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The Taming of the Groundhog:

Shakespearean and Modern Views of Relationships

By:Jamie Polson

4/24/17

The Shakespeare play “The Taming of the Shrew” deals with male and societal expectations in relationships.  Petruchio (one of the main characters) hears about Katherine, that she does not want to get married, and that she is a strong independent woman and is kind of like a “shrew” hence the name of the play.  Petruchio is up for the challenge of making Katherine more lady like.  He talks to Katherine's dad (Baptista) and hears that there will be a pretty large dowry involved if he marries Katherine since Katherine is already kind of old and Baptista really wants Bianca, his youngest daughter, to get married.  Lucentio who is another main male lead character goes to Padua originally to study Philosophy, but sees Bianca and wants to pursue her and stop studying philosophy.  

A more modern view of male and societal expectations in relationships is in the movie “Groundhog Day”.  Groundhog Day is a movie about a meteorologist (Phil) who works for Channel Nine News in Pittsburgh and one day he goes to Punxsutawney Pennsylvania for Groundhog Day with two colleagues of his from Channel Nine: Larry (the cameraman) and Rita (the producer).  Phil and the gang plan on leaving Punxsutawney the same night, but a blizzard hits, and they have to go back.  They stay in a nice Bed and Breakfast.  The next morning, when Phil wakes up, for some unexplained reason it is still Groundhog Day, and he is the only one who seems to notice.  This phenomenon keeps on happening hundreds of times and Phil gets the day memorized down pat and ends up changing the outcome of the day over time, using it to pursue a relationship with Rita, who is initially not at all interested.  Both texts present male and societal expectations to be mainly about power, sex, and money even though they are in very different situations.

(pg 111 act 3 scene 1 line: 33-38)

Hic ibat, as I told you before, Simois, I am Lucentio, hic est, son unto Vincentio of Pisa, Sigeia tellus, disguised thus to get your love, Hic steterat, and that 'Lucentio' that comes a-wooing,  Priami, is my man Tranio, regia, bearing my port, celsa senis, that we might beguile the old pantaloon

In this scene in the Taming of the Shrew Lucentio is telling Bianca about who he actually is, trying to win Bianca over by using mind tricks to try to get her to love him even more.  He is mainly trying to increase his chances of having sex with Bianca.

In The above Groundhog Day scene, Phil and Rita are throwing snowballs at some kids and Phil says “I wish we could do this with our own kids”.  What he is really doing there is, like Lucentio, trying to use mind tricks to fool Rita into having sex with him by being something that he isn’t.  He said that he wished he could do that with his own kids, he said this but had no intention of ever having kids or even of a real relationship with Rita.  He was trying to play into Rita’s motherly instincts as a woman so that she could try to imagine him as a dad and the only way to throw snowballs with your own kids is to have sex first.

Page #87 act ii scene 1 line 177-189 petruchio:

“And woo her with some spirit with then she comes! Say that she rail; why then I'll tell her plain She sings as sweetly as a nightingale:Say that she frown, I'll say she looks as clear As morning roses newly wash'd with dew: Say she be mute and will not speak a word; Then I'll commend her volubility, And say she uttereth piercing eloquence: If she do bid me pack, I'll give her thanks, As though she bid me stay by her a week: If she deny to wed, I'll crave the day When I shall ask the banns and when be married. But here she comes; and now, Petruchio, speak.

In this scene in “Taming of the Shrew” Petruchio is about to meet Katherine and is saying what he will say to her when he meets her.  His plan is to contradict whatever it is she says or thinks; for example, he says that if she wants him to leave, he will stay for a week, and if she does not wish to get married, he will say he does.  

This connects very closely to Groundhog Day in the above two scenes.  One of the scenes is when Phil is trying to get to know Rita, he doesn’t contradict her per se but he does play mind tricks.  What he did was he would ask her things that would give him information like when he was buying her drinks and she said that her favorite drink was a sweet vermouth on the rocks with a twist.  Phil used that information to his advantage and said the next day that his favorite drink was a sweet vermouth on the rocks with a twist, to which Rita responded, “Really? Mine too!”  This connects with the Taming of the Shrew, because both Petruchio and Phil were taking advantage of the women in the situation by exercising power and control in the relationship by using the words that the women speak against them.

(pg#83 act 2 scene 1 line: 121-127 Petruchio)

Signior Baptista, my business asketh haste, And every day I cannot come to woo. You knew my father well, and in him me, Left solely heir to all his lands and goods, Which I have better'd rather than decreased: Then tell me, if I get your daughter's love, What dowry shall I have with her to wife?

In this scene in The Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio has heard of Katherine and how she can be like a “Shrew” and that she is a strong independent woman.  He does not actually want to marry Katherine.  He is just marrying for the dowry that he will receive from Baptista, and as a challenge for himself to see if it is possible to change someone from being shrew like to be ladylike or a good wife.  It is basically an economic transaction, and a social experiment, for Petruchio.

In The above scene in Groundhog Day, Phil is super popular after having just saved the lives of a couple people and helped out countless others.  He is playing the piano for a big party in Punxsutawney.  There is then an auction event where the prizes are the bachelors in the room.  The rules are that you can do whatever you want with them, as long as it is legal.  Phil walks onto the stage, and people start yelling out numbers immediately, going up by five dollars each time, and eventually realize that they are going to run out of money, when suddenly Rita calls out from the back of the room “$339.88”.  This is obviously the highest number in the room, so Rita dances with Phil like she had been before the auction.  This scene shows how modern American society places monetary value on relationships.

In both the Taming of the Shrew and in the movie Groundhog Day the themes are very similar.  They both deal with power, control, and sex in relationships.  Both talk about how women in society have typically been used primarily for their bodies and have been seen as objects and not as people.  Both texts talk about how men try to exercise power, and control women, in relationships.  Both show how society monetizes relationships.  Both texts show male and societal expectations in relationships in very much the same way, even though they are very different situations

The Proposal to the Shrew

“The Taming of the Shrew” and “The Proposal”

As “The Taming of the Shrew” provides an example of deceptions within relationships within the 16th century. In the play, Petruchio sets to marry Katherine and doing so tames her to become something she isn’t. In “The Proposal”, the main character, Andrew, gets forced into a marriage that was for the benefit of his boss. This caused him to take control of the fake engagement. In both stories, the participants in both relationships fall in love.

Although Petruchio and Andrew chose to tame their finances, their reason of cause are quite different. Petruchio wanted Katherine to be a good wife. When he first met her, he knew of her inappropriate demeanor. Since then, he wanted her to mature into a wife to suit his needs as a husband and also to be in control of her. Andrew’s case is different from Petruchio. Andrew was forced into a marriage by Margaret due to her being deported. Once he found out, he knew he needed to set some ground rules in the “relationship” so he can get the things he want in return. These pieces reflect on how relationships accept deception throughout centuries, and because of this, relationships are only for control of the other party.

Earlier in this scene, Margaret, the editor of a big publishing company, was notified that she was being deported for going to an event in Frankford but having limited access with her visa. She had to think of a way of getting out of it. Her assistant, Andrew, approaches her about a client and that is when she comes up with an idea. She is going to marry Andrew so she can get a green card and be able to retain her job as editor. Her bosses were concerned that the marriage wasn’t real. That’s when she said, “We are two people who were not meant to fall in love, but we did.” Unlike Lucentio who sets out to marry Bianca by misleading her and everyone with disguises, Margaret puts herself and Andrew into a legal situation.

PETRUCHIO-

Be patient, gentlemen. I choose her for myself. If she and I be pleased, what's that to you? 'Tis bargained 'twixt us twain, being alone, That she shall still be curst in company. I tell you, 'tis incredible to believe How much she loves me. O, the kindest Kate! (2,1,321-326)

Petruchio is telling everyone that he and Katherine are getting married. Katherine in this time does not know it. She never agreed to marrying Petruchio. What actually happened is that Petruchio went to Baptista, Katherine’s father to arrange the marriage. He is the one who agreed upon the two to get married. This relates to “The Proposal” by Margaret arranging their marriage purely based upon the reason of her visa being revoked and having to go back to Canada. She later tells Andrew, but it is still deception within the relationship. Relating to each other, Petruchio is taking control in the relationship by starting the relationship with Katherine and Margaret is starts to control the relationship when she notifies her boss about it. The only difference is that Andrew finds out about the relationship and he takes control of it due to being unhappy about the incident.

HORTENSIO-

I promised we would be contributors And bear his charging of wooing whatsoe'er.

