Gold-digger

Posted by Sopheary Sok in English 3 · Pahomov · B Band on

Characters in Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew were not discreet with their motivations to gain wealth through marriage. Money was the top priority for Petruchio’s marriage, as it was for Baptista when he was choosing the suitor promising the biggest dowry for his daughter. Fast forward over 400 years later, people like Petruchio would be considered as a “gold digger”, an offensive term for those who form a relationship with someone purely to extract money from them. The play reflects how Petruchio’s intentions were an ordinary occurrence in Shakespeare’s time. The 2011 movie "Just Go With It" is a good example of a modern film that illustrates how much times have changed. Its protagonist, Dr. Danny Maccabee, was heartbroken to find out on his wedding day that his bride has been cheating on him and is only marrying him for the comfortable lifestyle he will provide her from his fruitful occupation as a cardiologist. Marrying for someone's wealth was widely accepted then regardless of romance. The difference in these stories shows how attitudes about marriage have evolved over the centuries. "I come to wive it wealthily in Padua; If wealthily then happily in Padua" -Petruchio (Act 1, Scene 2, 76-77) Petruchio travels to Padua in search of a rich wife. His friend Hortensio tells him about Katherine, the elder sister to Bianca, whom Hortensio was trying to woo at the time, and daughter to affluent Baptista. Baptista has a strict rule that Katherine must wed before Bianca. The problem is that no man dares to be near Katherine because of her foul mouth and bad temper. Petruchio dismisses Hortensio’s warnings about Katherine’s fiery nature and then declares that he will wed her no matter what as long as she is rich enough to be his spouse. Hortensio assures Petruchio of her family’s wealth and gives Petruchio his full support. Petruchio then immediately goes to meet Baptista to ask him for Katherine’s hand in marriage and to discuss what Petruchio will get out of the marriage in terms of the dowry. The fact that Petruchio never received anything but support for his intentions in marrying to increase wealth shows that his motive was nothing to be ashamed of at the time. Petruchio’s openness about it towards everyone including Baptista hinted that tying the knot for prosperity was more than accepted, it was approved. It’s a good thing Petruchio wasn’t born in the 21st century because no one would want to marry him. This is illustrated in the movie Just Go With It when Danny called off his wedding after overhearing his fiancé admit to cheating on him and marrying him for his money. Here is Danny’s cousin’s and Danny’s (from left to right) shocked expression when they overheard the conversation. Poor Danny is seen shedding a tear to find out that his fiancé, Veruca, doesn’t actually love him. Veruca can be heard expressing her annoyance over his family and saying to her bridesmaids, “Danny is so sweet and considerate, and he’s gonna be a cardiologist, so I’m marrying him… aand that zucchini on his face.” According to the Merritt Hawkins data, cardiologists are guaranteed an average base salary of $512,000. Veruca is well aware that she will be financially stable with Danny and that is enough for her to overlook his gigantic nose, deal with his annoying family, and end her affair (probably). Danny’s cousin was just as shocked as Danny was and he can be heard saying, “Gosh, I’m so sorry!” (Sorry that the girl his cousin loves turned out to be a shallow gold-digger.) His reaction is unlike the reactions Petruchio received when he told everyone why he wanted to marry Katherine. No one felt sorry for Katherine because Petruchio had a perfectly valid reason to tie the knot. And unlike Petruchio, Veruca kept her intentions a secret between her and her friends. She knew that Danny loved her and she pretended to feel the same way because in modern times, people marry for love. "I must confess your offer is the best, / And, let your father make her assurance, / She is your own;" - Baptista (Act 2, Scene 1, 408-410) Switching back to Taming of the Shrew, Baptista basically auctioned off his younger daughter, Bianca, to the highest bidder. Unlike Katherine, Bianca is sweet and desired by many. Two suitors, Lucentio (who isn’t really Lucentio, but that’s besides the point), and Gremio went back and forth about all of the lands, properties, and money they could offer for the hand of Bianca. When it was clear that Lucentio had more to give, Baptista agreed to hand Bianca over to him as soon as Lucentio can assure that his inheritance will fall onto Bianca in the case that Lucentio passed before his father. It would only make sense for the richest man to be chosen by Baptista because marriage was all about materialistic gain in Shakespeare’s time. The other characters were conscious of that as well which is why Gremio was able to admit his defeat knowing he wasn’t as rich as Lucentio and why the bidding happened in the first place. People wedded to increase wealth and it was as simple as that. Nowadays, people seek something far less tangible in a relationship: love. For Danny, that was all he ever wanted, but as mentioned, his first experience at love was a complete lie. In the movie’s happy ending, Danny finally marries the woman he loves who loves him just as much for who he is and not for his money. In the scene displayed, the couple confess their love for one another. Moments before their reconciliation, Danny had just called off a second wedding with a hot, blonde 23-year-old because he realized that the one he’s loved all along was his best friend, personal assistant, and a divorced mother of two. The bulk of the movie covers the journey of how the two realized their feelings for each other. That and the happy ending where Danny marries the love of his life shows how romantic love is a necessity for marriage in modern times. Just Go With It makes that clear as its protagonist calls off two whole weddings because it wasn’t love. The film even bashes gold-diggers like Petruchio (poor Veruca). The play and the film was created centuries apart, so it’s no wonder that they feature contrasting attitudes towards the concept of marriage. Taming of the Shrew showed us that people sought financial benefits through marriage. Just Go With It accurately demonstrates how people seek romantic love before marriage nowadays. These portrayals overall show us that society’s attitudes towards courtship/dating change in trend with our values.

