Shelby+Harcher

= Love and Abuse = Comparing "The Taming of the Shrew" to "Diary of a Mad Black Woman"

Seeing women treated as a possession in a relationship is nothing new and is seen throughout older and modern media. In Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" Petruchio is willing to do whatever it takes to get Katherine to obey him. Through all this, Katherine still stays with him. In Tyler Perry's "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" Helen is living with her husband. One day he comes home with another woman and tells Helen she should leave, for good. When Helen refuses, he becomes violent and physically abuses her. Helen still begs him to stay even after he did that. Both men use abusive ways to get their wives to do what they want. Charles is trying to get his wife to leave but Petruchio is trying to "tame" his wife. They both use different methods and are portrayed differently. Charles, who physically drags his wife out the house is seen as a villan whereas, Petruchio mentally and emotionally abuses his wife, but he is seen as clever. **When in love, some women will put up with abuse and even do what their husbands want.**

==**"She ate no meat today, nor none shall eat. Last night she slept not, nor tonight she shall not."** == (Act IV, Scene I, 197-198)

Katherine is seen as evil by the people in her town. Petruchio wants to change that Katherine to fit the expectations they have for a wife. Petruchio states what he is going to do in order to accomplish that. He says that he won't feed her or let her sleep until she does what he says and is tame. Even though Petruchio does this, Katherine still stays with him. Charles as well uses abuse in order to get his wife to do what he says, however he does so in a different manner.



Charles brings another woman home and explains to Helen that this is the mother of his children. Helen was unaware of this and the fact that he has kids. Charles wants Helen to leave but she refuses. He then becomes violent and physically drug her out of the house. Meanwhile, Helen is screaming, but also begging him to stay. = = ==****"Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, they head, they sovereign, one that cares for thee"**** == (Act V, Scene II, 155-156)

Bianca and another married woman was called by their husbands to come to them. Both women told their husbands that they couldn't come right now and to wait. Surprisingly, Katherine took the women and told them that they need to treat their husbands like kings because that's a woman's life. It is obvious that Katherine is in love with Petruchio now because she would have never said that before they got married.



Helen comes back to Charles' house to retrieve the belongings she thinks is her. She tells him that she doesn't deserves to get kicked out of the house and her him to leave her, but she leaves and stays a relatives house anyways. Even though Charles treated her the way he did, the viewer is shown that Helen still has a desire to be with him, but is going to do what he wants and leave.

At the end of "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" Helen has moved on and found a new man to call her own. One that treats her the way a woman should be treated; with respect. In "The Taming of the Shrew" Katherine is transformed into the life that society believes all women should be. This shows that back then, men were in charge and women were there to cater and please them. The ending of "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" reveals that women need to be treated like human beings and they aren't possessions. Women shouldn't settle for someone who is abusive because there is someone out there who will treat them better.