GREMIO-

And so we will, provided that he win her. (1,2,218-220)

Gremio and Hortensio are suitors trying to win over Katherine for her hand in marriage. While discussing being their potential husband, the two talk among themselves about how this marriage is just a business transaction. They realized that it is a whole scheme for her father the whole time. Back in that century, the father and son-in-law made the deals about the marriage without the daughter being involved. However, knowing this information, both Gremio and Hortensio want to pursue Katherine for themselves. In today’s world, the marriage isn’t determined by the parents in most places. However, in the proposal, Margaret was getting control over Andrew by making him marry her.

She was never intending to marry Andrew but things changed once she heard about her deportation. Since her deportation was severe, she is only doing this because she gets to retain her position as an editor at a big publisher company in New York. For Margaret to get Andrew to officially marry her, she would have to give him things he always wanted. Well threaten him with those things at least. In the screenshot above, this was Margaret asking Andrew to officially marry her because it was to his request as was other many things. Margaret was the one in control of the whole relationship, until Andrew backfired at her. He did not want to partake at all in this but ended up being the one in control. Throughout the film, Andrew deceives Margaret and treats her like she is worthless in his home to teach her to become a better human since she is a terrible person.

KATHERINE

Of all thy suitors, here I charge thee tell

Whom thou lov'st best. See thou dissemble not. (2,1,8-9)

When Bianca noticed that Katherine wanted her suitors but didn’t give much of a reaction to when she told Katherine no, it is clear that Katherine did not want to partake in a marriage at all. When Katherine does end up marrying Petruchio, it is clear to the audience that the whole marriage was a scheme and that Petruchio had all the control in the relationship. Katherine became mistreated by him, but he claims it was going to be good for her in the end. This is his way of taming her. Katherine is obviously stuck in the relationship, but when she does speak her mind throughout the book while being already married, Petruchio tells everyone that she is just going a little crazy and should ignore her. Somehow, everyone believes in Petruchio and ignores what happens. Petruchio is all in control and there is nothing to hide from it. It is seen to be clear to everyone. This relates back to the film. While arriving in Andrew’s hometown, he is greeted with a welcoming party. Little does everyone know, that are “engaged”.

During the party, everyone is asking their relationship. Both Margaret and Andrew get nervous because they are not actually getting married. Andrew takes dominance in the situation and tells everyone how it all happened. When Margaret tries to tell her point of view, Andrew cuts in and changes it. Andrew is trying to control Margaret and preventing her from being herself. Andrew doesn’t like the way she acts, so to fix her up, he needs to start the process at his welcoming party. He is showing dominance in the relationship and making her do what he says. Of course there is backlash, but he tames her to not give any more. Andrew relates to Petruchio in this way and likes to show dominance. Dominance is a big factor for these characters to be in control of their relationships.

Deception in relationships have been around for centuries upon centuries. In “The Taming of the Shrew” Petruchio compares to Andrew from “The Proposal” because of their alike attributes on wanting to be in control of relationships. They both support evidence for the only reason in being a relationship is for being in control of it. Having power in relationship shows dominance and that is what they both strive for in their own ways.

The Proposal. Dir. Anne Fletcher. Perf. Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock. Touchstone, 2009.

Shakespeare, William, G. R. Hibbard, and Margaret Jane Kidnie. The taming of the shrew. UK: Penguin , 2015. Print.

Whats all the buzz about romance?

Comparing The Bee Movie to Taming of the Shrew

In William Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew”, a clear theme is the men taking the leading role of romantic relationships. They act as protectors and ones who take care of the women, as well as initiators of the relationship, which is shown through Petruchio to Katherine, and various suitors to Bianca. In the film “The Bee Movie”, this idea managed to sneak its way in as well, with Ken acting as a protector of Vanessa from various things he deems as threats. However, unlike in “Shrew”, Ken is not the full leader of the relationship, as their relationship was eventually broken off by Vanessa, something that would have been nearly impossible in the 1400s. These texts reflect that although the role of men being the leaders of a romantic relationship has shifted more towards equality for both parties, role of men as a protector has remained present through time

"Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper...one that cares for thee, and for thy maintenance commits his body to painful labor...whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe "

(Act 5, Scene 2, 155-160)

No characters show this relationship of men being the protectors as clearly as Petruchio and Katherine, who says the above to her sister, Bianca, and to a widow married to Hortensio during a long speech on why women ought to be obedient to their husbands. With this, she is making a point using this as evidence. It is a given at this time that the husbands are the protectors of their wives, who stay at home safely. There is no protest of this by any of the other men or women at this point in hearing her speech, showing that this was in fact the expectation of the men in relationships at the time.

In this scene, Barry is violently confronted by Ken in an attempt to protect Vanessa, his girlfriend, from a bee, who he notices as a threat. However, there was no real threat, nor was there any indication from Vanessa that the bee was any threat--in fact, Vanessa immediately attempted to stop Ken from attacking Barry as soon as she could. However, he immediately attacked it off of an instinct that his girlfriend was in danger and she needed to be protected.

"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 specialties be therefore drawn between us, that covenants may be kept on either hand."

(Act 2, Scene 1, 116-120)

This quote, spoken by Petruchio to Baptista, is in regards to negotiations being done between them so that Petruchio has Baptista’s blessing in him marrying Katherine. In order for that to be the case, Petruchio has to offer something to Baptista, and he offers that if he were to die before Katherine, all of his possessions would go to her.

The success of this offer shows that when negotiating a marriage, what the father is looking for is for there to be a promise of safety for his daughter. What Petruchio is basically saying is that Baptista has nothing to worry about, for Katherine will be “assured of her widowhood.” Baptista then agrees to the marriage because the expectation of Katherine being protected has been met.

In this scene, Ken again confronts Barry in the bathroom, but under different circumstances. Ken now understands that Barry is not a physical threat to Vanessa, as this is later in the movie and they have become acquainted, but he instead perceives him as an emotional threat, trying to manipulate Vanessa. This is clearly shown through the line he uses to instigate this fight, “I’ve just about had it with your little mind games.”

It’s clear that the relationship between Vanessa and Ken is not as male-dominated as the one between Katherine and Petruchio. Vanessa had the jurisdiction to terminate the relationship later in the story, something that would have been difficult for Katherine to do. However, that doesn’t mean that the expected role of each person in a romance has changed completely, which is clear from the protective role that Ken feels he has to play, even when there is no imminent danger.



Works Cited

Shakespeare, William, G. R. Hibbard, and Margaret Jane Kidnie. The Taming of the Shrew. UK: Penguin, 2015. Print.

DreamWorks Animation ; Columbus 81 Productions ; Pacific Data Images ; produced by Jerry Seinfeld, Christina Steinberg ; written by Jerry Seinfeld and Spike Feresten & Barry Marder & Andy Robin ; directed by Steve Hickner, Simon J. Smith ; head of character animation, Fabio Lignini. Bee Movie. Hollywood, Calif. :Paramount Home Entertainment, 2008. Print.

In “Taming of the Shrew”, it's a perfect portrayal of the fact that control itself has been a part of relationships for centuries However, men are always the controller in shown relationships, making women inferior. If the roles were reversed that would portray a different type of control.

50 Shades of Grey is about a sexually controlling man named Christian Grey, who is also a wealthy and successful billionaire who has never had a “committed” relationship, only several ‘friends with benefits’. He then falls into a relationship with Anastasia Steele, where he manipulates and controls her into being in a relationship with him.

Katherine and Anastasia actually have a lot in common. Their friend, or in the case of Katherine; their sister, is looked upon as the favorable woman, and guys are lured more to their sister/friend rather than themselves. Anastasia’s Friend, Kate is straightforward similar to Christian, and they would be a good match, but Christian wants to be in a relationship where he can control his significant other, exactly in the type of relationship Petruchio wants to be in; where he has complete control over Katherine.

Throughout the movie, Anastasia makes several references to her mother’s relationships, love life, and past husbands, and se would fall into the “Love at first sight” category, but is never in true love with any of her past four husbands. Ana’s mother could be similar to Katherine; in the fact that she’s had many past suitors but none of them could “tame the shrew” that is Anastasia’s mother.

In the scene above, Christian is being interviewed by Ana, who is filling in for Kate because she had something else to do. Ana asks a question about whether Christian Grey is gay, because it’s never been public that he’s been in a steady relationship that didn’t end after a one night stand. He responds with a short answer; and in a quick reply she asks “So you’re a control freak?”; and he respond with “Oh, I exercise control in all things, Miss Steele.” Christian shows an amount of control in both his life and the relationship; and throughout the movie demonstrates this control onto Ana. He manipulates and controls Ana into being his “perfect girlfriend”, both sexually and emotionally.

