The Taming of the Bridesmaid
In Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" there are two sisters. The youngest sister, Bianca, can't get married until her older sister gets married, Katherine. The only problem here is that nobody likes the older sister because they think she's too aggressive. In the movie "Bridesmaids" the maid of honor lost her life savings and boyfriend and lives a boring life. She has a "friends-with-bennifits" relationship with a self absorbed man, who makes her feel worthless and unwanted, similar to the way men feel about Katherine in "The Taming of the Shrew." Women who are treated in this manner think that they will never get married and that they are destine to be alone. Often this isn't the case. If women weren't so stuck in their own ways, they would find that happiness comes at ease. When they do realize they need to change, their life changes for the better almost instantly.
"Call me daughter? Now, I promise you
You have showed a tender fatherly regard
To wish me wed to one half lunatic,
A madcap ruffian and a swearing Jack
That thinks with oaths to face the matter out."
You have showed a tender fatherly regard
To wish me wed to one half lunatic,
A madcap ruffian and a swearing Jack
That thinks with oaths to face the matter out."
(Act 2, Scene 1, lines 278-282)
During this part of the play a man named Petruchio comes to marry Katherine. Katherine can't stand this man and immediately denies his proposal. However, the man lies to her father and says that they are in fact getting married. Her father believes the man without second thought causing Katherine to become outraged. It also made her feel like her voice wasn't being heard.
During this part of the movie the main character, Annie, is trying to leave a man named Ted's house. This is the man that she is "friends-with-bennifits" with. She is trying to leave his house after he tells her he would like to stay friends, even though they had sex the night before. This made her feel like she has no worth.
While these two scenes seem very different, they do have some similarities. Even though Katherine is getting proposed to she still denies marriage. If the fact that she just met this man is ignored, a man wants to marry her! This doesn't happen very often because every man around thinks she is terrible. Katherine is stuck in her own wicked ways so much, that she ignores the fact that a man wants her to be his wife. Annie on the other hand wants Ted to be her boyfriend. She tries everything to win him over but it doesn't work. He basically kicked her out after they had sex. Annie fails to realize that Ted isn't the man for her and that he's just using her for sex. If she would stop going back to her old habits with this man, she could find a new man that would actually make her happy. These women have very different outlooks on life but are making the same mistake. They wont let go of their old ways and are forcing themselves to be miserable.
"Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,
They head, thy sovereign - one that cares for thee,
And for thy maintenance commits his body
To painful labor both by sea and land,
To watch the night in storms, the day in cold,
Whilst thou li'st 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....
But now I see our lances are but straws,
Our strength as weak, our weakness past compare,
That seeming to be most which we indeed least are.
Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot,
And place your hands below your husband's foot,
In token of which duty, if he please,
My hand is ready, may it do him ease."
They head, thy sovereign - one that cares for thee,
And for thy maintenance commits his body
To painful labor both by sea and land,
To watch the night in storms, the day in cold,
Whilst thou li'st 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....
But now I see our lances are but straws,
Our strength as weak, our weakness past compare,
That seeming to be most which we indeed least are.
Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot,
And place your hands below your husband's foot,
In token of which duty, if he please,
My hand is ready, may it do him ease."
(Act 5, Scene 2, lines 146-154, lines 173-179)
Fast forwarding to the end of the play, Katherine finally shook her old ways. She is talking to a few other women about the importance of her husband in her life. She basically tells them that a women needs to be everything for her husband and always be whatever he needs his wife to be.
Also fast forwarding to the near end of the movie, Annie meets back up with a man from her past. She didn't even give this man the time of day when they met before but now she has fallen for him and is willing to let go.
Again these scenes seem different the two women have many things in common. Katherine finally let go of her ways and fell in love with a man who always loved her. She realized that she truly could be happy if she let go of her ways. She also got to tell other women about the way she feels which is not something she was used to doing. She showed herself that she has value and worth and truly can live a happy life. Annie also let go of her old ways and began to open up to a new, better man. She finally realized that the guy for her was really there all along and she didn't even know it. By letting go of the past she is now able to be happy and maybe on day get married just like her friends.
Throughout the play and the movie it is clear to see that letting go of old ways and changing is always better. In todays society dating is looked at very different from the time "The Taming of the Shrew" was written. That doesn't mean we can't learn from it though. Many women are now able to be themselves and love people for who they truly are. This is all thanks to letting change in.
Bibliography:
"Bridesmaids." IMDb. IMDB.com, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
Shakespeare, William. The Taming of the Shrew. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square Press, 1992. Print.
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