Similarities Between 10 Things I Hate About You And Taming Of The Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, follows the lives of two sisters, Katherine and Bianca, as different suitors try to wed Bianca. Katherine is seen as a shrew by many people and her ‘shrewish’ behavior can be seen in her relationship with her sister Bianca. In 10 Things I Hate About You, a film adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew, Bianca and Kat also have a bad relationship, however, Kat’s shrewish behavior towards her sister is explained, allowing the audience to understand another side to Kat and enhancing the play version of Katherine. Katherine and Bianca have a hostile relationship in both The Taming of the Shrew and 10 Things I Hate About You, however, both stories show that Katherine does not act like a shrew towards

her sister out of spite, but because she has been emotionally hurt.
In 10 Things I Hate About You, Katherine, known as Kat in the film, acts like a shrew towards Bianca in order to protect her from being emotionally hurt, as she was with Joey and her mother. In the film, Mr. Stratford, Kat and Bianca's father, will only allow Bianca to date if Kat dates. However, Kat has no desire to date and acts like a shrew towards everyone in school to the point where most boys are afraid of her. In one scene of the film, Kat reveals to Bianca that she refuses to date so that Bianca will not be able to date, protecting her from Joey, one boy in school who wants to date Bianca. Kat reveals to Bianca that she lost her virginity to Joey and states that she had sex“just once, right after mom left. Everyone was doing it, so I did it. Afterwards, I told him I didn't want to anymore because I wasn't ready and he got pissed and dumped me.” Kat’s statement reveals that she was hurt by the absence of her mother, causing her to lose her virginity to Joey. By telling Joey that she no longer wanted to have sex, Kat reveals that she regretted losing her virginity. Instead of comforting her, Joey dumped her, causing Kat to feel rejected and hurt once again. The rejection that Kat felt was so unbearable that she did not want her little sister to go through the same pain that she had to go through. This refusal to date is the main reason the two sister's had a bad relationship. Instead of understanding Kat's point of view, Bianca believed that Kat was being a horrible person for no reason, when in fact, Kat was only trying to protect her little sister.
The absence of her mother not only causes her to lose her virginity, but act as a mother figure to Bianca. Kat can be seen as a mother figure by her clothing and the way she stands over Bianca. In one scene, Kat walks into Bianca's room where Kat discusses how she lost her virginity. In the scene, Kat is dressed in dark blue pants and shirt with a dark green cardigan covering her and her hair pulled tightly into a bun. Meanwhile, Bianca is in a floral dress, a bright pink cardigan, and her hair flowing down to her shoulders. The contrast between the two sisters outfits shows that Bianca dresses innocently, like a child, while Kat dresses more mature than a person her age. Not only is Kat’s role as the mother revealed by her clothing, but is shown by the way Kat interacts with Bianca. The way that Kat hovers over Bianca when she first comes into the room resembles the way a parent might speak to a child. When Kat first walks into Bianca’s room, she stands looking over Bianca with her hands resting on her hips. Meanwhile, Bianca lays on her bed, listening to what Kat had to say while cuddling with her teddy bear. Kat standing above Bianca symbolizes how she has total control over whether or not Bianca can date. Meanwhile, Bianca laying on the bed with a stuffed animal symbolizes how she is still a child and completely submissive to her older sister. Again, Kat is characterized as mature while Bianca is seen as the child. The clothing and interaction Kat and Bianca have between each other reveals that Kat only acts hostile towards her sister because she has taken on the role of the mother and feels that that is the only way to protect her sister from getting hurt.
Unlike 10 Things I Hate About You, in The Taming of the Shrew, one reason Katherine acts like a shrew towards Bianca is because she is jealous that her sister has multiple suitors.

The jealousy that Katherine has towards Bianca shows that she acts like a shrew as a defense mechanism because she has been emotionally hurt. Bianca has many suitors, while Katherine only has one, leaving an emotional toll on Katherine. Katherine feels the need to act horrible to her sister as a way to hide that she is jealous of her sister's life. In Act 2, scene 1, Katherine ties Bianca and demands to know which of the suitors Bianca loves most. Katherine states, “Of all thy suitors here I charge thee tell/Whom thou lov’st best./See thou dissemble not”(2.1.8-9). Katherine ties up Bianca because she truly wants to know about her sister’s life. Katherine does not know what it feels like to be loved by another man, causing her to tie up Bianca in order to live vicariously through her younger sister. Though Katherine seems to not care about what other people think about her, deep down she just wants to be accepted and loved like her

sister.
Unlike the film version where Kat is emotionally hurt by her mother, Katherine is emotionally hurt by her father, causing Katherine to be jealous of Bianca once again.

When Baptista finds out that Katherine tied up Bianca, Baptista runs to Bianca’s aid, stating, “Why, how now, dame, whence grows this/ insolence?/ —Bianca, stand aside.—Poor girl, she weeps!/ Go ply thy needle; meddle not with her”(2.1.23-26). Instead of asking for both sides of the story, Baptista runs straight to Bianca’s aid. Baptista did not try to understand what was wrong was Katherine or try to hep her deal with her emotions, he instead just viewed her as evil. After Baptista comforts Bianca, he states to Katherine,“thou hilding of a devilish spirit!”(2.1.27-28). Everyone in town views Katherine as a shrew, even her own father. The rejection that Katherine feels from her own family causes her to live up to their expectations. The rejection that Katherine feels from her own father is later revealed when she states, “She is your treasure, she must have a husband,/I must dance barefoot on her wedding day”. Katherine knows that Baptista views Bianca as his treasure and knows Bianca is her father’s priority. The way that Baptista treats Katherine shown that he loves Bianca more, which leaves and emotional toll on Katherine. Katherine acts hostile towards Bianca because she knows the only reason her father is pressuring her to get married is because he wants a good suitor for Bianca, causing Katherine

to take out her frustrations on her younger sister.
In both 10 Things I Hate About You and The Taming of The Shrew, Katherine is revealed to have deep emotional issues which causes her to take out her frustration on her younger sister, Bianca. However, the film version clearly emphasizes Kat’s emotional issues, enhancing the original Katherine of the Shakespeare play. In the film version, the director makes it clear that Katherine is only trying to protect her sister by acting like a shrew. However, in the play, readers have to analyze the material closely in order to realize that Katherine does not act like a shrew towards her sister out of spite, but because she is jealous and has been emotionally hurt by her father. 10 Things I Hate About You enhances the characterization of Katherine through clothing and framing, revealing that Katherine does not mean to be a shrew to her sister, but is instead taking out her frustration in the only way that she knows how.