Act 4, Scene 5, Lines 18-20

Katherine is naturally snarky and repulsive to many men; but Petruchio has undergone the task to “tame” her. After starving her of food and sleep; he almost makes her comply to a false fact; that during the daytime it’s the moon and not the sun showing. Petruchio states that it was the moon, when it was really the sun shining. He used the fact that she was food deprived and sleep deprived; and he had the two things she really wanted, to control her. He uses his own advantages; not only because he is the male in the relationship but also because he has the two things she desperately needs, so she is forced to comply to his demand; so she is being controlled by him because of the things she needs.

Just like Anastasia in Fifty Shades of Grey, she’s being manipulated and controlled by the man in her life. Anastasia is being deprived of her own sexual needs, while Katherine is being deprived of her food and sleep. They are forced to comply to decisions they don’t want to be a part of; with Katherine it being whether it’s the sun or the moon; but with Anastasia it’s the fact that she was almost forced to experiment different forms of sex, such as BDSM.

In the scene above, Anastasia leaves Seattle, and Christian is being a clingy boyfriend, where he wants to be updated in what she’s doing and where she is 24/7, no matter the time. He’s also constantly updating himself about her life; and keeping her in check with her decisions with a constant presence in her life. A little later in the scene she tries to push away; but as to be expected Christain comes to her and reassures his dominance in the relationship, and forces his presence onto her; making him in control yet again through the movie.

Act 5, Scene 2, Lines

In the scene above, Petruchio, Hortensio, and Lucentio are having a competition as to whom goes to their husband after being called upon. Both Bianca and the widow refused to come out to the husbands, but when Petruchio had called in Katherine; she came in. She had tried to disobey Petruchio’s orders earlier in the book, even in the example I had above where she had said he was wrong; but eventually she gave in.

Just like Katherine above, Anastasia had refused Christian's orders at first. However, after being constantly pressured just like Katherine was by Petruchio; Anastasia falls into Christian's orders and does what he pleases. Both Katherine and Anastasia were controlled, manipulated, and belittled by their husband figures in their life. They were abused by being deprived of the things they needed the most; in the case of Katherine it was food and sleep, and for Anastasia it was sex.

Bernardo and Baptista's Great Agenda Debacle.

Comparing themes of male ideals in courtship/dating from The Taming of The Shrew and West Side Story, by Luis-Manuel Morales

Oftentimes, parents or parental figures will use their authority to prioritize their agendas and overlook the wishes of their children. In Taming of the Shrew and West Side Story, Baptista and Bernardo are the parent figures of each play respectively. Baptista, the actual father of Katherine, and Bernardo, the older brother of Maria, have their priorities. Baptista remains loyal to his finances, and Bernardo remains loyal to the Sharks,his gang fellow Puerto Ricans. When Petruchio comes along, Baptista sees him as a financial gain, and arranges the marriage between him and his daughter, Katherine. Maria, on the other hand, falls in love with Tony, a white teen who is a member of the rival clique, the Jets, and Bernardo wants nothing of it. Bernardo tries to hook her up with a fellow Shark  Puerto Rican Chino. In both of these stories, the judgements of the male parental figures are blurred by bias and personal agendas, upholding reputations or the importance of gain, and they use their authority  to secure those desires.

““I know not what to say, but give me your hands. God send you joy, Petruchio. ‘Tis a match.” Baptista, Pg. 97, Act 2 Scene 1, Lines 337-339

In the Taming of the Shrew, Baptista offers his Daughter, Katherine, to Petrucio, due to the offer he strikes with him. They agree to terms on property shares if either men or Kate herself passes away. Petruchio then goes to woo Kate, however fails with her, but makes it appear as such and Baptista apoves. Throughout all of this, Baptista looks over his daughter's desires and hooks her up with a wealthy individual. Considering the deal, his previous wishes to have her mary first, and an opportunity to wed her given her reputation, he gladly ignores any obvious signs given by his daughter that she does not wish to marry him.

“Get your hands off American! Stay away from my sister!” Bernardo

In West Side Story, 2 gangs in New York during the late 1950’s are constantly at a battle for their turf. The white Jets and Puerto Rican Sharks go to a dance in a neutral part of town. There, Maria, brother of the leader of the Sharks, locks eyes with Tony, an on and off member of the Jets. As the two fall for each other, Bernardo swoops in and snatches his sister away from Tony. He yells at her “Couldn't you see he’s one of them!” Still staring at the boy she just fell in love with, she replies, “No, I saw only him.” After a small altercation between both gangs, Bernardo instructs Chino to take Maria home, even though she wants to stay at the dance. In this case, Bernardo ignored his sister's wishes and desires and keeping loyal to his agenda, he sends her home with his original date, Chino, and arranges to meet with Riff, leader of the Jets, later on in the evening.

“Go, girl. I cannot blame you thee now to weep, For such an injury would vex a very saint, Much more than a shrew of [thy] impatient humor” Baptista, Pg, 117, Act 3 Scene 2, Lines 29-32

As Katherine and Baptista await Petruchio on wedding day, Kate flips out and storms off stage. Although it is an important day for both characters, Baptista dismisses her outburst as is if where nothing, almost saying ‘excuse my daughter and her shrew behavior’. Not really caring for his daughter but putting her feelings down to elevate his importance and show that this wedding is of bigger priority to him and not the bride.  

“Forget that boy, and find another! One of your own kind! Stick to your own kind!” Anita

After Bernardo and Riff are killed in the rumble, Maria asks a beat up Chino if Tony is ok. Chino, in shock of the question, frustratingly informs her that Tony killed her brother. Her brothers actions earlier in the story at the dance not only made her and Tony closer, but erased her worry for Bernardo and Tony became her main priority. Bernardo’s agenda and his power trip messed up the family dynamic. However, even in death, his message lives on through his widowed girlfriend, Anita. After explaining to Maria what had happened and it was a big mistake, Anita arrives home and Tony leaves. Knowing that her brother's killer was just there, She screams at Maria to date her own kind and forget about him. Still not taking Maria's feelings and true desires into consideration, the Parental unit of Bernardo and Anita neglect Maria's feeling all the way through, and don't stop to take in exactly what happened at the rumble and Marias love for the boy.

In both The Taming of the Shrew and West Side Story, the judgements of the male parental figures are blurred by bias and personal agendas, upholding reputations or the importance of gain, and they use their authority  to secure those desires.  In each story, the parental units make choices which ultimately benefitted them but used their children or loved ones and left them with the negative side effects, not them. As a parent there is a certain level of trust and acceptance you must give up that allows to to make clear, wise choices that take in the beliefs and desires of all involved to do what's best for the family, yet often times, and in the cases of Bernardo and Baptista, they’re biased, selfish choices left a trail of disaster in their wake, and unfortunately didn’t impact them the most, but the children they are supposed to care for.

Works Cited:

• Wise, R., & Robbins, J. (Directors), & Lehman, E. (Writer). (1961). West Side Story [Motion picture on Blu Ray Remastered]. United States: United Artist.

Taming of Love at First Sight

A Comparison Between “Taming of the Shrew” and “Love, Actually”

As the play “Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare proves, the idea of romantic love at first sight has been around for centuries. Petruchio decides to pursue Katherine Minola, a woman who is undesirable to other men in the play. Petruchio wants Katherine despite the fact that they do not know each other. The 2003 movie, “Love, Actually”, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David, instantly develops feelings after meeting his new assistant, Natalie. She is seen as unattractive to most people, but David is smitten by Natalie.

Although Petruchio and David share the same tactics in winning over their women, they differ in the their motives. The plot in “Taming of the Shrew”, is that Baptista Minola decides his youngest daughter, Bianca, cannot marry until his eldest daughter, Katherine, is married first. Petruchio decides to take this as a challenge to tame Katherine even though he does not know her. He also mentions he prefers wealthy women, which applies to Katherine. His reveals his tactic is to give Katherine endless affection despite her displeasure with him.  In “Love, Actually”, David meets his assistant, Natalie, on his first day and instantly develops feelings for her. His instinct is to treat Natalie with respect and kindness but with intent to know her better. These texts show audiences that romantic love at first sight is only decided by physical attraction or intent for another desire.

Petruchio:

Signor Hortensio, ‘twixt such friends as we

Few words suffice; and therefore, 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 Florentius’ love,

As old as Sibyl, and as curst and shrewd

As Socrates’ Xanthippe or a worse,

She moves me not—or not removes 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 wealthily, then happily in Padua.

