Visual Essay

As “The Taming of the Shrew” proves, the inevitability of deception in domestic relationships has existed over centuries. In “Shrew”, Petruchio’s main drive is to not only have Katherine exist as his wife, but to use the power he will hold in that relationship to essentially rewire her and make her the perfect, docile wife. In the 2013 movie “Lovelace”, the main character falls into a similar situation as Katherine- the main difference is, she was genuinely in love with her significant other, Chuck, up until the point where she realized he had ill intentions and was not the man she thought him to be.

Although Petruchio and Chuck share very similar traits and motives, the way in which they bring this to light are very different. Petruchio lays out all of his flaws for Katherine in the beginning, and though he gives her no choice to whether she will accept them or not, his honesty ends up being an attractive trait to Katherine. On the other hand, as Chuck’s true colors come to light over the course of their relationship, Linda’s trust in Chuck falters and deteriorates until the point where she no longer feels safe with her husband and wants to get away. These two situations are representative of how society’s willingness to let women enter toxic relationships has changed in the sense that it is more widely looked down upon, and furthermore, how those who perpetrate toxic behavior have become more secretive and cunning because of it. Even so, the core desire many men have to manipulate and control within their relationships has not changed and inevitably lead to lack of honesty and deception in which the woman falls victim.

"And, for that dowry, I'll assure her of Her widowhood, be it that she survive me, In all my lands and leases whatsoever. Let specialities be therefore drawn between us, That covenants may be kept on either hand."

(Act 2, Scene 1, 130-134)

In this scene, Petruchio is meeting Baptista for the first time and the two are discussing Petruchio’s desire to marry Katherine. In the quote, Petruchio is laying out the conditions of his dowry, which states that if he dies before her Katherine will be in possession of everything he owns. After this offer, Baptista says, "Ay, when the special thing is well obtained, That is, her love, for that is all in all." to which Petruchio responds, “Why, that is nothing…” As the reader can tell, this is Petruchio’s tactic in wooing the parent of the woman he wants. Not only did he offer a hefty dowry, but he was also able to gain the respect and admiration of Baptista, ultimately confirming his status as Katherine’s future husband.

The protagonist finds herself in a similar position when Chuck expresses his determination to make her parents like him.

As we can see from the screenshots, Chuck proposes a bet to Linda. After he states the conditions of the bet, she asks, “What if I win?” to which he repeats, “You spend the night at my house.” Exactly like Petruchio, Chuck gives Linda no choice in coming home with him. While Petruchio uses the means of trapping her in marriage, Chuck uses the appeal of his mystery and takes advantage of Linda’s innocence to depict himself as someone she can trust and commit to.

"You lie, in faith, for you are called plain Kate, And bonny Kate, and sometimes Kate the curst. But Kate, the prettiest Kate in Christendom, Kate of Kate Hall, my super-dainty Kate (For dainties are all Kates)- and therefore, Kate, Take this of me, Kate of my consolation: Hearing thy mildness praised in every town, Thy virtues spoke of, and thy beauty sounded (Yet not so deeply as to thee belongs), Myself am moved to woo thee for my wife."

(Act 2, Scene 1, 193-202)

In this scene, Petruchio is meeting Katherine for the first time. True to her reputation, she immediately gives off a bitter attitude and presents herself as unapproachable. Petruchio is not deterred and persists with conversation, choosing to flatter her like he planned to in his speech earlier in the text. In the quote, he is combatting her claim that her reputation is accurate by calling her virtuous and beautiful. Of course, she thinks this is ridiculous and does not take him seriously, and by the end of their exchange she refuses to warm up to him.

In the movie, Chuck continuously uses flattery to get closer to Linda and he, too, combats a lot of her insecurities by doing so. Also similar to Petruchio and Katherine, Linda is typically the one to make a self detrimental claim first to which Chuck responds.

In the first scene, Linda, Chuck and Linda’s friend Patsy along with a few other off screen characters are hanging out on the beach. Patsy wants Linda to skinny dip in the ocean with her, but Linda says she has to go home soon. Patsy says, “You’re such a drag.” and goes into the water. As we can see in the screenshots, Linda and Chuck are having a conversation when she inquires if he also feels the way Patsy does, to which he disagrees. Afterwards, the two kiss. Despite only knowing Chuck for a day or so, his flattery combined with Linda’s innocence and overall lack of experience causes her to fall for him quickly.

