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Taming of the Shrew #2
Nov. 22nd, 2005 12:40 amI think the thing about Kate's speech at the end (in the TV version; I haven't read or seen the original recently enough to comment) is that, if the circumstances were reversed, I could see Petruchio (he didn't seem to have a first name, or was that just me?) saying more or less the same thing about *her*, if that makes sense. It was about the relationship being equal: neither would expect from the other what s/he was not willing to do her/himself.
And on the honeymoon, I definitely would *not* say that Kate had been dominated: in fact, I think she has the upper hand. The fighting, physical and verbal, seemed almost to be mere razzmatazz: simply the way those two characters could communicate with each other. And what they were communicating was that yes, Kate loved him and wanted him, but he needed her to love him just as much, if not more. When they were in bed afterwards, and he was claiming that he was always right and she had to agree with him, it was quite clear that Kate knew he was talking bollocks and was just humouring him, and also that he was aware of that. And, from my observation of married couples, that's hardly unusual; in fact (though I don't wish to generalise about something as wide-ranging as this) it's more or less a common dynamic between men and women. Men like to lord it over, and women let them, secure in the knowledge that it is they who make things run.
And on the honeymoon, I definitely would *not* say that Kate had been dominated: in fact, I think she has the upper hand. The fighting, physical and verbal, seemed almost to be mere razzmatazz: simply the way those two characters could communicate with each other. And what they were communicating was that yes, Kate loved him and wanted him, but he needed her to love him just as much, if not more. When they were in bed afterwards, and he was claiming that he was always right and she had to agree with him, it was quite clear that Kate knew he was talking bollocks and was just humouring him, and also that he was aware of that. And, from my observation of married couples, that's hardly unusual; in fact (though I don't wish to generalise about something as wide-ranging as this) it's more or less a common dynamic between men and women. Men like to lord it over, and women let them, secure in the knowledge that it is they who make things run.