(Act 1. Scene 2. Lines 62–73.)

In this scene, Petruchio is describing to his friend, Hortensio, and servant, Grumio, his carelessness for the substance of the girl he will marry. Petruchio says “As curst and shrewd, As Socrates’ Xanthippe” and “Be she as foul as Florentius’ love”. Socrates had a wife, Xanthippe, that was abusive. Florent was a knight that was forced to marry an old woman. Petruchio uses two undesirable women to prove that he is negligent in finding a suitable wife that would fit most men's desires. Petruchio is only worried about finding a wealthy women, no other factors matter. Katherine, Petruchio’s soon to be love interest, belongs to a prosperous family. Petruchio does not need to know Katherine to know that he will pursue her. Her wealthy background draws him in already. Love is not the desire for money. This helps confirm that the idea of “love at first sight” is not actually love, just a desire for one’s attributes.

This scene in “Love, Actually” is a conversation between David and his other assistant, Annie. He asks if she knows Natalie, and she replies as remembering her as the “chubby girl”. Struck by this observation, David asks if she really is chubby. She replies with a rude comment and he simply shrugs it off, but the audience can see from David’s facial reaction and response, that he disagrees with Annie’s statement. Like Petruchio, David wants the “undesirable” woman. Annie voices an offensive comment which can give the audience the feeling that in this movie’s world, Natalie would be the woman most men wouldn’t want because of her physical appearance. David doesn’t care about anyone else’s opinion; he believes Natalie is attractive. This infers that David immediately fell for Natalie’s appearances because he does not know much about her life. Attraction should not be mistaken for love.The audience can see here that love at first sight is can be based on one person’s longing for another’s physical appearance.

Petruchio:

And woo her with some spirit when she comes.

Say that she rail; why then I’ll tell her plain

She sings as sweetly as a nightingale.

Say that she frown; I’ll say she looks as clear

As morning roses newly wash'd with dew.

Say she be mute and will not speak a word;

Then I’ll commend her volubility,

And say she uttereth piercing eloquence.

If she do bid me pack, I’ll give her thanks,

As though she bid me stay by her a week.

(Act 2. Scene 1. Lines 177-186.)

This scene in “The Taming of the Shrew” Petruchio reveals his tactic to win over Katherine. He says that he will give her endless affection no matter what her response. Katherine is known to be a woman with a “scolding tongue”, so Petruchio is declaring that he will counteract this in hopes to hopefully tame Katherine. He will “woo her with some spirit”, something Katherine lacks. Petruchio’s tactic to win Katherine is simply a front. He has never met Katherine before this moment, so he decides on marrying her for the intent of money. Only a wealthy woman will bring Petruchio joy, so he will do everything in his power to do so. Petruchio’s act will give Katherine the impression that Petruchio is truly interested in her despite the fact that they are strangers. Petruchio’s love at first sight isn’t love, only the desire for her money. The reader is able to observe here that love at first sight is the initial need for one’s attributes.

This “Love, Actually” scene depicts David’s instincts in caring for Natalie. He leaves the President of the United States in his office for a moment as Natalie walks in. He returns to find the President on Natalie, who is uncomfortable. The next scene is a press conference with the President and David. David uses the press conference as a subliminal warning to President and a message to Natalie to show her he cares for her. Natalie and the audience are given the impression that David has strong feelings for Natalie, even though they have only recently met and David is Natalie’s boss. Like Petruchio, David is showing he cares. Before this scene, David and Natalie were still only associates in the workplace. This public warning and unknown display of affection caused controversy over a girl he barely knows. The audience can conclude that David’s feelings for Natalie have only been decided on because of her looks, which is not love at first sight.

“Love at first sight” has been branded in Hollywood to romanticize relationships that are brought on by physical attraction. In the real world, most relationships thrive on a deep knowledge of each other. Audiences are given “love at first sight” moments to draw them deeper into the plot. In the end, David reveals his love for Natalie and finds that her feelings are mutual. Petruchio’s tactic works, and Katherine no longer possesses a “scolding tongue”. She has been tamed, which means Petruchio will wed her. Each of the men in these texts decide to pursue women they barely know. Romantic love is affection shared between people. Sexual attraction is attraction towards someone who is visually appealing. Love and attraction should not be confused as it happens in these two texts.

Works Cited

“Love, Actually” (2003)

The “Power” Of Love

In “Taming of the Shrew”, deception in a relationship is used to woo a love interest when Lucentio disguises himself as a teacher to have access to the love of his life - Bianca. In Amélie (2001), the main character uses stratagems to hide her identity while moving her crush around like a chess piece.

Although Lucentio and Amélie both trick their love interests to win them over, Lucentio reveals his identity to Bianca right away while Amélie keeps her identity hidden from Nino. In the end, Lucentio and Amélie’s deceit pay off for the partners since Bianca and Nino are gifted with their heart’s desire. These pieces of media show that deception in relationships continue to provide the opportunity for one person to have power over the other in any relationship. The deception can seem wrong at first, but as long as the power is being used for working towards the betterment of the relationship, all turns out well.

“… this young scholar Гpresenting Lucentio, disguised as Cambioㄱ that hath been long studying at Rheims, as cunning in Greek, Latin, and other languages as the other in music and mathematics. His name is Cambio. Pray accept his service.”

(Act 2, Scene 1, 83-88)

Lucentio disguises himself as Cambio, a teacher, to be able to get close to Bianca, since her father, Baptista, is not allowing her to get married until her older sister, Katherine, does. Gremio, another of Bianca’s suitors, introduces him to Bianca and her family. This deception sets Lucentio up to interact with Bianca without her knowing his true identity. Lucentio has control over Bianca’s interpretation of him, giving him power. Instead of harming Bianca, Lucentio reveals his true identity to her, strengthening their blooming relationship.

Amélie is reluctant to reveal her true identity since she is not as confident as Lucentio.

In “Amélie”, Nino is positive that he has found the mysterious woman that led him to this cafe. Amélie denies her identity and retreats, leaving Nino disappointed but still intrigued. In this scene, Amélie has lost her mystery and her power, leaving her face to face to the man that she wants to impress. Unlike Lucentio, Amélie is shy and not confident that she will be able to win Nino’s affection right away. In an attempt to regain power, Amélie continues her deception to keep herself hidden away from the possibility of a rejection. Nino could have forced Amélie to reveal herself, making her uncomfortable, but he allowed her to stay in the dark. While Amélie’s denial is disappointing to Nino, it pushes him to become more passionate in his search for her, keeping their relationship playful.

Enter Katherine and Bianca Гwith her hands tied.ㄱ

“Good sister, wrong me not, nor wrong yourself, to make a bondmaid and a slave of me…. Unbind my hands…”

(Act 2, Scene 1, 1-4)

This quote shows that Katherine and Bianca are struggling to stay civil with each other since Bianca cannot be married until her sister does. This tension between siblings most likely results in her not enjoying being forced to stay at home. Her haste to get married supports the idea that she wishes to be freed and move on with her life before she is considered to be an “unmarriageable age”. Lucentio uses his disguise as an opportunity to win Bianca’s love and therefore, provide her with a way to get married.

While Amélie’s identity is still a secret to Nino, they play a game of cat-and-mouse, with her leading Nino to specific locations. The first location is to binoculars (shown in the first image below) and the second location is a photo booth (the second image below).

Amélie uses arrows to guide Nino through the city to return his prized album back to him. He is guided to binoculars so that when he looks in them, he can see Amélie returning the album to his bike… and then running away. Amélie also shows Nino the secret of the photo booth repairman that causes him to be dumbstruck, since he believed the man to be a ghost. Amélie still does not reveal herself, which is different from “Taming of the Shrew”. If Amélie revealed herself after returning the album or amazing Nino with the repairman, the moment would have been equivalent to Lucentio revealing himself and gifting Bianca with the chance for her freedom. All of these gifts were given to the love interests through deception, but that dishonesty did not stop the amazement that Nino felt and Bianca’s amusement at Lucentio revealing his true identity.

In “Amélie” and “Taming of the Shrew”, both suitors use deception to gain power. Lucentio and Amélie’s dishonesty with their partners is glossed over because in the end, their relationships have improved. This proves that society places focus on the result of the relationship, not the developing process. Lucentio went around Bianca’s back to arrange their marriage, but they make a fine couple in the end. Amélie manipulated Nino but in the end, they are riding on a bicycle and smiling.

