Isabella+Tognini

**Taming Love**

//Comparison//// of "Taming of the Shrew" and "Love Actually" // By Isabella Tognini

Many would agree that "Taming of the Shrew" and "Love Actually" were polar opposites, due to the lack of romance in "Taming of the Shrew" and the abundance of romance in "Love Actually". In the book, Petruchio spends almost every waking moment making it completely clear that Katherine is his property, in which he as full control. In Love Actually, there are many different love stories, though the focus is on only two. One story is about Colin, an English loser who seeks to seduce American women with his accent, while totally convinced that they do not search for love. The second is about a secretary, Mia who throws herself as her boss, Harry, showing that she is willing to be controlled by male dominance. Also these characters do not directly connect to the characters in Taming of the Shrew, there are some ideas that are still the same. Both situations compare to males and their idea of possession and dating, where society defines the role of the female. These texts reflect the idea that women are objects for control in a society where male dominance is indisputable.

"For Kate must be with me.....She is my goods, my cattle, she is my house, my household stuff, my field, my barn..."

(Act III, Scene II, pg. 133)

In this scene, Petruchio explains how Katherine has become his property. He dictates her actions, while taking on the role of her husband, who is trying to tame the shrew. He refers to her as an animal and other household-related items, indicating that she is just a possession, even though she was once a shrew, callous woman.

Though Colin also refers to women as objects for men, his approach is more about the physical aspect:



In this scene of Love Actually, Colin is handing out food for a wedding reception, where he tries multiple times to persuade women into dates, where he was constantly rejected. Though his ways of seducing pretty, young, English women were poor, he had come to the conclusion that English women were simply just stuck up. He devises a plan to go to America, where he believes that all of the girls will fall in love with him on account of his “cute” English accent. He insinuates that American women are simply items for foreign exchange. Although Petruchio and Colin’s methods of controlling women are very different in the way that Petruchio treats women like animals, Colin views them as something that he can use for his own pleasure. Colin also talks about women like there is no way to have a true relationship with them because they are either English (stuck up) or American (block-heads). Connecting this idea to of the Shrew, Petruchio makes it clear that Katherine is viewed as a cattle that only responds to his commands, because she has no mind of her own. "Fie, fie! Unknit that threat'ning unkind brow And dart not scornful glances from those eyes To wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor....” (Act V, Scene II, line 150)  In this scene, Katherine drags her sister and the widow into the room where their husbands are waiting for them, after they had just refused to come at their request. Although Katherine starts off as a unpleasent and spiteful person, she is later faced with Petruchio, who starves her and treats her like with much disrespect. Through all of this, she gives into his preeminence, and gives a speech on how women should abide to their husbands, because their husbands are everything they have. This is an example of how male dominance can make women believe that they truly are controlled and are possessions to their significant other. As both female characters give into the stereotype and idea that women must give themselves to a man, there is a difference between giving into their control and giving into the stereotype:   In this particular scene, there is a business party where Mia is trying to seduce her boss, Harry. Throughout the movie, she constantly hits to Harry about her being his muse. Although he never truly gives in, he is given he power to control her. She is putting herself out there for her boss, going back to the idea that women are merely objects for a man to won or control. Mia places herself in a situation where she gives into being controlled by a man and taking the role of a play-toy. Like Kat herine, she see's herself as a woman that is ranked under a man, so she flaunts her womanhood for a man that has simply given her a job (although, Katherine does not flaunt her womanhood). As Mia speaks for herself, Katherine speaks for women in general, that standing by your significant other is the right thing to do and to listen to them when they call.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Conclusion: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">In the end, Colin ended up dating three American women at once, even though it does sound very unrealistic that he would have so many just because he has an English accent. Mia and Harry never get together, considering the fact that Harry has a wife and kids. Katherine and Petruchio stay together and go on their merry way as cattle and owner. Later on in the movie, Mia learns that explicitly giving herself to a man is the wrong way to approach things, when she can find someone that can love her for who she is. Society still see's men as being the dominant sex, even if the role of women has changed over the years. But in most cases, people believe that men are leaders in relationship, because they're just so manly! Harry could have easily let Mia into his life, but he valued his relationship with his wife and accepted that it was okay for a husband and wife to have equal authority.