The Taming of a Man

In “Taming of the Shrew” we learned that a man’s wife has to cater to his every whim no matter how trivial or important.  In fact, some might say that they were treated as property more than a person.  This was back then in the older times and now things have changed drastically.  Women are very independent and some do not need a man to take care of them.  And if they are in a relationship they take the role of a man in sense because they expect certain things in the relationship.

The characters being analyzed are Petruchio and Katherine from the Taming of the Shrew and Jeremy and Kristen from Think Like a Man.  The reason why is because of their polar opposite relationships.  In older times like the Taming of the Shrew, the husband expects certain things from his wife whether if it was taking care of him or being loyal to him.  Now in the 21st century, women want more from their relationships and they expect men give the same effort that they do.  In the movie, Kristen was influenced by a book called “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man”.  The book was written by Steve Harvey and its content include how men think and how to “manipulate” them into getting the most out of them.  

“She will not come. She bids you come to her.”  (Biondello, Act 5 Scene 2, Line 103)

This quote is from the part where Petruchio and a few other men made a bet on whose wife is the most loyal.  The first two men lost the bet but when Petruchio called Katherine, she immediately came to see what he wanted.  In those times, a man’s wife was seen as loyal; a king needs his queen.  In this day and age, women feel that they should not be ordered around.  They want to be respected  and treated as their men would want to be treated.

This scene is from Think Like a Man where the characters discuss their views on relationships.

Kristen and Jeremy are having dinner and having a conversation on what they both want as a couple.  This compares to the play because they are talking about mutual feelings and opinions.  In the setting of the play, it was all about what the man thought and the wife would have no other resort.  Even if the wife did not agree with her husband’s decision, it would not matter and there was a rare chance of them both agreeing on something, unlike in the movie.

“Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee…” (Katherine, Act 5 Scene 2, Line 163)

The following quote is from Katherine explaining how important women value their husbands.  They view them as their sole caretakers and some women believe that without them, they will not be able to function.  As said in my thesis, the independence of women is becoming stronger and now most women do not think like this.

In this scene from Think Like a Man, the couple split up momentarily showing that the female character does not need her boyfriend but still loves him.

Towards the end of the movie, Kristen finds out that Jeremy was lying to her about a job he applied for.  The analysis is not directly focused on the lying but the break up.  If one reads the sticky note, Kristen breaks up with Jeremy, stating her independence and her intolerance for a “boy who will not grow up”. This proves that Kristen does not need Jeremy because she makes a good living on her own.

Times have changed in relationships and women and they believe that they should have the same rights as men and that they should respect that.  In society, some men believe that women were put on this Earth to feel subservient to men, while others finds as a good thing that their women can handle things themselves.  This portrays to us that society believes that everyone should have their own relationship status.  If some women feel subservient to men or if some feel more independent, society believes that they can do any of these things.