Works Cited

Amélie. Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Perf. Audrey Tautou and Mathieu Kassovitz. Twentieth

Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2001. DVD.

Shakespeare, William. The taming of the shrew. Ed. G. R. Hibbard and Margaret Jane

The Purpose of Marriage

The play, “The Taming of the Shrew” displays marriage as a priority for the men that it  follows. As two suitors Petruchio and Lucentio beat out other suitors in order to marry Baptista’s daughters Bianca and Katherine. Even though they have differing reasons; Petruchio, in order to obtain the wealth Katherine has and for Lucentio, to obtain the one he loves. It depicts the role marriage has in the Elizabethan era. In “Crazy, Stupid, Love”, the main character Cal after learning that his wife (Emily) wants a divorce, meets a guy named Jacob who is bachelor. Jacob teached Cal how to pick up women in order to get over his wife. With that said, as the movie goes on he realizes that his wife is the only girl he wants and wounds up fighting to get his wife back. Jacob as the movie goes on met a woman named Hannah who he started instead of just having a mindless one night stand. The play and movie both has to do with marriage/courtship but shows as time went on woman obtained more ownership in who they want to marry.

“Content you, gentleman. I will compound this strife. ‘Tis deeds must win the prize, and he of both That can assure my daughter greatest dower Shall have my Bianca’s love. Say, signior gremio, what can you assure her.”(Act 2, Scene 1, line numbers 365-)

In this scene Lord Baptista is talking to two potential suitors; Gremio and Tranio, for his daughter Bianca. Tranio is dressed as Lucentio, the man who actually wants to marry Bianca. Baptista wants to see what these men has to offer his daughter and him, promising Bianca’s hand in marriage to the richest man. This scene shows how marriage was arranged and the daughter has no choice in the matter. Marriage is seen as a business transaction by Baptista instead of a badge of love. In order to marry Bianca, Lucentio goes as far as becoming Bianca’s tutor to get closer to her and have tranio play as him. Showing that this marriage is really important to him and that he truly does like Bianca. In order to get her though he has to convince Baptista that the marriage will benefit him as well.

    In this scene Cal and Emily are about to go into a parent teacher conference for their child Robbie. Cal confesses that he hates himself for not fighting for her even after finding out Emily cheated in him. He states,” I should’ve fought for you. You fight for your soulmate. At least that's what our thirteen-year-old tells me.” This scene shows the emotion connection that Cal and Emily has. Unlike the Taming of the Shrew suitors, Cal is already married but the way he confesses to her can be compared. Cal married Emily because he loved her while Lucentio had to prove himself to the father before he was able to marry Bianca. The movie reflects that in the modern age women have way more control of choosing who they want to marry than what is reflected William Shakespeare’s play.
        

"Marry, so I mean, sweet Katherine, in they bed And

therefore, setting all this chat aside, Thus in plain term: your father hath consented That you shall be my wife."

(Act 2, Scene 1, line numbers)

    This part of the play has to do with Katherine and the suitor her dad has allowed to marry her, Petruchio. Petruchio is trying to train Katherine into becoming the perfect wife for him by complimenting her when she does something he likes and punishing her when she does something he deems wrong. Katherine does not want to marry Petruchio, but since Petruchio has Baptista’s blessing what she wants doesn’t really matter. Since Petruchio is very manipulative as well, he is able to talk his way out of situations that may have stop the marriage. This scene in the play reflects the way marriage was perceived in William Shakespeare’s era (1558-1603). Where marriage was seen as a business opportunity in which both families involved would benefit. It also shows that the father has majority of the say in who the daughter is going to marry.  

In this scene, the movie reached its climax as Cal plans of winning Emily back was interrupted by Jessica’s Dad and Jacob. He found out that Jacob is dating his daughter Hannah and Cal does not like that at all. Calling Jacob a womanizer, while Jessica’s Dad thought that Cal was having a relationship with his 17 year old daughter. Jessica babysat for Cal and Emily, she had a crush on Cal throughout the movie but nothing ever happened. This scene reflects how a women has way more power in who she chooses to be in a relationship/marry because Hannah was introducing Jacob to the family. Even though Cal does not want her dating Jacob, it is socially acceptable for Hannah to not listen to her father. Katherine does not have this luxury as she has to marry whoever her Dad sees fit. This shows that the modern era of marriage is about love and compatibility than just furthering a family’s power.

Overall, “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Crazy, Stupid, Love” even though they are fictional works, shows society views on marriage in the Elizabethan and modern era. From the play’s perspective, marriage was seen as a tool to gain more power and prestige. From the movie’s perspective, marriage is more complicated and has to do with the emotional connections between two people. Showing that the purpose of marriage has changed over the years and is always subject to change.

Work Cited:

Shakespeare, William, G. R. Hibbard, and Margaret Jane Kidnie. The taming of the shrew. UK: Penguin , 2015. Print.

Crazy, stupid, love. Dir. Glenn Ficarra. Perf. Steve Carell. Https://gomovies.to/film/crazy-stupid-love-4635/watching.html?ep=503677. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.

In both The Parent Trap and Taming of the Shrew, two relationships are formed through heavy influence by family members. In the Parent Trap, twin sisters Annie and Hallie used a series of tactics such as deception and trickery to reunite their long separated parents. While in Taming of the Shrew, Baptista used his being the lead male figure of the family as means to decide when and who his daughters, Bianca and Katherine would marry. Both situations see family members Annie, Hallie, and Baptista taking matters into their own hands to effect the relationship of others with varying success. The children in the Parent Trap, and the father in Taming of the Shrew. These reflect that the idea of familial influence and impact on relationships has transcended time, but time has equalized the power of women and men allowing for certain tactics that were once acceptable to be ended.

“Gentlemen, importune me no farther, For how I firmly am resolved you know: That is, not to bestow my youngest daughter Before I have a husband for the elder.”

(Act 1. Scene 1, 48-51)

In this quote, Baptista informs the male characters about the marital status and plans for his two daughters Katherine and Bianca. All of the male characters up to this point have shown great interest in marrying the beautiful and desirable Bianca, the youngest daughter. However, Baptista explains that Bianca is not allowed to court or contact any males excluding teachers until oldest sister Katherine, who has developed the reputation as a shrew or mean spirited is married off. Furthermore it is Baptista who has final say in both who and when his daughters are married to. Bianca and Katherine are at complete submission to their father who dictates their interaction and relationships with men Baptista displays a firm grasp and influence on the future of his daughters. His ability to do this also reflects the time period of the late 1500s where women had little to no choice in who they would be married of too. Instead this right given to parents, particularly fathers.

Annie and Hallie develop a similar mindset and plan however in this case it’s to get their long lost parents back together.

( The Parent Trap, 28:48)

In The Parent Trap, after Annie and Hallie discover that they’re twins, Hallie suggest switching places so they can experience the parent they never had. They soon realize that even with this plan, they’d eventually have to go back to their original parent and once again be separated. Because of this, Annie goes on to explain that this will also force their parents to come together after 11 years apart, and they’ll fall in love with one another. They spend the remainder of the film with their primary goal of getting their parents, Nick and Liz, to fall back in love and get remarried. The girls are faced with the obstacle of Meredith Blake, Nick’s fiancee, similarly as Baptista has the obstacle of Katherine’s raging temper which makes her undesirable. Baptista does have more power, wealth, and ability to attract someone to Katherine despite her bad reputation. Annie and Hallie go an unconventional route. There are equal in that both Annie, Hallie, and Baptista create an exact plan to get others to marry without receiving input for those they are trying to wed.

“ Then tell me, if I get your daughter’s love, What dowry shall I have with her to wife. (Baptista) After my death, the one half of my lands, And, in possession, twenty thousand crowns. (Petruchio) Let specialties be therefore drawn between us, That covenants may be kept on either hand.”

(Act 2. Scene 1, 126-134)

In this quote, Baptista is arranging for Katherine to marry Petruchio. The two men discuss the dowry that shall be given if the marriage does go forth. They go on to agree that if one dies before the other, they inherit whatever Katherine has inherited. Instead of giving his eldest daughter to someone who she has developed an actual relationship with, Baptista has done what resembles a business transaction in order to have Katherine married off. After figuring out the logistics and inheritance, Baptista is willing to let Katherine go, despite Katherine having no knowledge of their conversation or Petruchio to be her soon to be husband. Further in the book, Petruchio marries Katherine by force as she initially crys at the idea of being his wife. However at this time, Katherine could not do much about her circumstances, as dealings such as marriage were left to the father to decide.

