Final Examination Text and Context

Intertextuality between The Taming Of The Shrew and My Lecturer My Husband
by: Nava Puspa Wardhani / 23030200019

The existence of intertextuality is very important in the analysis of literary works. Intertextuality serves to reinterpret the source material creatively. In this article, I will discuss the intertextuality between The Taming Of The Shrew and My Lecturer My Husband.

The Taming Of The Shrew is one of William Shakespeare's films written in 1590. This film is a film that comes from abroad. The Taming Of The Shrew film has been adapted by several other works. In addition, this film carries the theme of romance which is suitable for teenagers to watch. Then in a different country, Indonesia, there is a series that has some similarities to The Taming Of The Shrew. The series is entitled "My Lecturer My Husband" directed by Monty Tiwa. This series began airing on the Iflix and WeTv apps in December 2020.

These two films have several things in common. The similarities can be found from the genre of the two films, namely romantic comedy. These two films also have something in common, namely telling the story of a man who conquers a woman's heart in his own way and carries the same theme, namely about love. Both films are also set in the background of married life. Then in terms of characters, these two films also have similarities, namely the characters of Katherine and Inggit have the same character, namely stubborn and difficult to manage. Apart from having some similarities, of course, these two films have many differences. We can know these differences in terms of the storyline, setting, and characters when we have watched both.

In The Taming Of The Shrew, the main characters in the story are Petruchio and Katherine. The story begins with Baptista, a wealthy merchant in Padua who has two beautiful daughters, Katherine and Bianca. The two daughters have different characters where Katherine has a grumpy nature, while her sister Bianca has a friendly nature. Over time, this caused problems for her daughter. One day, there are three applicants who want to propose to Bianca, namely Lucentio, Gremio, and Hortensio. But Baptista decided no one would be able to marry Bianca if Katherine wasn't married. Worse, Katharine didn't even realize that no man was interested in her. Then came a Petruchio in Padua who wanted to find a wife until finally Petruchio married Katherine for reasons of wealth.

In the My Lecturer My Husband series, the main characters in the story are Inggit and Arya. The story of this series begins with a beautiful student who really hates her lecturer because she is very fierce and gives Inggit a C grade.  Even so, the lecturer is handsome and smart named Arya. One day Inggit was asked to return to Jogja by her sick father. Her father asked Inggit to marry a man that he trusted to take care of Inggit. Inggit initially refused her father's wish because she already had a boyfriend named Tristan, a medical student who was in the same university as Inggit. She tries to call Tristan and tell him to go to Jogja so that the matchmaking fails, but Tristan refuses for some reason. Because her father continues to insist, Inggit is forced to agree to marry the man of her father's choice. It turns out that the man is Arya, the lecturer she hates the most. Inggit kept the marriage secret from her friends, including Tristan. But after many problems and drama in her married life, Inggit finally melts down on Arya and loves Arya completely.

These two films have several things in common. The similarities can be found from the genre of the two films, namely romantic comedy. These two films also have something in common, namely telling the story of a man who conquers a woman's heart in his own way, until his wife melts down to her husband. Both films are also set in the background of married life. Then in terms of characters, these two films also have similarities, namely the characters of Katherine and Inggit have the same character, namely stubborn and difficult to manage. Apart from having some similarities, of course, these two films have many differences. The most prominent difference is that Petruchio performs various psychic tortures to 'tame' Katherine, while Arya treats Inggit well, has patience in dealing with Inggit and always relents until Inggit finally yields to her. There are also other differences that we can know in terms of the storyline, setting, and characters when we have watched both.

In the film The Taming Of The Shrew, there is one of Katharine's monologues which contains about being obedient to all the orders of her husband so that women do not have any power and freedom in doing things. This is called patriarchal culture and in ancient times this culture was very embedded in the community. It is not uncommon for women to get a lot of social pressure and bad judgment from their environment. In contrast to the film The Taming Of The Shrew, in the My Lecturer My Husband series, Inggit has the freedom to disobey men and express opinions if something doesn't go her way.