Elizabeth Hart Hart itibaren Gemeinde Enzersdorf an der Fischa
Re-reading the play this time, I liked it a little better than I thought I would. I predicted that the brutal treatment of Katharine by Petruchio would ruin the play for me, but it didn't. From the induction involving Christopher Sly, the text of "The Taming of the Shrew" is full of so many transformations (tinker to lord, page to lady, servant to rich young man, rich young man to teacher of grammar, rich suitor to music teacher, wandering scholar to prosperous merchant, etc.) as well as so many literary allusions to Ovid and other metamorphoses, that Kate's transformation from shrew into obedient wife seems just one more mythological marvel produced by the magic of the stage, with Petruchio as the play's protean Prospero. But I'm making the play seem better than it is. It is a very slight entertainment indeed, a farce whose lack of even comic seriousness is one of the reason why its brutality and misogyny are relatively inoffensive.
Andersen Prunty is a weird guy. I assume. I mean, I don't know him personally, but anyone who has this stuff inside their brain can't be normal, right? The Overwhelming Urge is chock full of strange people doing even stranger things. The stories are brief -- sometimes only a couple of paragraphs -- so it has the feel of an overheard conversation or catching something bizarre out of the corner of your eye as you drive down the street. The main themes here seem to be alienation and sorrow -- the wisest man in the world comes to your house and craps on your rug, a new haircut changes a man's life, a walk to the mailbox ends in tragedy . . . I'm not sure what any of it means, but it sure is fun trying to figure it all out. My favourite story was "The Bright Side", where the narrator discovers his father has turned into an antelope. I'm not sure why, but I found the idea charming, and Prunty's description of the transformed father was exactly how I image a human/antelope would be. This book is a very fast read, perfect for keeping in a car or purse for something quick to read while waiting at the bank, carpool line, etc. Highly recommend, especially for fans of Bizarro.
Just beautiful...