Despite their plan seemed foolproof, Annie and Hallie were met with the obstacle of Nick’s fiancee who could make it so that Nick and Liz never have a chance to fall in love again.

( The Parent Trap, 1:52:31)

When Annie pretending to be Hallie returns from camp, she quickly discovers that her father is engaged to the young, beautiful, and manipulative Meredith Blake. Annie realizing the danger that Meredith poses to their plan and to Hallie when she returns from London, launches a plan to get Meredith and Nick to separate. In a later scene after all of the characters have gathered in California Annie, Hallie, Nick, and Meredith go on a camping trip where the girls pranks Meredith several times with the intent on breaking her. It proves successful when Meredith tells Nick, “The day we get married is the day I ship those brats off to Switzerland, get the picture? It’s me or them. Take your pick.” Nick ultimately chooses them therefore ending his engagement to Meredith which gives him the opportunity to get back with Liz which does happen at the end of the movie. Similarly to Baptista, Annie and Hallie develop a method of getting their family member to marry a specific person, and while Nick and Liz weren’t obligated to marriage like Katherine, they were still susceptible to the girls influence which caused them to get back together.

The Parent Trap and Taming of the Shrew are two fictional tales from different time periods with varying plots, but one theme that can be taken from both sources is that the idea family influence in relationship is a standard or accepted action. This may not be relevant for every single family, but it does reflect a common idea that many people have come to accept. One could only give the explanation that people trust their family the most, hence valuing their input on relationship most. Whether the idea of parental influence from a wealthy father marrying off his mean spirited daughter, or young twins scheming to get their long separated parents to once again fall in love. It is up to viewers if this idea is successful, beneficial, or an actual thing in the real. In the end, both the movie and play ended with successful relationships.

Works Cited:

Shakespeare, William, G. R. Hibbard, and Margaret Jane Kidnie. The Taming of the Shrew. UK: Penguin , 2015. Print.

The Parent Trap. Dir. Nancy Meyers. Perf. Lindsay Lohan. Walt Disney, 1998.ProjectFreeTv.com. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.

Love’s Like A Movie

The Taming of the Shrew features two characters, Lucentio and Bianca. Lucentio came to Padua to attend school, but ended up falling in love with Bianca at first sight. He abandoned his duties with school to pursue Bianca, and hope to court her in marriage. Bianca is the second daughter of Baptista, sister to Katherine. She’s many, many suitors available to her, but she’s unable to marry until Katherine is married off first. Across The Universe, a Beatles musical set during the Vietnam War, is focused around the romance of Lucy (Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds) and Jude. (Hey Jude) Jude came to America, from London, in search of his father and work opportunities. He meets Max, Lucy’s brother, at Princeton, and befriends him. He later meets Lucy and, upon falling in love with her at first sight, abandons his original plans in America to pursue her. Lucy is a student whose boyfriend, Daniel, went to war in Vietnam. She meets Jude just before Daniel dies in the war.  Despite Lucy and Jude being in a very different romantic situation than Lucentio and Bianca, both situations stem from love at first sight and the abandonment of the males original goals. The behaviors of people who experience love at first sight are essentially the same, and often come as a distraction.

In the I’ve Just Seen A Face scene of Across The Universe, Jude is at a bowling alley with Max and Lucy after spending thanksgiving with their family goes terribly. Jude realises in this moment that he is ‘in love’ with Lucy.  

He’s had exactly one conversation with Lucy before this scene, and yet has decided he’s in love with her. The song’s lyrics, as well as the way the camera follows Jude as he watches Lucy, tells the audience he truly believes he’s in love with her after such a short time. Love at first sight is a very strong factor in this movie’s plot; the events that follow this realization are entirely driven by Jude’s ‘love’ for Lucy.

In The Taming of The Shrew, Tranio openly questions the possibility of love at first sight when Lucentio falls for Bianca after only seeing how she acts with her father and sister in public.

“I pray, sir, tell me, is it possible

That love should of a sudden take such hold.”

(Lines 148-150, A1S1, Tranio)

This quote seems to be countering all ideals the audience may have about love at first sight. He doesn’t believe it’s truly possible for someone to fall in love so suddenly and have it be a true, real love, like Lucentio, or Jude, swears it is. The reaction to love at first sight is very different for either party, though. Lucentio is questioned, while Jude’s situation goes nearly unnoticed until later on, when it’s only commented on very slightly. While love at first sight itself might’ve not changed, the reactions to it certainly have.

Towards the end of the song, Jude questions staying in the town to be around Lucy. (the location of Lucy and Max’s family is never determined)

He originally came to the city to look for his father, who he found, and look for a new life and work, which he didn’t ever accomplish. When he meets Lucy, he gives up the rest of his mission for his love for her.

Lucentio experiences something nearly identical to Jude; he came to a city to attend school, but abandoned it after falling in love with Bianca. In this scene, he decides he’s going to solely pursue Bianca, and ignores attending school entirely for it.

“Tranio, I burn, I pine! I perish, Tranio

If I achieve not this young modest girl.”

(Lines 157-158, A1S1, Lucentio)

Love at first sight often comes with the abandonment of conflicting goals, as seen in Across The Universe, and The Taming of The Shrew. The love at first sight comes as a distraction from their original mission, or goals, that the love interrupts. Had Lucentio not seen Bianca, he would’ve gone to school like his father wished. Had Jude not met Max or Lucy, he would’ve either returned home to his mother or found work in America. However, both parties ended up generally well off in the end. (sans Jude and Lucy’s fallout around midway point for drama.) Love at first sight, despite being a distraction, can work out in the end.

Directly after the bowling alley scene, Max warns Jude of the existence of Daniel, Lucy’s boyfriend in the war. Jude is practically unfazed by this, and jokes about the fact he technically has a girlfriend, too.  

Love at first sight also tends to come with obstacles, and the way they’re approached seems to have an impact on the turnout of the love in the end.

The Taming of The Shrew offers the obstacle of Baptista’s rule on how his daughters shall be wed;

“That is, not to bestow my youngest daughter

Before I have a husband for the elder.”

(Lines 50-51, A1S1, Baptista)

Lucentio goes into this challenge with a mindset extremely similar to that of Jude’s about Daniel. That’s okay. He acknowledges the barrier, and vows to find ways around it. He ends up enacting a huge, elaborate plan to get to Bianca, and succeeds. Jude chooses to ignore Daniel’s existence, and Daniel ends up dying in the war not long after. The audience expects the relationships to work out in the end because of how determined and unbothered the males were upon finding out about obstacles related to their love.

In this scene, Kim Tan and Eun Sang get to school early and are by themselves. By this point in the relationship, Eun Sang and Kim Tan have* moved back to Korea and are now, coincidentally, are living together. Trying to pretend that she is from new money while still remaining as a normal student, Eun Sang has to distance herself from Kim Tan. Kim Tan is not pleased and tries to stay as close to Eun Sang as possible. Here, Eun Sang is walking a couple of steps in front of Kim Tan, allowing him to have a view of her neck.Kim Tan catches up to Eun Sang and takes her ponytail out. He ruffles her hair and most of it covers her face before saying,“ Keep your hair down. You look prettier with more of you face covered.” This quote is significant because just as Lucentio in Taming of the Shrew, Kim Tan does the most indirect way of giving the love interest a compliment. This can be shown in the play when Lucentio accepted the proposal that Tranio made to switch clothes with him to talk to Bianca instead of talking to her directly. “ Your fellow Tranio here, to save my life, Puts my apparel and my countenance on,And I for my escape have put on his;This relates back to the thesis because this is the set up that shows how creative both men are getting. Kim Tan will be hiding his true feelings by covering them up with rude remarks while Lucentio will be pretending to be a school teacher.

In this scene Eun Sang and Young Do are at a convenience store near Kim Tan’s house. Eun Sang, who had left the house early to get to school early, goes to the store to wake up but ends up half asleep on a table that Young Do inhabits. By this time, Young Do bullies Eun Sang at school but Eun Sang still stands strong which only makes Young Do like her even more and therefore bullies her more. Young Do attempts to wake Eun Sang up by shaking the table. After about thirty seconds of just staring at her and only receiving a groan as an answer, he proceeds to admit his true feelings to her stating “Why do you always sleep here? It makes we want to protect you.” This quote is significant because just as Petruchio, Young Do hides his true intentions under crude actions and words. This can be shown in the play when Petruchio states, “She ate no meat today nor none shall eat. Last night she slept not, nor tonight she shall not.” This is Petruchio hiding his true intentions, which is just to get the dowry, behind crude words and actions. This relates back to the thesis because it shows the other two suitors being creative to get the love interest.

