But How Will She Take It?

Posted by Nia Hammond in English 3 - Pahomov - D on Monday, December 9, 2013 at 2:37 pm

A comparison between Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" and the movie "Submarine"

In William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy called “The Taming of the Shrew,” a wealthy man named Petruchio traveled Padua with the intention to “wive and thrive.” He claimed no matter how terrible his wife was, the gold mattered more and Petruchio would “woo” her anyway. Shortly after arriving in Padua, Petruchio married a wealthy but hostile woman named Katherine. The 2010 British film “Submarine” displayed fifteen year old Oliver Tate’s theories in pursuing his mysterious classmate, Jordana, who’d just been cheated on by her last boyfriend.

Petruchio’s and Oliver’s goals were relatively the same—to get a significant other to keep—but both their methods and obstacles differed. In order to marry Katherine, all Petruchio had to do was convince her father that she loved him. Since she was sour with Petruchio (like she was with everyone) and the father saw this, Petruchio fibbed that he and Katherine showed they were in love only when in each other’s company. Alternatively, Oliver sought after Jordana and it was by way of personality and actions that finally got him the girl. It was not guaranteed she would stay, though. Compared to now, marriages were more like permanent business trades in the time period of “The Taming of the Shrew,” and in some parts of the world, it still is. However, society has grown open to more opinions and ideas behind marriage, courtship, and dating. The texts reflect the distance a man goes to keep or lose his partner, and that not every woman reacts the same way in turn.

“And therefore, if thou know

One rich enough to be Petruchio’s wife

… Be she as foul as was Florentius’ love,

… I come to wive it wealthily in Padua;

If wealthily, then happily in Padua.”

(Act 1, Scene 2, lines 67-77)

Here, Petruchio noted that wealth was a big factor in who he wanted to “wive.” When he said, “Be she as foul as was Florentius’ love,” he meant that he does not care as much about the behavior of the woman but how much money she has. This directly relates to how a man will go far, in this case far with tolerating a woman’s temper, to gain the privilege of “wiving” her.

In Submarine, the Petruchio is Oliver Tate, who already has a love interest named Jordana.

During this scene early on in the movie, Oliver is describing his knowledge of what Jordana is like (in a voiceover) while spying on her. “She never speaks about herself, therefore she could be anything. She’s moderately unpopular, which makes a romance between the two of us more likely. She’s also a girl; to be seen with her would improve my street cred.” Like Petruchio, Oliver does want a romance for “street cred”/riches, but he is more interested in a specific woman—he is not settling for anyone else but Jordana. He has even already started spying on her to gather more knowledge about her, which shows his efforts thus far in courting.

[Petruchio]:

“For thou art pleasant, gamesome, passing courteous,

… But thou with mildness entertain’st thy wooers,

With gentle conference, soft, and affable.

Why does the world report Kate doth limp?

[Katherine]:

… Where did you study all this goodly speech?”

(Act 2, Scene 1, lines 259-277)

In this scene, Petruchio met Katherine for the first time and he experienced first-hand her harsh and shrewlike character in an argument. Towards the end of their brawl, however, Kate was impressed by Petruchio’s way with words, which Petruchio said came off the top of his head. If Petruchio didn’t want Katherine’s hand as much as he did, he would not have gone through so much arguing and name-calling to come around and compliment her afterwards. Although she dealt with a great deal of insults thrown back at her, Kate was more turned by Petruchio’s kind words.

In another scene from “Submarine,” Oliver’s use of words with Jordana made up for his faulty actions to his advantage in the end.

A few moments before this still, Oliver invited Jordana, now his girlfriend, over for dinner and “lovemaking.” To prepare for the “lovemaking” part, Oliver set up a fancy dinner, bought balloons, and decorated his parents’ room with red blankets and candles. He showed Jordana the surprise by covering her eyes and not letting her open them until he was sprawled on the bed posed seductively. Though he thought it would work well, Jordana left the house, and Oliver handed her a letter he’d written for post-lovemaking. It was the letter that brought Jordana back to Oliver’s door and then they slept together. Both of them were content in this relationship for that time.

[Petruchio]:

“It shall be moon, or star, or what I list…

[Katherine]:

… Forward, I pray, since we have come so far,

And be it moon, or sun, or what you please.

And if you please to call it a rush candle,

Henceforth I vow it shall be for me.”

(Act 4, Scene 5, lines 7-17)

After they were married and living as a couple, Petruchio began “taming” his “shrew.” He starved with Katherine for three days, he went on to call the sun in the sky the moon, demanding she agreed with him before they could go anywhere. Kate sharply disagreed with him for a while until she finally gave in and agreed with whatever he would say. Regarding this, readers can tell that Petruchio had complete control over Katherine—she was trapped in their marriage and persuaded to begin accepting it as her reality. Besides the fact that divorce and breaking up was not very common during their times, Petruchio’s way of keeping Katherine involved treating her with as much hostility she once treated everyone with.

Submarine’s more contemporary representation of relationships has a different approach to the female’s mistreatment in a relationship.

This shot of Submarine shows a letter Jordana wrote to Oliver notifying him that she was ending their relationship. Before this, Oliver said he would show up to the hospital with Jordana to see her ill mother and did not follow through. According to him, whether or not Jordana’s mother’s surgery went well, she would still need time apart from him. At this point, although Oliver thought he wasn’t being completely harmful by skipping out on time with Jordana, the way she reacted resulted in their breakup. This exemplifies the freedom women now have in their relationships to decide whether or not they are worth being in, and also the man’s actions in efforts to keep his spouse.

Oliver’s failure to keep Jordana with him throughout their short relationship with each other reflects that despite either partner’s efforts, a relationship does not always work out between two people. With Petruchio and Katherine, the results of Petruchio’s actions towards Katherine started as bitter reactions but eventually a compromise between the two. Even at the end of Submarine, however, Jordana and Oliver meet once again and have a moment of friendship between each other, and so no one is completely miserable by the end of their tale.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. The Taming of the Shrew. New York: Washington Square, 2002. Print.

Submarine. Dir. Richard Ayoade. By Joe Dunthorne and Richard Ayoade. Perf. Craig Roberts and Yasmin Paige. 2010. Netflix.

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