with nothing but the upmost respect. They’ve had their ups and downs in their relationship but they still loved each other through it all. Joan realized that Bernie truly cares for her the way she cares for him.

Comparing relationships back then to relationships now, there's a clear difference in how relationships come to be like if the woman has a say in it. There's one thing that hasn't changed however. People do not take the time to get to know a person before they become involved with them. If no one takes the time to learn what the other person hates or likes, then there will be unhappiness.

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