Teila+Allmond

Enough is Enough! Comparing "Taming of the Shrew" to "27 Dresses" In life there are a set of expectations when it comes to marriage for both males and also females. Some girls want a simple wedding with only family, but others want as much as they can get out of their day. In the movie "27 Dresses", the main character Jane played by Katherine Heigl, is always the bridesmaid but never the bride because she wants to live up to her specific expectations of the perfect wedding. She dedicated her life solely to live out those dreams of a perfect wedding so much that it eventually begins to rule her life. She got to the point where she depended on the comfortable daily routine that she'd adapted for herself though. She works for a business and is madly in love with her boss, but when he baby sister Tess comes back to town, her boss pays more attention to her than he ever has to Jane. After she realizes that Tess has become so close to her boss, their loving relationship as sisters quickly becomes a competition as enemies. When it comes to marriage and family, women will sacrifice what they need to in order to have the perfect wedding. In "Taming of the Shrew", Katherine is thought of as the least pretty out of the two sisters. In this comparison, Katherine is similar to Jane in many ways including this. She is the oldest child who was forced to take care of her younger sister after their mother died and Jane as taken care of Tess ever since. In her mind, the only goal she had in life was to make sure that her sister was always comfortable and happy, even if that meant sacrificing the few good things she had going good in her life. Tess took all Jane's ideas that she had for the perfect wedding including the man she wanted to share it with. She even got to wear their mother's wedding dress who died when they were both young when it should have went to the eldest daughter. But when Tess took the dress she ended up cutting and using only parts of the dress and it got to the point where the dress became destroyed and unusable. Tess took advantage of her in a way but after she decided to cross the line and mess with Jane's heart, it was a whole other story and quickly she went from being her darling baby sister to, "some crazy bitch that broke [her] heart and cut up [her] mother's wedding dress."

In the book, Bianca along with Katherine no matter how evil she was thought to be, had a plan and a dream for what their wedding would be when they were lucky enough to have one. Katherine unfortunately doesn't quite come off as attractive to the men in the town and instead they prefer her sister Bianca. Because of this and the fact that their father wants to make sure to marry off both of his daughters and not just the one that's prefered by most, he decides to set up a marriage for his oldest daughter. This man is Pertruchio and Katherine doesn't take to him quite well. But eventually he tricks the townspeople and even her father into believeing that, "'Tis bargained ’twixt us twain, being alone, / That she shall still be curst in company." The day of their wedding, Pertruchio surprises them all by showing up late dressed in a mannor that is thought to be disgusting and not at all the type of dress that he should be wearing to his wedding. While he is in the church he disrespects not only Bianca, but the priest as well, making Katherine look like, " a lamb, a dove, a fool to him!" (Act III, Scene ii, 130) = = = "**...when the priest** = = **Should ask if Katherine should be his wife,** = = **“Ay, by gogs wouns!” quoth he, and swore so loud** = = **That, all amazed, the priest let fall the book,..."** = (Act III, Scene ii, 131-134)

After this event, the people of the town see the real Pertruchio and not the lie that he bestowed upon them. But most importantly, he ruined the one day that Katherine would ever to think to be special and full of love. Instead he transformed it to be everything that she thought it would never be. This type of disrespect is the thing that women try their hardest to avoid and will do anything they need to in order to do so. Women will even stoop to the level of betraying their family and turning into a person that they might not even recognize. In 27 Dresses, this happens in a way to Jane. Her sister intercepts her plan of the perfect marriage and it leads to the point where she begins to forget about caring for her sister and her feelings and totally focuses on winning back



Overall, the stress about having the perfect wedding caused Jane to almost destroy her life. It caused her to turn against her own sister just like Katherine's want of what Bianca had caused her to lash out against her sister Bianca. **BIANCA** If you affect him, sister, here I swear I’ll plead for you myself, but you shall have him.

Oh, then be like you fancy riches more. You will have Gremio to keep you fair.
 * KATHERINE**

Is it for him you do envy me so? Nay, then you jest, and now I well perceive You have but jested with me all this while. I prithee, sister Kate, untie my hands. (Act II, Scene i, 13-21) Katherine saw what Bianca had and in a way envied her and what she had. Most of the people in the town looked at her as the sister of the girl they'd marry but not the actual bride, just like Jane. Towards the end of the movie, Jane and Tess have a conversation about how they actually envy what each other has. Along with that they also thought, they believed that each other's life was easier than their own. This jealousy aided in the fight that was soley because Jane believed that she had gone too far when it came to taking advantage of her as the older sister that would always be there to protect and take care of her over herself. She believed that everything in Tess' life was easy enough so that Jane could at least have this fantasy that she lived in everyday even though she would never make a move to actually try to make it a reality.
 * BIANCA**

Overall, throughout the movie and the book, women's idea of their perfect wedding has shaped the way they act when it comes to creating the perfect life. It has broken up families and even relationships between sisters. Sometimes it can even be speculated that women look forward to having a wedding instead of an actual marriage.