Changing Love: True Black

It is said that, love is when two individuals come to appreciate who their partner for who and what he or she is, that they cannot see what their life would be without them. However, in Shakespeare's The Taming of A Shrew and in the romantic-comedy Think Like A Man, love is formed through change. Couples do not love each other for who they are, they love each other for who they become.

In The Taming of the Shrew, there were two women from a family of fortune named Katherine and Bianca. Katherine was the older sister and seen by the kingdom as demonic and evil. Bianca, the younger sister, was viewed as an angel and had suitors all across the land. In order for Bianca to wed, first Katherine would have to be wed. Lucentio and Grumio were both suitors of Bianca who wanted Katherine to marry so that one of them would could have Bianca’s hand. They called upon a man named Petruchio who agreed to take Katherine’s hand in marriage. He set forth an illusion to her father that she had agreed to his proposal, at which he had his blessing. Once they were wed, Petruchio began to act extremely controlling, somewhat similar to how Katherine was portrayed. As time went by, Katherine began to be more and more passive. At a diner party she stated “ Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper…” The demonic Katherine has been humbled by seeing almost a reflection of herself in Petruchio. Petruchio has taken ownership of her, and her love for him forced her to change for him. Zeke’s situation was similar while he was talking to his friend about the status in his relationship. He was saying that he was done with the constant talking, dates, and feelings. He said “I just want to hit! And if she think imma wait thirty more days to get the cookie, she gonna be waiting by herself.” His friend questioned him and realized that Zeke really did like her. He then teased him a little bit and hung up. When Zeke went to go break up with Mya, she mentioned something that made him reconsider his action. His escalating feelings for Mya have forced him to stay with her that much more, his craving for sex is starting to diminish and the more they do, the more feelings Mya has toward Zeke as well.    

In Think Like A Man, Mya had broken up with Zeke because she thought that all he wanted was a sexual relationship with her. After doing some reminiscing he realized that he truly did want a real relationship with Mya. He confronted her at a music bar where he explained his true feelings toward her by saying “Mya I love you... I’m in love with you… I’ve never said that to anyone in my life.” Once she realized that Zeke was no longer the sex craving player he once was, she knew she was able to accept him as her boyfriend once again. Taming of the Shrew had a similar ending. When he told his wife to come forth, she came out and let it be known to everyone that Petruchio has tamed her. She said “Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper…” Her love has forced her to give up her dark, demonic ways and humble herself to Petruchio, similar to how Zeke humbled himself to Mya.