The Shrew

Alternate Titles: Matchmaker, Captains Daughter

She's fiesty, self-possessed, with a tongue as sharp as barbed wire, and she is never, never, never, going to get married. In spite of this, she is often interested in other people's marriages. She pictures herself becoming a sort of wise spinster, one to whom everyone else looks for advice in matters of love, but for whom Cupid's arrows have no sting. Naturally, she is dead wrong.
The classic Shrew story is the Reluctant Romance, but she is capable of appearing in other guises. She often appears in rebel-Rogue plots as the hero's Lover -- not as a Shrew who is never going to give in, but as one who has already fallen in love and who is now ready to go out with her Lover and ply her tongue against the nearest Usurper. Whereas the captured Princess sits liltingly by the window, singing her songs of eternal optimism in the hopes of luring a saviour-Prince, the Shrew is much more likely to struggle, scream, yell, kick up a fuss, and make herself such a nuisance that the evil one is happy to see her go.
Regardless of whether she is in a Romantic or a Heroic plot, this is not a Heroine that can safely be left at home. She's your goddam partner, and she's coming with you, whether you want her tagging along or not. Fortunately, she is quite resourceful, adept at bashing baddies over the head with Ming vases and ukeleles, and she can hold her own in a battle of wits or cups.

Archetypal Events: Tantrum, Call a Spade a Spade, Refuse, Relent, Lessons

Common Shrew Plots:
Reluctant Romance: The Shrew does not believe that she is ever going to fall in love. The right man comes along, but he does not conform to her ideals: he is too vulgar, too arrogant, too rude, and in any case, men cannot be trusted. Eventually she realizes that she really might lose him forever, at which point she panics and admits that she's in love.

The Headstrong Daughter: A King has a Shrewish daughter and he must somehow get her into shape in order to marry her off. Either he eventually turns her into a true Princess, or in the course of trying to run away from his designs she meets the Rogue of her dreams and falls in love.

Matchmaker: The Shrew has a Princess sidekick who she is determined to marry off. She undertakes to eliminate unworthy suitors on the Princess' behalf, and imparts her worldly wisdom in order to prevent the relatively sheltered Princess from being deceived by Tricksters or conquered by Usurpers.

The Shrew's Parlour: Unlike the Princess, the Shrew is not going to entertain guests and suitors in the intimacy of her bedchamber. Instead she has a parlour, which is, in essence, a place where she shows off her best characteristics to those who she wants to impress, and where she feels free to exercise her tongue on those she does not. With a particularly Roguish Shrew, the parlour might turn into a beer-parlour of which she is patroness.
Refusal to Eat: The Shrew's great vice is an unwillingness to submit to any authority for fear of submitting to unjust authority. Whether she is in rebellion against her father, or against a villain, she is often inclined to use hunger fasts to get her way. Another variant is where she refuses to eat the available food because it is too coarse for her, or refuses to come down to dinner because she doesn't like the company. When she relents on this point, it means that she her invulnerability is compromised.
The Musical Club: Shrews are not provided with the natural defenses of a Princess, and so they have to fend for themselves, generally with whatever is at hand. The less like a weapon that this object is, the better. The most perfect and ideal form of her improvised club is a musical instrument.
Minor Symbols: Red Hair

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