Dylan+Arroyo

=The taming of thyself = Comparing Williams Shakespeare's " The taming of the Shrew" and Tyler Perry's " Diary of a Mad Black Woman"

In Williams Shakespear's "The Taming of the Shrew" he tells a tale of a woman who is consider "wild" and a man who is trying to tame her. Through out the tale Katherine rails against the idea of marriage and obedience. In Tyler Perry's "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" he tells a tale of a woman who has been treated badly by her husband. Through out the movie she is angry and bitter and allows it to change her completely. Though both of these woman in the end are tamed the importance is not that they are tamed but the journey they both follow. For the story is not about taming but the journey in which one travels to reach a point where they are able to accepts what has happened and let go of the anger and bitterness they carry. For Katherine her taming began when she marries Petruchio and ends when realizes the way of her time. For Helen her taming begins when she meets a man name Orlando who explains to her that if she allows the actions of her husband effect the way she interacts with other males then she will be seen as nothing more then a bitter woman. Her taming ends when she finalize her divorce with her husband and accepts Orlando's marriage proposal.

= = =__Comparison #1__ =

When reading any Shakespeare play one is suppose to take the mind set of a person in the time of Shakespeare. A time in which woman aren’t allowed to do anything but be a wife, to whom ever their father choose from them. They are supposed to obey their father when told whom they have chosen for them and marry without railing against the idea. In “Taming of the Shrew” Katherine is not one of those daughters that obey. From the beginning of the suitor process she was rebellious to the thought of marriage.



In this scene Helen asks Charles a series of questions about where he is going. She suspects he is having an affair so she asks “Who is she?” Charles response is “ When you get a job and pay one of these bills, then you can ask me questions.” This clearly shows a change in the expectations of woman since the time of “Taming of the Shrew”. The expectations have increase from just being obedient to also being able to equally contribute to a household.

=__Comparison #2__ =

**Confounds thy fame as whirlwinds shake fair buds,"**
//(Act V, Scene II, 147-149)//

This is the point in “Shrew” where Katherine is summoned and she comes while dragging Widow and Bianca along with her. Some would say that this is the part where Katherine accepts the way of the world and gives in. Others may say that Katherine has changed and this is her way of displaying that. In this particular quote she speaks about how to hurt ones husband is to taint one’s beauty. She goes on to say that a wife must obey and please their husband no matter what. Thus giving the appearance that she has tamed and is ready to fulfill her duty as a wife.



This is the scene in which Helen tells Charles that she would like to finalize their divorce. For Helen this is the thing she needs to do to display that she has change much like for Katherine giving her speech is what she needed to do to show that she had change. By telling Charles that she wants to finalize their divorce she overcomes her bitterness towards him and the things he has done to her. She reaches a point in which she is able to move on and start a new life on her own. This is the point in which she has tames herself.