Dirty Dancing with the Shrew

Dirty Dancing with the Shrew

Dirty Dancing in Relation to The Taming of the Shrew

In the play “The Taming of the Shrew” Baptista, the father of two unwed daughters Bianca and Katherine, has to decide who his children will marry. Similar to the 1987 movie “Dirty Dancing,” Dr. Jake Houseman, the father of the main character Baby and her sister Lisa, places his input on who he thinks are right for his daughters to date. However in “Shrew” Baptista has the final say on the spouses of his daughters while in “Dirty Dancing” Dr. Houseman does not. What causes the difference between these two stories is the time period. When “Shrew” was written in 1593, it was traditional for parents to have a very heavy influence, if not total control on who their children would marry. But times had changed when “Dirty Dancing” was introduced in 1987, as people had more freedom to marry who they loved rather than who their parents approved of.

Despite this change in a new era of romance, both men went through similar situations. They each thought they knew who was best for their daughters, but in the end were fooled by false outer appearances and personalities. This revealed that the men they thought were best, were actually conniving, indifferent, and uncaring for the love of their daughters.

"Content you, gentlemen. I will compound this strife.

‘Tis deeds must win the prize, and he of both

That can assure my daughter greatest dower

Shall have my Bianca's love. "

Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 361-365

This line of the play is spoken by Baptista, father of Katherine and Bianca. In this scene he is addressing Bianca’s potential suitors and saying that whoever can offer the greatest dowry, will be chosen to marry Bianca. Of course, he is doing this in good faith thinking that whoever has the most material possessions will be able to provide what is best for his daughter. What he was not thinking of was who would be able to provide for the emotional well-being of Bianca. He saw the wealthy men and did not put a second thought into how they would treat Bianca as a person. It is interesting to look back and see what parents valued in the spouses of their children compared to today, and notice it is not as different as one would think.

Continuing this thought, Baptista’s thought process is very similar to the mindset of Dr. Houseman in Dirty Dancing. While staying at a resort during the summer, he sets his daughter Baby up on a date with a wealthy young man. This is to keep her away from a lower class dancer named Johnny Castle, who he thinks is rebellious and a bad influence. He only sees Johnny’s rugged, “bad boy” exterior, and not how he acts around Baby.

In the first screenshot, Dr. Houseman is telling Johnny to stay away from Baby. At this point in the movie he is aware that they have been spending time together and definitely does not approve of it. In order to keep the two apart he sets Baby up with a wealthy young man named Neil Kellerman. In the second screenshot, Neil and Baby are on a date and Neil is talking about his accomplishments. As shown, he considers himself “the catch of the county,” and continuously tries to woo baby with his wealth, education, and social status; she is never impressed. She would much rather be with someone who connects with her on an emotional level and values her goals in life than someone who can offer her material possessions. It is sad but true that her father can see that as he persists in keeping Baby away from Johnny. He is blinded by Johnny’s inability to climb the social ladder and cannot see the support he gives Baby in every aspect of life.

"Thus in plain terms: your father hath consented

That you shall be my wife, your dowry ‘greed on,

And will you, nill you, I will marry you"

Act 2, Scene 1, Line 261-272

In this scene, Petruchio, Katherine’s only suitor, has tricked Baptista into approving of him and letting him marry Katherine for love. He is telling Katherine that no matter how she feels or what she does they will be married against her will. This is a direct example of how Baptista’s judgement of Petruchio was wrong and skewed. He thought that Petruchio was best fit for Katherine but in reality Baptista set his daughter up with a misogynistic, demanding, and overall awful person. Petruchio portrayed his relationship with Katherine as one of love even though she openly rejected him multiple times. He was able to influence the mindset of her friends and family into thinking that even though she hated Petruchio publicly, when they were in private she practically worshipped him. It is later shown after they are married the physical and emotional abuse Petruchio forces upon Katherine.  If Baptista knew about the maltreatment of Katherine, he would have never let Petruchio marry his daughter. But because of Petruchio’s charm and false pretenses, Baptista was tricked into thinking he was the perfect fit for Katherine.

This type of relationship is comparable to that of Baby’s sister Lisa. Dr. Houseman approved of the boy he set her up with named Robbie Gould, as he came from a wealthy family and had a promising future ahead of him. However, Dr. Houseman did not see the abuse Robbie placed on Lisa behind the scenes of their relationship.

In this screenshot Robbie states, “Some people count, some people don’t.” This particular quote speaks volumes of his true character which he hid from Dr. Houseman. When talking with Dr. Houseman, Robbie appeared to be the paradigm of gentlemen, but this was a different story when Houseman was away. In this particular scene Robbie is addressing Baby while no one else is around and reveals his true motives to her. Much like Petruchio to Baptista, Robbie has no trouble manipulating Dr. Houseman to see him as an upstanding citizen, working during the Summer and going to medical school in the Fall. However in reality he had been sleeping around and exploiting women for his own pleasure. Dr. Houseman was never suspicious of his behavior until he accidentally revealed himself at the end of the movie. If it were not for this happening Dr. Houseman would in no way learned that Robbie was not what he claimed to be. After discovering this, he opens his heart and sees that the choices he made may not have been the best for Lisa and Baby, showing that he truly cares for his daughter and not just for material possessions.

Both fathers thought they did what was right for their daughters, but in the end were wrong in their assumptions. While the play and the movie tell the same tale of parental influence on relationships, Dr. Houseman was able to change his ways and recognize his mistakes. As Baptista went through the same experiences, he did not see that his influence was wrong for both of his daughters. This, in part, is caused by the time difference of both stories. Culturally, the idea of parents having a say on who their children will marry has been a staple in society, although it has become less authoritative over time.  As Baptista has complete dominance over his daughters’ marriages, Dr. Houseman can only give his input on who his daughters should go out with. This shows that the idea and seriousness of love is constantly changing with time, as well as how people interpret it. But it also shows that parents will always have some type of influence on their children's spouses.