Cody+Nichols

In the play, //"The Taming of the Shrew"//, the idea of girlfriends being possessed by men was clearly shown to the viewer. In this play, the character Petruchio represented a key role in this epic depiction of deception, demand, and control. In the 2006 movie "Madea's Family Reunion" the story line surrounds two situations, one in particular relates to this character, except there is one man who possesses these qualities.

Petruchio, a powerful and demanding individual in //"The Taming of the Shrew"//, who looks to seize his prize, Katherine, not by casually spending time with her, but more like brute force, demanding respect and authority over her; taming her. Carlos, one of the main characters in "Madea's Family Reunion, an untamed individual who abused his wife to make her do what he ordered, possessed the qualities of both individuals mentioned above in //" The Taming of the Shrew"//.

Petruchio, and Carlos are in pursuit of one main goal; to claim their prize by **__any__** means necessary. These comparisons of similar situations and persona, bring forth a generalization of how some men view, treat, and disregard women. **Men who hide deep down their feelings about love, do terrible things to women to prove their love to them, and disregard the feminine emotions for their own, cannot say they are in love, or compassionate about a person. True love cannot be expressed in harmful, negative, and demeaning ways.**

=__**Quote #1 (From the Book):**__= =__**"And, will you, nill you, I will marry you.**__= =__**Now, Kate, I am a husband for your turn,**__= =__**For, by this light, whereby I see thy beauty,**__= =__**Thy beauty that doth make me like thee well,**__= =__**Thou must be married to no man but me.**__= =__**For I am he am born to tame you, Kate,**__= =__**And bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate**__= =__**Conformable as other household Kates.**__= =__**Here comes your father. Never make denial.**__= =__**I must and will have Katherine to my wife."**__= (Act II, Scene i, 286-295)

This quote explains how Petruchio wants Katherines love, and how he elaborates on his "destiny" to be with her. And as we soon see, the different character of Petruchio comes in, deceives Katherines father, Baptista, and does not allow Katherine to speak as he tells lies. As much as Katherine wanted to tell the truth as to what was happening, she stood no chance to the cunning ways of Petruchio.

In the opening intro to the movie, we see the character Lisa, waking up to a path of rose petals, leading to a tub filled with a bubbled bath. Carlos is waiting for her, and assists her in getting situated, as these romantic actions, acts, and fronts, turn into harmful, demeaning, and disrespectful acts of hurt towards a woman who he isn't officially married to. This scene shows the sly/romantic side of Carlos, the side that gets over on the viewers, so they cannot see who he truly is.

=__**Quote #2 (From the Book):**__= ="Thus have I politicly begun my reign,= =And ’tis my hope to end successfully.= =My falcon now is sharp and passing empty,= =And, till she stoop, she must not be full-gorged,= =For then she never looks upon her lure.= =Another way I have to man my haggard,= =To make her come and know her keeper’s call."= (Act 4, Scene i, 188-194)

In this quote Petruchio is speaking to the audience about his intentions to tame Katherine, like a trainer tames a falcon, hawk or bird. He wants her to know her place, especially in public, so that the controlling individual does not get embarrassed or looked down upon. That person should always have the "strength" in the relationship.

On a double date, at a fancy restaurant, Carlos and Lisa, speak with their guests separately, in different conversations. Soon, Lisa shows signs of getting tired and yawns, looking over to see Carlos glaring at her. Carlos asks Lisa to dance, and they go over to the floor so Carlos can have a word or two with Lisa. While dancing, Carlos explains to Lisa, gripping her up, how she will "get it" when they arrive home, and how she loves to embarrass him.

=__Quote #3 (From the Book):__= ="I’ll bring mine action on the proudest he= =That stops my way in Padua.—Grumio,= =Draw forth thy weapon, we are beset with thieves.= =Rescue thy mistress if thou be a man.—= =Fear not, sweet wench, they shall not touch thee, Kate.= =I’ll buckler thee against a million."= (Act III, Scene ii, 240-246)

In this quote, Petruchio is speaking to Katherine and the audience, and explaining to anyone who gets in his way that he will do whatever it takes to keep Kate in his possession. This scene shows the possessive side of Petruchio, and how Katherine is only his, and belongs to no other man but him.

In this scene of Madea's Family Reunion, Lisa, Carlos's fiance, was trying to escape from him in the middle of the night, that is until Carlose wakes up after hearing her get ready. He yells at her, "Do you want to leave me!? The only way you are leaving me is out that door." As she reached for the car keys, he gripped her up and tried to throw her out of the window. Carlos knows that what he is doing to Lisa is wrong, but when it comes down to it, he does what ever it takes, such as abuse; in order to make her stay.

The fact that the men in these depictions of possessive and controlling relationships, use so much force to get what they want, the viewer can tell that love is not present. Petruchio and Carlos's ideas of love differed from one another, but that still does not take away the damage they put into their relationship. Abuse and disrespect is no way to fall in love with someone, or to expect someone to love you back. There has to be a since of compromise in the relationship between both the male and female. In //"The Taming of the Shrew"//, Katherine gave in to the demands of Petruchio in order for their relationship to somehow work, but in the end of Madea's Family Reunion, Lisa just could not handle the brute force of Carlos, and sent him packing in a very harsh but justifying way; leaving Carlos on Madea's kitchen floor, with hot grits on his brand new tuxedo, after being beaten by Lisa with a frying pan, on their wedding day. In both Lisa's case, and Katherine's case, a since of justice was served.

__**Citations:**__

Crowther, John, ed. “//No Fear Shakespeare: The Taming of the Shrew.//” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 1 Dec. 2009. Site: http://nfs.sparknotes.com/shrew/

//Madea's Family Reunion.// Dir. Tyler Perry. Pef. Tyler Perry, Boris Kodjoe, Blair Underwood, Lynn Whitfield, Lisa Arrindell Anderson, and Rochelle Aytes. Lions Gate Films. 2006. DVD.