Schisms Amongst Familial Relationships Caused by Ones’ Attitude in Shakespeare's Play King Lear

In Shakespeare’s play, King Lear, set in the 1600s, it depicts King Lear’s battle as he tries to preserve his reputation and his innocence before his unfortunate demise. Meanwhile in the novel, A Thousand Acres, written by Jane Smiley, it revisits this classic tragedy through Smiley’s take on the modern-day interpretation of Shakespeare’s King Lear. Equivalent to King Lear relinquishing his crown amid his three daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia, the patriarch of the Cook family, and the father of Rose, Caroline, and Ginny, Laurence “Larry” Cook decides to sign over his thousand acres of farmland amongst his daughters. A Thousand Acres’s critical parallel to King Lear allows the characters to be developed with a sense of abundance and complexity that is not found in King Lear. Nonetheless, with the similarities between the two works of literature being so prominent, both works develop the themes of, compassion and reconciliation, appearance versus reality, and the role of women in a patriarchal society. However, the the differences in the development of the themes in, A Thousand Acres and King Lear, are the result of the distinct characterization of the parallel characters and the attitudes portrayed by the fathers.

The conflicting characterization of Lear in King Lear and Larry in A Thousand Acres, results in a completely different outlook of the theme, compassion and reconciliation. In King Lear, Lear is an arrogant and egotistical man but slowly and surely as the story progresses, he grows and is soon able to learn humility and respect for others besides himself. After Lear has divvied up his kingdom up between his daughters, his noble advisor Kent tries to persuade Lear that he’s judged his youngest daughter Cordelia unjustly. Lear’s arrogance can be seen when Kent exclaims, “Answer my life my/judgement,/Thy youngest daughter does not love thee least,/Nor are those empty-hearted whose low sounds/Reverb no hollowness” (Act 1. Scene 1. Lines 169-173). Kent knows that he may lose his title, status, and Lear’s trust for speaking out against his royal majesty but he chooses to do so anyways because he truly believes that deep down Lear means well and has the ability to change for the better. Eventually, after realizing how grateful he is to have Cordelia in his life, King Lear makes an attempt to try to mend the rift that he’s caused in their relationship. While trying to replace his former arrogance with compassion and humility, Lear tries to apologize to Cordelia by saying, “Fourscore and upward, not an hour more nor less,/And to deal plainly,/I fear I am not in my perfect mind” (Act 4. Scene 7. Lines 70-72). His ability to humble himself in this manner indicates that he has begun to learn the true essence of humility and is willing to patch things up with his daughter.

King Lear’s compassion and reconciliation with Cordelia is contrasted by, Larry Cook, in A Thousand Acres. Unlike King Lear, Larry Cook, a wicked individual, doesn’t change or humble himself whatsoever despite all the chances that he had. Throughout the course of his life, he remains discourteous and arrogant, refusing to acknowledge his sins and right his wrongs. Jane Smiley adds emphasis on compassion for Rose and Ginny, as they are the products of Larry’s childhood and sexual abuse. While reminiscing on the past, Rose declares, “Daddy thinks history starts fresh every day, every minute, that time itself begins with the feelings he’s having right now. That’s how he keeps betraying us, why he roars at us with such conviction” (Smiley 216). Larry’s lack of morals, remorse and compassion caused him to lose the ability to reconcile with those who he hurt the most, his children. He fails to realize that by pushing his children away, he’s not only hurting them but himself as well. Larry spirals out of control and lashes out a suppressed anger that has been longing to be unleashed. Instantly, after bringing up his plan to sign away his property and Caroline shares her concerns on the matter, Larry “took the door in his hand and slammed it shut in her face” (Smiley 39). Her doubts provoke his patriarchal status and Larry seems to not be able to deal with it. Altogether, it’s easy to see how the differing roles in the attitudes of the fathers seem to affect the relationship of those around them. Their actions have consequences and yet the patriarchal figures don’t realize that until it’s too late.

With common qualities present in both works, the characters, Cordelia from King Lear and Caroline from A Thousand Acres, perpetuate the theme of appearance versus reality. In King Lear, this theme appears when Lear falls for Goneril and Regans’ false love allegations. Lear, completely blinded by love unable to distinguish false flattery from the truth, decides to divide his kingdom to the sisters without considering adding Cordelia to this proposition. Ironically, when Cordelia tries to provide her undying love to her father, Lear dismisses her affection. Cordelia did love her father but she refuses to flatter him with lies simply by stating “Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave/My heart into my mouth. I love your Majesty/According to my bond, no more nor less” (Act 1. Scene 1. Lines 100-102). This misconstrues Lear’s ability to differentiate between appearance and reality and ultimately shows how his character affects his actions. Cordelia, misunderstood by her family, is barely developed throughout the play and is left to be characterized by the audience’s imagination.