Baptista & Chasen: The Taming of a Child

The Taming of the Shrew, Harold & Maude

“The Taming of the Shrew” presents a vision of romance in 16th century aristocracy, complete with the copious parental power afforded in these situations. Baptista is the widowed father of two daughters, the oldest of which is unruly or “shrewd” and the play’s plot centers around his plan to marry her off. “Harold & Maude” is a movie from almost four hundred years later, 1971. In it Harold’s widowed mother Mrs. Chasen tries to marry him off to a young cast of suitors she has selected, who are all in one way or another scared off by his eccentric behaviour.

While Baptista’s issue is his curst daughter Katherine, Mrs. Chasen’s issue is a quiet emotionally disturbed son. Baptista’s problem with Katherine is that she will be difficult to marry off given her personality. He hopes to find someone to marry her before she is too old, her personality could ruin her and his family's reputation with it. Mrs. Chasen seeks to use a marriage to fix Harold’s behavioural issues, which include staging elaborate fake suicides in an attempt to elicit a reaction from his mother. She sees this as a way to have Harold grow up. Both parents seek to find their child a partner who will solve what they see as issues with them. While these two texts present situations 400 years apart, with swapped gender roles, and different issues for the respective parents they both show that parents are given a role in society to find the “best match” for their children. Society dictates to parents that this “best match” is the one that gives them control over their children, and solves “behavioural issues”.

Early into Harold & Maude Mrs. Chasen instructs Harold that he must grow up. That he has lived an idyllic, soft childhood and it is time he became an adult. Mrs. Chasen’s solution to Harold’s behaviour is simple, she tells him that it is high time that he get married in order for him to mature, to straighten him out. In The Taming of the Shrew Baptista never expressly states that he wants to fix her personality with marriage, but this is an expression of the times in a way. Baptista’s primary and only concern with his daughter is getting her married, but once he has married her off to Petruchio and she comes back to him obedient he is overjoyed. It was his hope that marriage would make Katherine obedient, and we see this in his happiness at having this hope fulfilled. This quote comes from Act 5, Scene 2, Lines 124-128, right after has Petruchio won a wager involving who has the most obedient wife.

“The wager thou hast won, and I will add

Unto their losses twenty thousand crowns,

Another dowry to another daughter,

For she is changed as she had never been.”

Baptista is thrilled over this newfound submissiveness in his previously disagreeable daughter. Petruchio has successfully turned Katherine around, and made her into the daughter Baptista wanted to have. Just as Mrs. Chasen hoped to do with Harold, take his bad behaviour and fix it with a good marriage. Both of these parental figures used marriage as a sort of boot camp or training to mold their children into the people they wanted them to be, that would be easier to deal with. In fact, when Mrs. Chasen is struggling to find someone who will take Harold and his numerous eccentricities she orders him to join the military instead. Literally a boot camp meant to teach obedience, stamp out strange eccentricities, and make someone into a “man”. This is an equivalence of two things that should be very different, a union between two people and training for war. In both situations though the parents hope to use these institutions to “straighten out” their children.

After Mrs. Chasen orders Harold to begin searching for a marriage, she decides to take matters into her own hands. She brings Harold a survey that will create his profile for a primitive version of an online dating website. Through the whole scene Harold doesn’t say one word, but his mother still successfully fills out the survey. Filling in her own opinion or life situation for many questions, often judgmentally.

This is nothing compared to the amount of power Baptista has, where he can actually choose both his daughters’ future husbands. This means that he treats the entire marriage process as if he was a merchant, his primary concern not being someone to make his daughters “grow up” but whoever can offer the most amount of wealth. Illustrated here in Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 362-364

“Tis deeds must win the prize, and he of both

That can assure my daughter greatest dower

Shall have my Bianca’s love”

Mrs. Chasen and Baptista both hold power over their children, as most all parents do. They both use this power in attempts to control their child’s potential future spouse, Baptista being far more successful in his attempt. This attempt at control drives to the heart of what parental interference in relationships is trying to attempt. They seek obedience from their children as they had always had it before, and both look for what they want from their children’s suitors. They don’t look for what they think their children will like, but what they have decided they find desirable in a suitor. Baptista looks for money and Mrs. Chasen fills out the survey to her own liking, nowhere do their children’s desires enter into this equation. They see marriage as a path to compliance from their children, but for it to have the desired effect they must be certain the medicine is right. They set about searching for a suitor the same way one would locate the right boarding school for their unruly child.

These two pieces have completely different underlying themes and morals, but behind their main plots lies a commonality in the role of the parent in young love. Mrs. Chasen and Baptista are both in a situation where they have less control over their children as they grow up. So they both gravitate to find their child the “best match”, in a last bid to keep control and solve worrying issues of disobedience or perceived immaturity in their children. Over time though parents have lost power in choosing the next stage in their child’s life, as evidenced by Harold & Maude. No longer can they pick the suitor they most like regardless of their child’s wishes, the most they can do is attempt to influence their child’s choice. Demand their child get married, so they can find possible options that match their hopes for their child’s future. Mrs. Chasen’s failure shows that parents have lost so much of the power they used to hold, but that doesn’t stop them from still trying to control the future in a journey to find “the best match” and someone who will “straighten” their child out.

Love is a Trainwreck

The taming of the shrew, Trainwreck.

       The film "Trainwreck" centers around two complete opposites who come together. Aaron is a successful doctor, pursuing a not-so-successful, small time writer, Amy. Amy is a non-monogamous woman; embracing her sexual freedom. Aaron has yet to venture into his sexuality. Aaron’s sexual encounter with Amy means the world to him, yet all Amy expects is a one night stand. Amy, who has never gone on a second date with a man, sets low expectations of all her relationships. Even so, she secretly wishes she could find love but does not want to be tamed. On the other hand, Aaron expects her to buckle down and become wife material. In the play, ‘The Taming of The Shrew,” Katherine is a hot-headed, independent woman, who is searching for love but has no suitors. Petruchio, a rich suitor, takes Katherine's hand in marriage. Petruchio expects his wife Katherine to become wife material also, but by employing much more extreme tactics. Aaron is persistent and sweet, yet Petruchio is harsh and essentially tortures her. Although expectations in relationships have changed, these two sources show: If the pursuer is persistent, then their tactics of achieving love do not matter.

    Petruchio is a wealthy suitor looking to win Katherine’s hand in marriage. Katherine is a strong woman with a tongue like a wasp, which does not take kindly to many people. In anticipation of this, Petruchio enlists tactics to help win her love.

¨Say that she rail, why then I’ll tell her plain she sings as sweetly as a nightingale. Say that she frown I’ll say she look as clear as morning roses newly washed with dew. Say she be mute and will not speak a word, then I’ll commend her volubility and say she uttereth piercing eloquence. If she do bid me pack, I’ll give her thanks as though she bid me stay by her for a week.If she deny to wed, I’ll crave the day.”

(ACT 2 SC 1 lines lines 178-186)

In this quote, Petruchio has yet to meet Katherine: the woman he wishes to pursue, but he already holds expectations of their relationship and plans to counter this with his tactics. He describes his tactics to win the love of Katherine. The key to this tactic is persistence. Persistence will overcome the sharp tongue of Katherine.

Much like Petruchio, Aaron is faced with a woman who does not want his affections and has entirely different expectations of the relationship.

The main character, much like Katherine, is hard headed and blunt. Here we can see Aaron and her after having sex, she is clearly expressing discomfort. However, Amy stays the night, breaking her very own biggest rule: never sleeping over.The next day, Aaron calls to say that he had an amazing time and wants to see her again. This surpassess all of the initial expectations Amy had, a one night stand, and the persistence of Aaron bewilders Amy. Confused and flattered, she agrees to see him again. Although Aaron knows Amy was uncomfortable and did not

“Marry, so I mean, sweet Katherine, in thy bed. And therefore, setting all this chat aside, Thus in plain terms: your father has consented that you shall be my wife, your dowry’ greed on, and, will you, nill you. I will marry you.  

(Act 2, Scene 1, 282-286)

     At this point in “The Taming of the Shrew” Petruchio and Katherine find themselves in a heated argument. Katherine is not taking kindly to a man walking into her life and demanding that he will marry her. Katherine does not want this in her relationship, she expects a loving husband. “Will you, nill you” translates to “whether you like it or not.”

Aaron takes this same approach, by once again ignoring the clear rejection from Amy.

