Not everyone gets along with their family members, and literature is no exception.
Jeanette Tran, associate professor of English at Drake University, explores one play that may give some answers.
Jeanette Tran is a scholar of early modern English Literature. She has published on major early modern dramatists—Shakespeare, Marlowe, and Fletcher—and more recently on the intersection of Shakespeare and popular culture. She also writes creative non-fiction and personal essays, which you can find in The Smart Set, The Coachella Review, and River Teeth’s Beautiful Things. Her memoir in progress is titled How to Murder Your Vietnamese Husband.
Going “No-Contact” in King Lear
Recently, a discussion has emerged about a somewhat taboo move: cutting off family members deemed “toxic.” Called going “no-contact,” this form of estrangement usually involves children cutting ties with parents.
The field of family estrangement is nascent, but discussions of the collapsed parent-child relationship can be found in literature across history. Plays like “King Lear,” alongside research on the family, demonstrate that going “no contact” is hardly a novel phenomenon.
“King Lear” presents two storylines. Each features characters cast out by their families.
Edmund is a bastard son, which means his legitimate brother Edgar inherits everything upon their father Gloucester’s death. To get revenge, Edmund forges a letter revealing Edgar’s plans to murder Gloucester. Upon seeing the letter, Gloucester embraces Edmund and calls Edgar a villain. Feeling betrayed, Edgar assumes a new identity and goes no-contact with his family.
King Lear has three daughters. To determine their inheritance, he invents a contest where each daughter must give a speech articulating her love for him. The best parts of the kingdom will go to the daughter who best strokes his ego. When his favorite, Cordelia, refuses to participate, he disinherits her and cuts off contact.
Is Edmund’s anger justified? Is Gloucester rash to disinherit Edgar? Is Edgar right to give up hope for reconciliation?
Is Lear vain to expect his daughters to compete for their inheritance? Or is a compliment a small price to pay for a kingdom?
Shakespeare provides no easy answers. Both children and parents suffer for their decisions and almost everyone dies, but death doesn’t make the play tragic. It’s the recognition that families, as symbolized through the inheritance dispute, are often defined by inequality and asymmetrical giving and reciprocation. The family tragically comes across as an institution prone to dysfunction and yet necessary for human survival.
Leave a Reply