35 & Shrewing

35 & Shrewing

Comparing and contrasting the deceptions versus honesty of marriage between the film, “35 & Ticking” and Shakespeare's “Taming of the Shrew”.

After reading Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”, readers’ minds are implanted with the idea that romantic love is a myth. If this is the case, what is the point of marriage? Shakespeare’s “Shrew” argues control, the thrill of the journey, etc. Although couples in both “Shrew” and the 2011 film, “35 and Ticking” come to grips with their tactics differently, they covertly bestow the idea that the importance of marriage is resorting to the drastic measures of deception over honesty in order to obtain what one desires most from the other.

In “Shrew”, Petruchio forces Katherine into marrying him. On the day of their wedding, he carries her off to his home where he starves, manipulates, beats and humiliates her and, on top of that, deprives her of sleep in the sense of actually “taming” her–to her demise, of course. In the end of the book, Katherine recognizes Petruchio’s hostility as a means of love and breaking her bad habits to make her the dutiful wife that women of that era were expected to be. All along, however, Petruchio went after Katherine for her fortune, as he is a man of greed rather than romance. A similar couple: Victoria and Austin, In “35 and Ticking”, have been married for 3 years. Only this time it is the wife Victoria who is deceiving her distant husband to get what she wants from him–children. In the end, Victoria fails at this and unfortunately loses Austin. Both text, aside from the distinct humor of their times, relate as they reflect the idea that for centuries, couples believe that whether romantic love exists or not, deception is the only route to self-success in a marriage because the deceiver is the dominant partner.

“If thou know one rich enough to be Petruchio’s wife,

(As wealth is burden of my wooing dance),

Be she as foul as was Flourentius’s love,

As old as Sibyl, and as curst and shrewd

As Socrates’ Xanthippe, or a worse,

She moves me not, or not moves at least

Affection’s edge in me, were she as rough

as are the swelling Adriatic seas.

I come to wive it wealthily in Padua;

If wealthy, then happily in Padua.”

(Act I, Scene ii, 66-77)

At this point in the play, Petruchio and his servant arrive in Padua and is convinced by his friend Hortensio to woo Baptista’s eldest and shrew of a daughter–Katherine. Petruchio, learns that Katherine is very rich and tells Hortensio that no matter how old, ugly or rude a woman is, as long as she is rich, she qualifies as the perfect wife for him. It is here that Petruchio reveals that his only intention in life is to wed wealth rather than a wife. He is straightforward and honest about his selfishness and his unconcern for romance to everyone except the Baptista family, especially Katherine. He instead woos her and tricks her into believing he is truly in love with her. This is Petruchio’s best chance at succeeding in his scheme.

In “35 and Ticking”, Victoria is revealed as the Petruchio of her marriage as her and Austin have continuous heated discussions on whether it is time to start a family together or not.

In this scene, Victoria complains that at she does want to wait until she is 40 while Austin claims she is putting too much pressure on him and rushing into having a baby. Victoria argues that, “Do you know how degrading, how embarrassing it is to have to beg someone you committed your entire life to to have a baby? The fact is, I’m ready to start a family.” To her surprise, Austin says, “I am tired of you putting so much pressure on me. I can’t even enjoy having sex with you because I feel like you’re trying to set me up. Fact number one, I know your body better than you do. I know what time of the month you’re ovulating and that’s when you really put pressure on me to have sex with you.”

The scene ends with Austin saying one of the reasons he does not want to have a baby is because he isn’t sure how long they’re going to be married. Victoria, denying nothing, stands speechless as Austin walks out. In this scene, Victoria is called out on her scheme whereas her shrew of a husband does not submit to her deception and instead admits he is unsure of their marriage. Victoria, having already felt distant from Austin, thought that enforcing a child into their marriage would make them stronger as a couple. Though instead of being honest with him about it, she thought she could deceive him to accomplish her “power couple” goal.

Katherine, “I know it is the sun that shines so bright.”

Petruchio, “I say it is the moon.”

Katherine, “I know it is the moon.”

Petruchio, “Nay, you lie. It is the blesséd sun.

