Rashaun+☥+Williams

= Forced to Wed and Convinced to Love  = Comparing "Taming of the Shrew" to "The Proposal"

In "The Taming of the Shrew", one can see how two individuals can fall in love in many ways. A couple in particular, Katherina and her husband of forceful circumstances Petruchio, go through what some may call a dysfunctional relationship before they came to a point of actually loving one another. In the movie "The Proposal", a man named Andrew Paxton, and a women named Margaret Tate are placed in a situation where they must marry to continue their career goals. They too have a seemingly dysfunctional relationship that strives off of controlling the other. In the movie's end they begin to fall in love and display it openly, just as the end of the "Taming of the Shew" showed Katherina and Petruchio doing the same. The reasons for both of these couples finding love in one another is because through forced commitment and togetherness, two people can easily be convinced to fall in love.

In the beginning of both the movie and the story, the couples had great discontent for one another that was clearly and openly displayed to the viewer. Katherina is the daughter of a man of riches, which spiked Petruchio's interest to marry her. An elaborate plan was set up by him and his suitors to get them together which turned to be a success. In them getting together, Pertruchio made it his responsibility to tame what he considered a shrew, which was his now fiance. From the very first time Petruchio and Katherina met there was nothing but disagreeing and quarrels between the two. Countless times, Katherina and Petruchio argued with miscellaneous arguments, seeming to have no compromise or understanding between them. Also, they're disagreements were dominated by Pethruchio and his desire to have control in every circumstance, which is what the relationship was built on.

"I swear I'll cuff you, if you strike again."
(Act II, Scene I, 212) In this scene, Katharina and Petruchio quarrel leading to Katharina being a wasp having a sting that should be watched for. Petruchio says that it is his job to remove her stinger then basically translating into his taming of the shrew. She then uses clever terminology to say her stinger is in his tongue and she slaps him. This scene clearly shows their dislike for one another, and it is seen from this sentence that Petruchio's main agenda is control as he promises to use physicality to as a way to reprimand her.

 Andrew and Margaret's relationship was created out of pure control as well. She was an llegal immigrant whose visa had expired working as an manager at a writing company, and in order to ensure her position at the job with her citizenship to the USA, she threatened her assistance's job but forcing him to marry. Their relationship isn't a one with much relation in the beginning either. Just as Pertruchio and Katherina, Andrew and Margaret use a lot of crude humor and sarcasm as a way of conversation. They also used control to assert their position as the dominant one in their relationship. This is first seen when Margret threatens Andrew's job. She said, she is the only reason he still has a position in the company, and her staying there means he will stay there and complete his goal of having one of his written creations published and sold. Understanding this information, Andrew makes Margret vow to make his dreams a reality, give him a pay raise, and get on both her knees to beg him to marry.

Over time, the two couples begin to accept the things for what they are and look deeper into the hearts of their mates. Through this deeper connection, they begin to feel an obligation to protect one another, even if that means placing themselves in situations opposing the way they originally felt.

Andrew and Margaret are confronted by Andrew's father and an immigration agent simultaneously concerning a legal way to handle the situation at hand. They propose Andrew or Margaret tell the truth about her legal status. Instead, Andrew sticks to the promise made between him and Margaret and says "You want a statement? Here's your statement. I've been working for Margaret Tate for 3 years, 6 months ago we started dating, we fell in love, I asked her to marry me, she said yes, I'll see you at the wedding." Knowing completely that his life is threatened by the chance of going to federal prison, he stands by the women he once couldn't stand against both his father and the law.

"My hand is ready; may it do him ease."
(Act 5, Scene II, 189) These are the words of Katharina to her husband Petruchio after a history of feuds and debating. In this scene, there was a celebration being held where the married men decided to wager money on who's wife would come to the call of their man first. Considering that everyone's opinion of Katharina is that she is a authority challenging women, no one believes Petruchio will win the gamble. To their surprise, not only does Katharina come to his call in total obedience, but she brings with her the unwilling wives who declined their husbands. With this, she reprimands the reluctant wives telling them their place as a women is to listen to their husbands and be what they need them to be when ever they need them to be it. Through this, her acceptance of position and love for her husband is shown publicly and openly.

In both the book's and movie's conclusion, it is clearly seen how love is created when two are forced to wed one another. Katharina and Petruchio had many differences and set backs in the foundations of their relationship, which seemed to give the image that they would never work as a couple. This is also true for Andrew and Margaret, but over time a relationship powered with love was developed. In end of "The Proposal" Andrew travels across the country to meet with Margaret to make sure they stayed together and got married, regardless of the possible outcome. They kiss and together plan their marriage while fighting against the law to prove the sincerity in their love, which at this point in the movie is true. The same can be said for Katharina and her relationship when she gave her speech of love. Just as in "The Proposal" Petruchio and Katharina kiss and continue to grow their love that was created from force.