Taahir+Henry

//**The Forgetting of the Shrews** // 

//** Comparing "Taming of the Shrew" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" ** // // For hundreds of years, men were traditionally the more dominant partner in any romantic relationship. They were responsible for bringing in and maintaining wealth, food, and security. With providing such an important role, they controlled the majority of what occurred in their relationships, and expected their women to obey what ever they commanded. Over time ; however women have become more independent, and with that the relationship dynamic and expectations for both the male and female in any relationship changed to be more in tune with the direction that society has taken. Both the movie "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and the play "Taming of the Shrew" have strong headed males with similar expectations of the women they are courting, but they run into difficulties along the way because the women they are courting also have their own ideas and will. Aldous Snow is an iconic British Rockstar who is use to getting whatever he wants, especially in relationships. Petruchio is a wealthy suitor who intends on marrying a woman, and having complete control over her. Aldous Snow is similar to Petruchio in the sense that they are both men who are well off and intend on getting there way. They both come across women that are shrewish when they start their courting process. For Aldous, that woman is Sarah Marshall. For Petruchio, that woman is Katherine. Katherine was the daughter of a wealthy man named Baptista, while Sarah Marshall had attained her wealth on her own as a working actress. The way they deal with the problems that are presented are different, and this is due to the differences in societal standards. **These texts show that over time, society has come to see women as equals in romantic relationships.** **Men are still strong willed, but women's reactions show they have more say in relationships than they once had.** //

=//**"Thus have I politicly begun my reign And 'tis my hope to end successfully"** //=

//(Act 4, Scene 1, lines 188-189 )// //In this particular part of the scene Petruchio is explaining what he plans to do to Katherine so that she meets his expectations as a wife, whether or not she likes it.Petruchio has succeeded in gaining Katherine's as a wife. Now that he's home with her, he plans to break her will and take complete control of her. His plan is to starve her and deprive her of sleep as if she were an animal that needed training. The reason that Petruchio is capable of doing this is because he is in control, he decides when and where food will be eaten because he pays for it. Also women were seen as being inferior and not being fully capable of thinking for themselves during that time period. He decides what clothes are appropriate, when they leave and where etc. It's his house and along with that comes his set of rules. Katherine couldn't just leave, because at that point in time things like that were considered socially acceptable. This is vastly different from the standards of todays society where people are treated equally along the gender line, to the point where it is up to the individuals in a relationship to decide who is more dominant.//

=//**"I'm off back to England mate...How you served five years under her, I don't know. You deserve a medal, a holiday, or at least a cuddle from somebody" -Aldous Snow** //=

//He had being seeing Sarah from time to time over the course of a year, but the first time they actually spent an extended period of time together was at a hotel resort for a week. This picture is from the scene where he's waiting for his driver to take him to the airport. In this scene Aldous is admitting defeat and moving on. This quote was in response to the questions that the other leading character, Peter is asking. He refuses to spend another day with her after only officially being with her for a week. He is tired of her attitude, the things she requests, and her tense and over controlling nature. To him the easiest option was simply to leave. This reflects another difference in the expectations of todays society from Shakespearian times. Divorce and separation are things that are common in today's society but was unheard of back then.//

=//"Okay" -Sarah "Wouldn't dream of it. What?" -Aldous //= = = //This is in response to being offered to eat dinner with Peter and Rachel. They are all aware that dinner together will be awkward considering the fact that Sarah recently left Pete with little warning, and is already dating. Aldous reluctantly joined them in dinner, even though he clearly didn't want to. This shows Sarahs influence on him in a situation where he could have taken control had it been during an earlier time era. Also he was forced into wearing the shirt she bought him after he was already dressed, this is in sharp contrast to the way that Petruchio and Katherine interact as a couple.// = = =//"When you are gentle, you shall have one too, and not till then"// = //(Act 4 ,Scene, 3 Lines 75-76)// //In this scene, after limiting her to eat what he made, Petruchio is deciding what they will wear. He has a complaint with the hat that the haberdasher has brought out for them. He is blunt and rude, and whatever he says goes. Katherine has absolutely no say in the matter and is f//  <span style="color: #c97208; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">//orced to wear whatever Petruchio decides is appropriate.// <span style="color: #c97208; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">//This is more extreme than the way that Sarah got Aldous to wear the shirt she picked out for him, but still got similar results. Along with the rise with equality in relationships, the room for blunt absolute power has been diminished, so Sarah had to go about getting what she wanted in a different way.//

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">//By the end of "Taming of the Shrew", Katherine gave a speech stating that she fully submitted to the will of Petruchio, his expectations and the expectations of society were met. Towards the end of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", Aldous Snow gave up on Sarah, because he knew that he couldn't change anything about her and that her personality was so adamant that leaving would be the easiest route to happiness. Petruchio bended and molded Katherine until he was pleased with her, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" supports that idea that this is much more difficult to do and maybe impossible. Petruchio is successful at taming Katherine and forcing her to meet his expectations. Aldous ends up becoming more tamed himself, before refusing to deal with Sarah any further. This supports the idea that women have progressed in becoming equals in todays society.//