    Much like the Taming of the Shrew, we have the pursuer ignoring all obvious signs of being rejected. Amy explicitly says no she would not like to start dating him, but Aaron is not deterred in the slightest. Trainwreck is in a much less severe setting, as Amy is not being told she will marry Aaron, like Katherine is to Petruchio.

     In both “The Taming of The Shrew” and “Trainwreck,” men meet their match with the woman they are trying to pursue. Petruchio of Shrew has a very harsh demeanor of winning over Katherine, yet his persistence causes Katherine to defy her expectations of their relationship and find love with Petruchio. Similarly, Aaron insists on seeing Amy after she makes a strong impression, and wins over the woman who has never had a commitment in her life. This proves to show that love is unpredictable, and will shatter the expectations of any party.

Works Cited:

Shakespeare, William . Folger Shakespeare Library. Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine. N.p.: Washington Square Press Drama, n.d. Print.

Trainwreck . Prod. Judd Apatow and Joshua Church. By Amy Schumer. Perf. Amy Schumer Bill Hader. Cinemax, 2015. Xfinity. Xfinity, 17 July 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.

Works Cited

“The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare

“Monster in Law”

Love, Lies, and Coincidentally, Italy

The Taming of the Shrew and Roman Holiday

From Padua to Rome, love always lies. That much, William Shakespeare and Dalton Trumbo are certain to agree on. Shakespeare’s play, “The Taming of the Shrew” and Trumbo’s 1953 film, “Roman Holiday” are evidence enough of that. The Taming of the Shrew, a victorian drama following the strange romantic mishaps between a love-polygon of unknown sides and the unlikely marriage of an overly-confident, moderately misogynist man to the titled "Shrew" of a woman, lends us its message through a number of characters. The first are Bianca and her many suitors, although most importantly the rich Lucentio who disguises himself as a teacher to reach his object of affection. The others, of course, are the aforementioned unlikely couple, Petruchio and Katherine, the former of whom decides to pursue marriage with the ladder because he really just wants a wife with money.

Roman Holiday, on the other hand, follows a mid-twentieth century princess from an undisclosed country, Ann, as she flees her overwhelming responsibilities for a day to fraternize with an American journalist in Rome. She lies to him about who she is, which he already knows, and he lies about who he is. Outside of the coincidental fact that both tales take place in Italy, the two stories share a striking similarity when it comes to how honesty, and more importantly, deception, play into romantic relationships built to last. As long as in the end, according to these narratives, the two parties fall in love, then the end justifies the means. Although one takes place 400 years in the past, and the other in the nearly modern day, the two pieces make it evident that lying and deceiving can be an acceptable course of action in a romantic relationship.

“I am Lucentio- 'hic est' son unto Vincentio of Pisa- 'Sigeia tellus' disguised thus to get your love- 'Hic steterat' and that Lucentio that comes a-wooing- 'Priami' is my man Tranio- 'regia' bearing my port- 'celsa senis' that we might beguile the old pantaloon.”

(Act III, Scene I, 33-38)

Lucentio, in his bid for Bianca’s love, disguises himself as a philosophy teacher, and sneaks his way into her daily life. In the quote above, Lucentio explains this ploy to Bianca, and how Tranio was disguised as himself in order to deceive Gremio, one of her other suitors. Though he readily admits the truth to Bianca, he still initially lies to her, and, as shown in the quote, he wants no one else to find out. For this reason, he is pretending to construe a Latin phrase, so that no one may hear them.

The leads of Roman Holiday find themselves in a somewhat different type of situation, with a different kind of lying, yet one that is no less deceitful.

(Roman Holiday, 1:03:50)

Midway through the film, the two star roles run into each other in the city after having gone their separate ways. In their conversation, both Princess Ann and Joe Bradley lie to one another about their current lives. Princess Ann claims to have run away from school, rather than her royal duties, and Bradley claims to be in the selling game. Bradley, of course, knows she’s the princess, but Ann (or Anya, as she tells him to call her), does not. Not only that, but their “accidental” encounter wasn’t nearly as accidental as Ann believed, considering how the American Reporter had followed her in secret. This is the interaction that truly sets their relationship into motion, and it’s one that’s founded entirely on lies.

“For patience she will  prove a second Grissel, and Roman Lucrece for her chastity. And to conclude, we have ‘greed so well together that upon Sunday is the wedding day.”

(Act II, Scene I, Lines 312-315)

Upon his first meeting of the titled “Shrew” of the play, Katharine, Petruchio starts his plan to “tame” the woman into marriage, and into becoming what he believes to be a proper wife. After his first private conversation with her, in which he makes little headway towards his plan and invokes nothing more than hatred from the young woman, her father, Baptista, along with several other men, enter the room. Petruchio, in what is likely the most bold faced lie one could possibly make under the circumstances, tells them that Katharine has fallen for him madly, and the two are to be wed on Sunday. Baptista, trusting this strange man’s words above his own objecting daughter’s, agrees to let the marriage happen. In this scene, Petruchio makes it clear to the audience that he is willing to weave the most dauntlessly false tales to anyone in order to marry his beloved Kate. He may not have been lying to Katharine herself, but he was forging the entirety of their coming relationship on a foundation of lies, and because she ends up loving him in the finale, it passes without issue. Of course, because the ends justify the means.

On the other side of the same coin, the main pair of Roman Holiday find themselves not only forming their relationship upon a fountain of deceit, but also ending it bathing in that same fountain.

“I have to leave you now. I'm going to that corner there and turn. You must stay in the car and drive away. Promise not to watch me go beyond the corner. Just drive away and leave me as I leave you.”

(Ann, 1:37:28)

(Roman Holiday, 1:37:28)

Before the very end of the film, the two lead characters find themselves at the end of their time together. Princess Ann must return to her royal duties, and so she asks Mr. Bradley to drive her and drop her off. Before their last loving embrace, in which they kiss for the very first time, she tells him the quote listed above. She knows that she has to leave, and yet she still can’t bring her to tell him the truth of the matter. They both know she’s lying, and yet still the two come together for a kiss and a show of love before their final goodbye. Even right until the very end, the lies still flow through the veins of their relationship. But still, they are in love. And if they are so in love, any lies they told to one another no longer matter. The deceit can be excused. While they may not have entered with the intentions of falling for one another, they found themselves tumbling regardless. Once again, the ends justify the means, and the intentions aren’t even needed.

If one thing can be learned from these two pieces, it’s that love and deceit are almost always intertwined. Italy may be a coincidence, but those two features most certainly aren’t. And, according to these creators, love makes the deceit worth it. It’s a common sentiment, in these days, that love wins above all. So why would simple lies be made the exception? Whether it be a princess and a reporter, or a brash man and a wealthy shrew, lies may come about, and as long as the love survives it, there is reason enough to ignore it. At the very least, William Shakespeare and Dalton Trumbo would say so.

Work Cited

• Shakespeare, William. The Taming of the Shrew. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. Washington, D.C.: Folger Shakespeare Library, n.d. Print.

• Roman Holiday. By Dalton Trumbo. Dir. William Wyler. Prod. Paramount Pictures. Perf. Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck. N.p., n.d. Web.

Printmaking takes places with different process of many pictures or designs from special prepared tools or blocks. The first technique of duplicating images goes back several years to the sumerians caves in 3000 BCE. Printmaking is important because the process goes back many years before and it is was one of what developed modern creative art today.

Print did influence every aspect of European culture. Some suggest that print was used in bringing about all the major shifts in science, religion, politics and things that are commonly associated with modern Western culture. The printing press quickly became central to political and religious expression in Europe as well. Writers and printers like Benjamin Franklin were heroes of the time. Print was a leading tool that helped spread visionary ideas that shaped the American Revolution. Printmaking also helped develop scrolls, during the early 1 AD, for things like maps and blueprint.

In the picture above you can really see a release of negative and positive space. The artist also depicts words that flow with the picture. The artist creates color value and varies them in the shading of the darker images. In the picture you can also see some of the designs giving you dimension into the picture.

I can interpret that this picture is symbolizing a act of greed and your conscious telling you it's okay. The words that you can see are: "You need it all all", "All yours", "You want more", "Stock" and "Money". All of these words have something in common and that is want/need. The guy portrayed in this printmaking art seems to be very focused on the money and happy. But this happiness could come from the rewards of greed.

Lastly, I think this is a great picture to express emotions and a situation through positive and negative space. It struck out to me personally as a picture to reflect on and unfold. The detail in stroked lines really brings out the person in the pictures face and how he's feeling about the money and almost his story as well as what looks like his conscious around him.