Camille+Maldonado

=//The Taming of the Old Men //= ====** I will be comparing // The Wedding Planner // to //The Taming of the Shrew//. **====


 * Characters featured from //Shrew//:**
 * Baptista**-Katherine's Father
 * Katherine**-Main female Character
 * Petruchio**-Katherine's Husband
 * Bianca**-Katherine's younger sister


 * Characters featured from //Wedding Planner//**:
 * Mary**-Main female Character
 * Salvadore**-Mary's Father
 * Steve**-Mary's one time fling which she truly loves
 * Massimo**-Mary's childhood friend whom she has no feelings towards

In "The Taming of the Shrew" it is shown that the fathers play a very large part in the marriage of two people, in "The Wedding Planner" that concept is also reflected. Baptista the father of Katherine in "The Taming of the Shrew", arranges a marriage between Petruchio and Katherine, because without marrying off Katherine he couldn't proceed to arrange a marriage for the sweeter daughter of his, Bianca. This is reflected in "The Wedding Planner", by Mary's father Salvadore, trying to get her to marry Massimo an Italian she once knew as a child.

Although, the character Salvadore isn't as authoritative as Baptista in getting his daughter Mary to marry Massimo he still is using his fatherly influence to guilt Mary into marring Massimo. We learn later in the movie that Salvadore, as a young man was forced himself into a marriage with Mary's mother, at first they hated each other and eventually in time it grew into love, having lived through this he believes that even if he forces this marriage between Mary and Massimo they would still be able to love as much as he and his deceased wife had done. On the other hand Mary, although being Wedding Planner, always creating and watching the day a girl looks forward to for years, doesn't realize how important love is. When she finds out that Steve the man she has fallen in love with is engaged she doesn't realize that her love for him is as strong as it really is.


 * These two example's of a fathers influence on marriage, show that even in a society now when a woman is thought of as independent, at times a fathers influence may still effect their important life decisions such as marriage.**

==//**"Gentle men, importune me no farther, **// == ==//** For how I firmly am resolved you know: **// == ==//** That is, not to bestow my youngest daughter **// == ==//** Before I have a husband for the elder. **// == ==//** If either of you both love Katherine, **// == ==//** Because I know you well and love you well, **// == ==<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">//**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> Leave shall you have to court her at your pleasure." **// ==

(Act 1. Scene 1, 34-35)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">In this quote, Baptista is speaking with the suitors and saying that the only way he could marry off Bianca is if he marries off Katherine first. From there the father's role in arranging a marriage begins, and the woman in this case Katherine has no say what so ever. Back then what had to be done was done, even if the father had to do it, especially if the daughter showed no excitement.



<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> In this first scene Salvador and Mary are playing Scrabble, he tells her, "I found you a man that has agreed to marry you." This man, Massimo is a boy played with as a child when they went to Italy. Totally shocked Mary jokingly says to her father, "This is the most wonderful day of my life, a man of my very own you must bring me to him at once!" To which he father replies, "No need, he's here." Salvador has practically promised Mary's hand in marriage to Massimo, and this is his first step to forcing the fatherly influence on Mary and trying to get her to marry Massimo. Mary not accustomed to love in any way and not thinking of marriage, is angry at her father for bringing Massimo and brushes it off as if it will eventually go away.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> //**your son shall have my daughter with consent."**//
(Act 4. Scene 4, 181) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">

In this quote, Baptista although not speaking about Bianca, is still showing how he interferes with his daughters marriages. He is saying to Lucentio's father that Lucentio is in love with my daughter and as long as he had given her a sufficient dower, he could marry he with his approval. It seems as long as the father is happy, nothing else matters and everyone else should be as well.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">

In this scene, Mary is napping and is all of a sudden awoken by her father, she exclaims "What are you doing?" Her father responds saying, "I'm measuring you for your wedding dress." Mary never said she was going to marry Massimo, but yet her father is measuring her for her wedding dress. During this scene when he is caught Mary learns about her fathers arranged wedding, and learns that their parents at first hated each other but after she took care of him when he became seriously sick they began to love one another. Telling Mary of his successful arranged marriage, he gets he to believe that their is a chance, that if she marries Massimo, they could learn to love one another. In the middle of the movie she ask by Massimo to marry him and on a Scrabble board puts down the letters O and K. Although, at the time she said yes in the end of the movie when she was about to marry Massimo her father objected to it speaking of how he only wanted it for himself and he wasn't thinking of her. In a turn of events the father changes his mind and in seeing his mistake allows Mary to do what ever she pleases.

Through out the movie "The Wedding Planner" and the play "The Taming of the Shrew" fatherly figures change the lives of their daughters by interfering with their life and choices, mainly in men. Although in "The Wedding Planner" this where a little different, Salvador practically forced this marriage on Mary he let it go, and let her make her own decisions, but it was only after he objected to the marriage that she left and did what she wanted to do, which was marry Steve, the Doctor she met in the beginning of the movie, this still involved the fatherly influence and how a father determines his daughters life, by what his opinion is. If he hadn't stopped the wedding she would have married Massimo because of her fathers opinion but since he did object to it she did what she wanted. So only after his objection to her's and Massimo's marriage and his permission did she finally do what she wanted.