Katherine, “Then God be blest, it is the blesséd sun.

But sun it is not when you say it is not,

And the moon changes as your mind.”

(Act IV, Scene vi, 5-21)

By now in the play, Petruchio is pulling the strings on Katherine’s view on reality in the form of celestial events. Only it is now Katherine deceiving her husband, allowing her soul to play possum in order to please Petruchio and put an end to his merciless acts against her. This tactic is Petruchio’s way to tame his shrew of a wife into being obedient. Earlier in the play, the two would debate such as this and Katherine, blind of his schemes, would disagree and argue back. Now, she is the one pulling his strings, making him believe that he has tamed her well. Once Petruchio is convinced, Katherine will have achieved repossession of her own freedom.

Austin comes home to see Victoria has packed his bag of clothes which is her way of telling him to leave the house. Austin replays his statement to Victoria from earlier, “The real reason I don’t want to have a baby with you, is because I don’t know how long I’m going to be married to you.” As he says this, he takes off his wedding ring and places it on the bed.

In their next scene, Victoria calls Austin and begs him to come home, upset  that he’s not coming home at all instead of apologizing and submitting to her, as she expected. Now Austin has become Petruchio and Victoria has become Katherine. While she has diminished to begging and submission, Austin, as Petruchio did to Katherine, deprives her of health–a healthy heart. Victoria is now the one in need of taming–at least this is how she believes Austin sees her. If the shoe fits, she must wear it. Victoria has failed indefinitely.

“Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,

Thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee,

And for thy maintenance commits his body

To painful labour both by sea and land,

To watch the night in storms, the day in cold,

Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe,

And craves no other tribute at thy hands

But love, fair looks, and true obedience,

Too little payment for so great a debt.”

(Act V, Scene ii, 140-183)

At the end of the play, Katherine submits indefinitely to Petruchio, with a changed view on what marriage means and the status of women versus men–whom she now recognizes as rulers such as: kings, governors and lords. Katherine honors  Petruchio as a loving, warm and securing husband and to love and obey is the least a woman can do for their husbands who are loving, warm and securing. Both Katherine and Petruchio have achieved their initial goals. Katherine has gained Petruchio’s ultimate trust and thus her freedom while Petruchio, although already has her money, has earned Katherine’s obedience, love and respect. This once “shrewd” couple supports the idea that deception equals success.

However, “35 & Ticking”’s outcome on deception greatly differs.

Since Victoria and Austin’s dispute over family, his calling out on her scheme has abated her to the passive character Austin once was. In the end of the movie, Victoria signs the divorce papers. A year later, she sees Austin with a pregnant woman. He exchanges shrugs and pity looks at her while she cries at the sight. Austin, once realizing Victoria had deceived him, reclaims his dominance by dragging her to his feet as he moved on with another woman. Austin has tamed  Victoria, teaching her that the deceitful “baby trap” no longer works on men, and he will not stand to be the punchline of her joke.

It is also crucial to consider Austin the deceiver himself. After all, he had been hiding his doubts about the marriage, purposely becoming distant from Victoria, except when to have sex, and was eventually freed. Petruchio on the other hand, hid his true intentions for wedding Katherine, depriving her of all things critical to human beings, by not looking at her as a human being, but a sack of money. He even “justified” his acts by lying to Katherine that she could not eat because the food had been burnt and contaminated. Austin would justify his distance from Victoria by working late and go to the gym afterwards. In the end, both men got what they wanted through ultimate and disclosed deception.

The fact that both Victoria and Katherine yielded to their husbands is no  surprise the audience. For centuries women have been portrayed as weak and compliant partners, whereas Victoria’s character tried to prove so otherwise. Her failure and Katherine’s submission sets forth the idea that there are still men today who despise and wish to “tame” the spirit of strong women. By doing this, both Petruchio and Austin reclaimed their masculinity and succeeded in their own plans.

WORKS CITED

1. Shakespeare, William, and Thomas Goddard Bergin. The Taming of the Shrew;. New Haven: Yale UP, 1954. Print.