Be that as it may, in A Thousand Acres, Caroline, rather than being identified as the ‘good daughter’ she is cast aside when she questions Larry’s decision to split up the farm just as Cordelia had done with King Lear. Both characters seem more alike than different but unlike Cordelia, Larry is seen as purer than life itself to Caroline simply for the fact that she is protected from Larry’s sins and dark side while Cordelia never succumbed to King Lear’s lifestyle and nature. Although Larry Cook is perceived to be a successful farmer and a well-respected figure within his community, behind closed doors, he is actually a flawed individual who sexually molested his eldest daughters when they were younger. Caroline, unaware of Larry’s wrongdoings, blames her sisters for their downfalls and is quick to judge rather than listen. When Ginny says to Caroline, “We saved you from Daddy! We made a space for you that we never had for ourselves” (Smiley 245). Caroline counters her remark by stating “Did I have to be saved from Daddy? From my own father?” (Smiley 245). As the novel winds down, Caroline castigates Ginny when she says “I realize that some people are just evil” (Smiley 363). Ginny is tempted to tell Caroline the truth but rather than ruining Carolines’ innocence, Ginny and Rose keep up the appearance that everything is peachy keen in order to protect Caroline. In both King Lear and A Thousand Acres, the theme of appearance versus reality is emphasized through the characters of Cordelia and Caroline.

Furthermore, the portrayal of Goneril and Regan from, King Lear and Ginny and Rose from, A Thousand Acres displays the parallel of the roles of women in a patriarchal society. In, King Lear, the physical absence of a mother figure in the play pushes forward the idea that the fathers are the key factors necessary in a predominantly patriarchal Shakespearian society. This patriarchal society motivates the belief that women are less than and that they don’t deserve any sort of power. Upon attaining Lear’s kingdom, Goneril and Regan treated their father with disrespect and maliciousness. Nefarious as can be, Goneril and Regan are identified as evil especially when Albany refers to Goneril as the devil when he says “See thyself, devil!/Proper deformity not in the fiend/So horrid as in woman” (Act 4. Scene 2. Lines 73-75). Shakespeare, through his writing, suggests that women in power cause nothing but trouble and they don’t deserve a seat at the table.

Contrary to how Goneril and Regan are negatively depicted in King Lear, Ginny and Rose in A Thousand Acres are submissive to their father by waiting on Larry’s hand and foot ever since their mother’s death. They await his demands, make breakfast for him, and tend to the house by cleaning. Throughout the novel, Ginny is unable to speak up for herself because deep down she knows that she is too weak to do. She would rather suppress her voice than face being snubbed by her family. A moment of weakness on Ginny’s part can be seen when she states “Of course it was silly to talk about ‘my point of view.’ When my father asserted his point of view, mine vanished. Not even I could remember it” (Smiley 176). Ginny never seems to defend herself thus proving that she isn’t content on being the center of attention or overpowering her father. Similarly, when Ginny responds to Larry’s peculiar behavior, her husband Ty simply says, “I never thought it would be easy, but I thought I was making progress, and then you women just wrecked it, you just got him all fired up-” (Smiley 261). In society, women are preferred to be compliant so when this system is provoked, the women are seen as sinners for not following the rules. Ty is angry with Ginny and Rose because he believes that by meddling into something that was none of their business, they ruined his chances of a brighter future. Having dealt with Larry’s abuse, Ginny’s actions overall prove why she lacks self-confidence and the ability to talk back to others. Ginny and Rose are the victims of Larry’s abuse, in contrast to the vile sisters in King Lear, and with this both works are able to illustrate the fact that the role of women in society will always be suppressed as it is a man’s world, where equality is not valued.

The similarities found among the characters of King Lear and A Thousand Acres allow the perpetuation of the themes, compassion and reconciliation, appearance versus reality, and the role that women place in a patriarchal society. In A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley develops the characters with raw emotions that allows the readers to better understand the reason behind their actions and answer many uncertainties that are not present in King Lear. Despite the mass amount of differences found in both works of literature regarding their time period and the setting as well, both works seem to contain corresponding concepts that can be identified in societies of the past and present. All in all, the characterization of the characters in King Lear and A Thousand Acres, pushes forward the motive that as time passes, the success of relationships ultimately depend on whether or not, the individuals are willing to make an effort.