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In William Shakespeare s King Lear and Jane Smiley s A Thousand Acres, the reader will find that both works use similar character types that mirror each other to increase further the similarities and meaning of the works. Perhaps no similarity is as striking as that of the fathers. They share three characteristics which bind them and make their parallels unmistakable. The first, and most obvious, is that they are both proprietors of a large estate. King Lear s property consists of England and Larry Cook s property is that of a thousand acres of land in Iowa.
This land brings the primary conflicts of the two works into focus. Before their downward spiral, both men are revered and respected. Their social status has brought them honor, only up to the point where the fathers seek to divide their land. After that, things take a turn for the worse.
As it relates to King Lear, he gathers his royal entourage and begins to divide the kingdom between his three daughters. To determine who would receive what, Lear asks that his daughters profess their love for him. When his two eldest, Goneril and Regan speak falsely about their affection for their father, Lear bestows upon each of them a portion of the kingdom. When it comes time for Cordelia to speak, she admits, Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave/ My heart into my mouth.
I love my majesty/ According to my bond, no more nor less (Shakespeare, 13). Her insolence results in her exile. As the play progresses, Lear becomes maddened by his decision, culminating with a storm on the heath. Before that, his other two daughters throw Lear out of their houses. Regan says, The old man and s people/ Cannot be well bestowed (117). Similarly, Ginny and Rose disrespect their father.
Ginny says, Daddy, if you think this is bad, then you d be amazed at what you really deserve. You don t deserve even the care we give you. As far as I m concerned, from now on you re on your own (Smiley, 183). In yet another parallel, this tirade occurs during a storm. Because of the betrayal at their daughters hands, the fathers take similar courses of action against their children. Shortly following the threat by Ginny, Larry shouts, I curse you!
You ll never have children, Ginny, you haven t got a hope. And your children are going to laugh when you die! (183). Similarly, an enraged Lear says, All the stored vengeance's of heaven fall/ On her in grateful top! Strike her young bones/ You taking airs, with lameness! (109). In addition to the fathers resemblance, the daughters bear striking correlation themselves.
In a grammatical sense, the letters of the daughters first names match in chronological order of their births, i. e. , Goneril-Ginny, Regan-Rose, Cordelia-Caroline. As obvious as that is, it is no coincidence. Aside from that, the girls share other unmistakable parallels. Goneril and Regan split their inheritance with their husbands. Lear confirms this: Of all these bounds, even from this line to this To thine and Albany s issue/ Be this perpetual (11).
Similarly, To thee and thine heredity ever/ Remain this ample third of our fair kingdom (13). Ginny and Rose also receive a substantial portion of land. In the meantime, Cordelia and Caroline receive nothing. In fact, Lear banishes his youngest daughter for failing to profess her love to him: If on the tenth day following/ Thy banished trunk be found within our dominions/ The moment is thy death. Away! By Jupiter/ This shall not be revoked (19).
The relationship between the novels continues to become clear. The subplots of these two works are indeed also similar. Gloucester is blinded by Cornwall in Act III, scene vii. Cornwall says, Lest it see more, prevent it. Out, vile jelly! (165). The medieval foil of Gloucester, Harold Clark becomes blind as a result of a chemical known as anhydrous ammonia.
Ty explains, Harold Clark s had an anhydrous accident. He s blind now (233). Edgar, the legitimate son of Gloucester, can be compared to Loren Clark, who has stayed to work on the family farm. Loren, much like the legitimate Edgar, is well-liked by the residents of Zebulon County.
Ginny describes Loren as, a big sweet guy seeing him somewhere was always a pleasure, like taking a drink of water (7). Conversely, in Shakespearean times, illegitimate children had few rights. Edmund expounds bitterly on his situation: This is the excellent foppery of the world, that/ when we are sick in fortune (often the surfeits of/ our own behavior) we make guilty of our disasters/ the sun, moon, and stars, as if we were villains/ on necessity An admirable/ evasion of whoremaster man, to lay his goatish/ disposition on the charge of a star! (37). Jess Clark was just as neglected when he left for Vietnam. Ginny says, Jess and everything about him slipped into the category of unmentionable, and no one spoke of him again until the spring of 1979 (6). The secondary characters in these works bear evident parallels.
Although separated by hundreds of years, these similarities help to tie the works together. Be it through patriarchal mirroring with Lear and Larry Cook both dividing their property, or through filial conflict between the daughters, or even congruity within the subplots, these correlations send a clear message: the basic conflicts between family members never change. These conflicts may be disguised, which coincidentally is a prevalent theme in King Lear, but the root problem is unchanged. Sibling rivalry and patriarchal power struggles inevitably lead to devastating family consequences, often causing rifts to emerge between the afflicted which can become irreconcilable with time. Unfortunately, these issues, as is the case with the aforementioned works, are often driven by the human condition itself, or more accurately, selfishness. The act of self-preservation magnified beyond practical bounds can act as a catalyst to augment the hidden struggles within a family structure.
The similarities found in King Lear and A Thousand Acres serve as a constant reminder that although time itself may change, the relationships and the people whom they involve remain quite stoic in their ways.
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