It has been a while since I've written in this blog. Life has been passing quickly and with not much excitement. It's been school as usually. It kind of feels like, on my end, that point in a movie as time passes and music is being played as a person goes on with normal days and you see the seasons change and nothing happens to the person in the film.
Winter can't decide if it wants to come or not. We had a good snow fall about a week ago and it looked as if it was going to stay, but it didn't. Afternoons are like spring while the evenings and mornings you need to bundle up or you'll freeze. Today is like that, perfectly sunny right now. I walked across campus without a jacket.
But this is not the point of this entry.
In my Shakespeare class we just finished reading "The Taming of the Shrew." I enjoyed it greatly!
However, this play isn't really that liked by many people in today's time, especially in my class.
For those who don't know the plot of this comedy, here it is:
In an Italian city, Padua, there is a wealthy widower named Baptista with two daughters of marrying age. The eldest is Katherina and the younger, Bianca. Bianca is known for her beauty and mild behavior. While Katherina is loud, temperamental and is called "the Shrew" throughout that part of Italy. Baptista says that Bianca cannot get married until Katherina gets married. Which as you guess would be a miracle.
Well, Bianca has two men who want to marry her, Gremio and Hortensio. Then in comes a new guy in town Lucentio and his servant Tranio. Lucentio sees Bianca and falls in love with her at first sight, as he says the famous lines "I pine, I burn, I perish!"
Meanwhile another new man comes into town, Petruchio and his servant Grumio. These two meet up with Petruchio's friend Hortensio (Bianca's suitor) and these friends come up with a plan. Petruchio has come to Padua to marry a wealthy woman and Hortensio tells him about Katherina. Petruchio agrees to go marry her to make Bianca free for him.
At this point Lucentio disguises him as a tutor named Cambio, a tutor for Bianca, and Hortensio disguises himself as a Litio, another tutor for Bianca. This is so they have time to be with Bianca. While Lucentio woos Biana his servant, Tranio, who pretends to be Lucentio makes a marriage arrangement for his master and Bianca.
Petruchio get permission to marry Katherina and they marry, in a highly humorous wedding scene. After the wedding Petruchio goes about to "tame" his new wife.
Now many who read this play think Petruchio is crushing Katherina's spirit and turns her into a submissive wife.
As for me and several in my class and the people who critic the play see it otherwise.
The play is under the comedy category and is farce in many moments of it.Though I won't deny Petruchio's method of "taming" Katherina (or as Petruchio calls her Kate) is highly unusual and a bit mad. Though you have to remember this is a comedy and people's ways are eccentric and crazy. Nor is Petruchio the average man and Kate the average woman.
Though this time around with The Taming of the Shrew I kind of saw the play in a different way than before. Before I thought Kate wasn't being crushed at all, but Petruchio helped her tame the fire in her and put it to better use. I saw that at the end of the play they were equals. For how can a comedy end in a crushed sole, how can a fiery woman be so easily crushed?
This time around I saw myself as Kate. Like Kate I had some traits that were less than desirable, that needed to be shaped and tamed.
There is a girl who phrased Kate's taming process something like this, "Petruchio put her fire in a mantle (AKA fireplace) instead of leaving it to burn down a forest."
I didn't have a temper, never have, I am at times insanely calm (so I have been told). But I had a few traits that were more harmful than helpful (as Kate's temper was).
Then there are things that happen to me, Like Kate, that were out of my control. I had my own "Petruchio" in my life. It wasn't one person, but many. It wasn't one situation but many that I learned from. These situations helped shape me and when I fought back and tried to demand to have things my way, only made the transition worse.
When Kate stopped fighting Petruchio and went along with his game they became equals and she became the better her. With me when I accepted this as my life and made the best of it as I could is when things went smoother and I saw a glimpse of someone great that I could be.
My life isn't what I ever imagine it would be or could ever be years ago. But the Man upstairs had bigger and better plans for me and I couldn't think how my life could be anything else. Like a rose bush I was cut back for a bit only to have fresh bits grown in with more beautiful roses.
We all have a bit of Kate in us, whether temper or not, we will have our own Petruchios to show us what we can become. It's when we stop fighting what we want and go with what we need, and make the best of it, is when we will see that person that we can become.
