After reading scene 1 of King Lear, there are a couple of thoughts running through my mind. First and foremost is the story as a whole. Supposedly, the play will explore family dynamics and the like. I think I can definitely see the seeds planted.
Obviously, King Lear and his daughters have a strange relationship. The king is a total narcissist and his daughters (at least Goneril and Regan) are terrible. I am betting on the foreshadowing said by Kent and Cordelia that the two sisters will not live up to their grand professions of love of their father. I also bet that their plans at the end of the scene will get everyone killed in the end.
In addition to the theme of a traditional family not being a real family, I think I saw seeds of an nontraditional family being a real family.
I read this scene looking and thinking about the nontraditional thing. The first thing that came to mind was a song I know. The lyrics say "They say that family is everything. It's more than a house, two dogs and a wedding ring. It's blossoming life and standing up to anything. Trying to take the people you love from what it's meant to be." That last part (Trying to . . . meant to be), speaks to the notion of loving, and therefore fighting for, the people who aren't blood relatives. Something that ties into that is Dungeons & Dragons, probably the exact opposite of an indie rap song. In Dungeons & Dragons, the whole point of the concept is that people from different (and sometimes rival) species fight and die for each other simply on the value of their experiences rather than the blood relations.
I mention those two things first: to notice the widespread idea of nontraditional family, and second, to reinforce my thoughts on the nontraditional family idea in the play. Gloucester mentions that his bastard son and his supposed son Edmund are on more or less equal levels for his love. Given my predictions of political strife and kingdom usurpation (Goneril and Regan/husbands vs. King Lear?") I am adding on another prediction: either Edmund of the bastard are going to come to the rescue of their nontraditional. Why mention it, Shakespeare, if it won't come up again?
Epilogue: My thoughts are haphazard because I'm watching Ghost Rider on TV.
You're predictions are smart and some of them will come true and others won't; nevertheless, your framework of ideas is working logically.
ReplyDeleteI like this idea of the non-traditional family Alex. I think there may be something there (though to be honest, this is not something I have personally explored, I'm far more into the machination vs nature aspect).
I think (in almost true Disney fashion) we see something non-traditional. The old belligerent father, the non-existent mother, and a side story about a bastard. Excellent thoughts, you should continue to explore these ideas.