In the second scene, Chuck is having a party at his house. While Linda is in another room, he and Patsy look at the home made pornography film playing on a large screen and Chuck tries to make a move on Patsy. She quickly leaves and says to Linda, “I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.” Linda does, and she sees the movie playing and is shocked. He asks if she’s ever seen porn and she admits she hasn’t. She adds, “Good girls don’t do that stuff.” In the screenshots we again see Chuck using flattery by appealing to her insecurities even though she doesn’t make them obvious. When Linda says, “Good girls don’t do that stuff”, looking closely the viewer can tell she is subtly concerned that Chuck may no longer like her because of this, just as she was concerned he would think she was a drag. This plays into how deception and control in a relationship is not only on part of the perpetrator, but also how men often seek out or target younger and innocent girls because they are easier to manipulate. Linda’s desire to be liked causes her to subconsciously make decisions she typically wouldn’t make to gain Chuck’s approval. Although age isn’t as big of a factor between Katherine and Petruchio, she is still seen conforming to Petruchio’s expectations and commands in several scenes to ease out their relationship. The notion of setting one’s morals aside for the approval of a significant other is a common result of deceptive relationships.

There are some other important factors to consider when observing Linda’s character: she is 21 years old, lives with her mother and father who are both extremely strict and religious, has had very limited sexual encounters and the only one she addresses (in the beginning of the film) was a bad experience. Taking all of these into account, the audience can infer that her young age and limited experience conflicts with her home life and limitations forced upon her. It is almost inevitable that she would willingly act out at one point or another- either for herself, defiance against her parents or a combination of both. This is what inevitably leads Linda to fall into a relationship based on deception, manipulation and control.

"The more my wrong, the more his spite appears. What, did he marry me to famish me?... Am starved for meat, giddy for lack of sleep..."

(Act 4, Scene 3, 2-10)

In this scene, Katherine is expressing her confusion with the treatment she is receiving from Petruchio. Throughout the early stages of them knowing each other, he showered her in flattery and acted as though he would treat her like a treasure. Upon taking her home, however, he completely flips the script and treats her like a slave.

In the movie, Linda finds herself in this exact situation when she moves in with Chuck. In the beginning, he does not physically abuse her or show signs of violence, but the lack of honesty and intentional deception begins to show.

In this scene, the couple are sitting in a diner after Linda has bailed Chuck out of jail for the first time. She attempts to inquire about what happened, at which point Chuck bangs on the table twice and puts his head in his hands. In this conversation, the audience infers that this is not the first argument the two have had about this seeing as Linda already knows not to ask Chuck about his ‘work’. He eventually tells her that there was a situation between a client and one of Chuck’s ‘girl’s’, and Linda says, “What, you mean like, prostitution?” and Chuck confirms. She then asks if she will be questioned by the police, and Chuck responds, “No, no no, wives can’t testify against their husbands.” Guilt tripping is a common form of deception, and Chuck takes of advantage of Linda’s love for him by guilting her into thinking he’s hopeless. After saying she can’t testify against him, he goes on to ask, “What are we gonna do about it? Me and you.” emphasizing that the two are a unit and that she must help him. The next day, he takes her to a porn audition and shoot as a means to make money.  

Here, we see the result of Linda defying Chuck’s orders. In an earlier scene, Chuck tells Linda to sit on one of the producer’s lap, to which responds, “I’m having an intellectual conversation, Chuck. Why don’t you sit on his lap?” Later, when everyone goes upstairs for the party, the guests hear Linda and Chuck in the next room and assume they are having sex. However, Chuck was beating Linda for for what she had said earlier. Once she is collapsed on the floor, he says, “If I tell you so sit, screw, fuck, you do it.” Not only does this show Chuck’s ruthless behavior, but also makes it explicit to the viewer of the undeniable control Chuck has over Linda as her husband and manager. Because she is his wife, he utilizes this to justify why he forces her to commit sexual acts either on camera or with other men for money. In the scene from earlier where Linda bails Chuck out of jail, he emphasizes the two have to work together to pay off Chuck’s debts. All of these factors combined are what causes Linda to be stuck in an abusive relationship with her husband.

This scene is more support for the points made in the previous paragraph. When Chuck mistreats Linda, he reminds her that she is his wife and forces her to confirm that she is his, reinforcing the control and possession Chuck has over her.