​     Characters in Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew were not discreet with their motivations to gain wealth through marriage. Money was the top priority for Petruchio’s marriage, as it was for Baptista when he was choosing the suitor promising the biggest dowry for his daughter. Fast forward over 400 years later, people like Petruchio would be considered as a “gold digger”, an offensive term for those who form a relationship with someone purely to extract money from them. The play reflects how Petruchio’s intentions were an ordinary occurrence in Shakespeare’s time. The 2011 movie "Just Go With It" is a good example of a modern film that illustrates how much times have changed. Its protagonist, Dr. Danny Maccabee, was heartbroken to find out on his wedding day that his bride has been cheating on him and is only marrying him for the comfortable lifestyle he will provide her from his fruitful occupation as a cardiologist. Marrying for someone's wealth was widely accepted then regardless of romance. The difference in these stories shows how attitudes about marriage have evolved over the centuries. 

"I come to wive it wealthily in Padua; If wealthily then happily in Padua" -Petruchio
 
(Act 1, Scene 2, 76-77)

     Petruchio travels to Padua in search of a rich wife. His friend Hortensio tells him about Katherine, the elder sister to Bianca, whom Hortensio was trying to woo at the time, and daughter to affluent Baptista. Baptista has a strict rule that Katherine must wed before Bianca. The problem is that no man dares to be near Katherine because of her foul mouth and bad temper. Petruchio dismisses Hortensio’s warnings about Katherine’s fiery nature and then declares that he will wed her no matter what as long as she is rich enough to be his spouse. Hortensio assures Petruchio of her family’s wealth and gives Petruchio his full support. Petruchio then immediately goes to meet Baptista to ask him for Katherine’s hand in marriage and to discuss what Petruchio will get out of the marriage in terms of the dowry. The fact that Petruchio never received anything but support for his intentions in marrying to increase wealth shows that his motive was nothing to be ashamed of at the time. Petruchio’s openness about it towards everyone including Baptista hinted that tying the knot for prosperity was more than accepted, it was approved. It’s a good thing Petruchio wasn’t born in the 21st century because no one would want to marry him. This is illustrated in the movie Just Go With It when Danny called off his wedding after overhearing his fiancé admit to cheating on him and marrying him for his money.
 
     Here is Danny’s cousin’s and Danny’s (from left to right) shocked expression when they overheard the conversation. Poor Danny is seen shedding a tear to find out that his fiancé, Veruca, doesn’t actually love him. Veruca can be heard expressing her annoyance over his family and saying to her bridesmaids, “Danny is so sweet and considerate, and he’s gonna be a cardiologist, so I’m marrying him… aand that zucchini on his face.” According to the Merritt Hawkins data, cardiologists are guaranteed an average base salary of $512,000. Veruca is well aware that she will be financially stable with Danny and that is enough for her to overlook his gigantic nose, deal with his annoying family, and end her affair (probably). Danny’s cousin was just as shocked as Danny was and he can be heard saying, “Gosh, I’m so sorry!” (Sorry that the girl his cousin loves turned out to be a shallow gold-digger.) His reaction is unlike the reactions Petruchio received when he told everyone why he wanted to marry Katherine. No one felt sorry for Katherine because Petruchio had a perfectly valid reason to tie the knot. And unlike Petruchio, Katherine kept her intentions a secret between her and her friends. She knew that Danny loved her and she pretended to feel the same way because in modern times, people marry for love. 

"I must confess your offer is the best, / And, let your father make her assurance, / She is your own;" - Baptista
 
(Act 2, Scene 1, 408-410)
 
     Switching back to Taming of the Shrew, Baptista basically auctioned off his younger daughter, Bianca, to the highest bidder. Unlike Katherine, Bianca is sweet and desired by many. Two suitors, Lucentio (who isn’t really Lucentio, but that’s besides the point), and Gremio went back and forth about all of the lands, properties, and money they could offer for the hand of Bianca. When it was clear that Lucentio had more to give, Baptista agreed to hand Bianca over to him as soon as Lucentio can assure that his inheritance will fall onto Bianca in the case that Lucentio passed before his father. It would only make sense for the richest man to be chosen by Baptista because marriage was all about materialistic gain in Shakespeare’s time. The other characters were conscious of that as well which is why Gremio was able to admit his defeat knowing he wasn’t as rich as Lucentio and why the bidding happened in the first place. People wedded to increase wealth and it was as simple as that. 


     Nowadays, people seek something far less tangible in a relationship: love. For Danny, that was all he ever wanted, but as mentioned, his first experience at love was a complete lie. In the movie’s happy ending, Danny finally marries the woman he loves who loves him just as much for who he is and not for his money. In the scene displayed, the couple confess their love for one another. Moments before their reconciliation, Danny had just called off a second wedding with a hot, blonde 23-year-old because he realized that the one he’s loved all along was his best friend, personal assistant, and a divorced mother of two. The bulk of the movie covers the journey of how the two realized their feelings for each other. That and the happy ending where Danny marries the love of his life shows how romantic love is a necessity for marriage in modern times. Just Go With It makes that clear as its protagonist calls off two whole weddings because it wasn’t love. The film even bashes gold-diggers like Petruchio (poor Veruca). 

The play and the film was created centuries apart, so it’s no wonder that they feature contrasting attitudes towards the concept of marriage. Taming of the Shrew showed us that people sought financial benefits through marriage. Just Go With It accurately demonstrates how people seek romantic love before marriage nowadays. These portrayals overall show us that society’s attitudes towards courtship/dating change in trend with our values.

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