Family Relationships in King Lear (1605) and King of England (1988).

Considering the two plays, King Lear (1605) and King of England (1988), there are several

thematic ideas that arise. It is clear that there are several instances in the plays where we see

family relationships the role of government in public life, pandemics, caretaking and the state

of national health services come into play. In these paper therefore, I will be evaluating the

family relationships as expressed in the two plays. The paper will look at how King Lear ran his

kingdom and his relationships with his children; Cordelia, Goneril and Regan. Further, the paper

will consider the family relationships between King and his daughters; Susan and Linda in King

of England. Further, I will consider how the government of the day as expressed in King of

England (1988) affected the King family. In looking at these themes as expressed in the two

plays, I will be evaluating whether there has been change in society between 1605 and 1988.

Family relationships are very important in the two plays. From the beginning of the plays, it is

clear that family relationship and conflict are central to the development of the plays. With

these plays having the main characters as members of one family, it is clear that their

relationships all over the plays determine the direction of the play. It can be argued that they

are family themed drama pieces. This is the reason that King Lear, Cordelia, Goneril and Regan

are central to the direction of King Lear (1605) while King, Susan and Linda are central to King of

England (1988).

Family Relationships in King Lear (1605)

King Lear is a literary piece centered on family relationships, deceit, anger and love. In this

literary work, the relationship between fathers and their children serves as the center of the
play. The dysfunctional relationship between Lear and his daughter Cordelia as well as

Gloucester and his sons forms an important part of the play (Shakespeare). King Lear’s decision

to divide his kingdom to his children is what created the conflict that I seek to highlight in this

paper.

At the beginning of the play, we see King Lear creating some sort of love test for his girls. He

wants to gauge who loved him most in return for part of his Kingdome. His first two daughters

Generil and Regan kiss up to him and profess their unending love for him. This is not the case

for his younger daughter Cordelia who in defiance to her father and his games decides not to

play his games (Shakespeare). She confesses that words could not explain the love she has for

him and it is unfair for him to ask that of her. This according to King Lear, her father, is offensive

and he decides that she will not get a part of his kingdom and immediately renounces her. This

is the genesis of all the family drama and conflict in the play. It is my opinion that King Lear

erred as a father by asking his daughters to prove how much they loved him. Further, when

Cordelia gives an answer that is unsatisfactory in his own opinion, he lashes out rather than

accept his daughter for who she is. This is what brings out their dysfunctional relationship.

Family relationships are predicated on a sense of belonging and mutual love for each other.

Cordelia was not given any type of love and sense of importance during and after the discord

with her father. She is doomed because of her different outlook about her love for her father.

In this way, she is denied familial bonding and the assurance that she will always have a place in

the family. Her place in the family is taken away from her and she is married off to the King of

France. In this aspect, King Lear denies her the respect she needs from him. He creates the

animosity in the family because his child, Cordelia has a different way of handling and showing
her emotions. Her father has developed resentment and hatred for her because they have a

different outlook on life. This is utterly uncalled for and a bad example from parents.

The relationship between Lear and his other daughters Generil and Regan for majority of the

rest of the play. It can be observed that Cordelia is banished for most of the play. Generil and

Regan have been given part of the kingdom by their father. These are the daughters who

passed the test. However, the love for their father is later proven to be superficial rather than

real. They took advantage of their father’s desire to be worshipped get a share of his kingdom.

Later on it is shown that these two sisters are extremely evil and wicked and work towards

wrestling power from their father.

How wicked is a child that they can betray their own father? This is what they do to their father

leading to the insanity of their father. This twist in the plot of the play displays a new aspect of

superficial things and real things. These daughters were dishonest in showing their love for

their father and got what they wanted while Cordelia was extremely honest and was punished

unfairly for it. In the end the father suffers for having poor judgement.

At the end of the play, we see Cordelia coming to the rescue of his father. At this time, King

Lear has been rejected by his evil daughters, Generil and Regan and has gone mad. At this

juncture, Cordelia has to act as a caregiver to his father. She is not his daughter anymore but his

caregiver. Due to his insanity, he cannot recognize his daughter. Nevertheless, Cordelia is able

to forgive his father for banishing her. In the end, King Lear is able to get his reason back and

realizes who Cordelia is and has time to reconcile with his daughter (Shakespeare). This play has

a unique perspective on family relationships and conflicts. With hindsight, one can argue that
Cordelia was always her father’s favorite daughter. This could explain the disappointment King

Lear had when she would not pass the test. However, her honesty and good heart is seen to

win in the end. It is clear that parents have to be better judges of the character of their children

and discern the real from the superficial.

Family Relationships in King of England (1988)

The familial relationships in King of England are centered on King, an immigrant from Trinadad,

who works as a railroad driver who is retiring after 35 years and is preparing to return to his

native country. In this play, he is having a celebration where he takes his two daughters –

Susan, a nurse and a florist Linda to dinner. At this dinner, he reveals to his daughters that he

will be transferring his house to them (Keeffe). The problem arises when he wants his daughters

to join in a toast to the Mother country that is England for the many years it has been his home.

Susan, bitter due to the state of healthcare in the country, is bitter and refuses to join in the

toast. This is something that angers King so much that he disinherits her (Keeffe).

The animosity between Susan and her father is a classic example of the family conflict as

described above in the case of King Lear and his daughter Cordelia. King sees his daughter as

ungrateful and spoilt. However, Susan has legitimate reasons not to toast to England. All her

life, she has been exposed to institutionalized racism in England and has seen human suffering

during her work as a nurse in the hospital (Keeffe). The government under the leadership of

Margaret Thatcher has cut healthcare spending leading to the unnecessary suffering and death

of people in hospital. A bitter exchange can be seen at the beginning of the play where Susan

after a long day at work is says that due to the level of funding for hospitals and hospital
research, healthcare has not improved since her mother died and if she were alive and sick at

the moment, she would die too. This seems to be the order of the day in the National Health

Service (Keeffe).

Was Mr. King’s reaction fair to his daughter? Should he have accepted that they have different

outlooks on their experiences in England? As a parent, should one respect the opinions of their

children even though they are different from their own? This experience opens up a lot of

issues on family relationships and conflict. It is clear that Mr. King came to England with nothing

and worked hard to get where he is at the moment. He was able to bring his family to England,

educate them and have a house. He has led a successful life in England. However he was not

immune to racial prejudices in the society. His children were also subjected to institutionalized

racism and bore the brunt of human suffering. Their mother died in England and Susan sees

human suffering daily at the hospital. Are these things that Susan should ignore and be happy

for her father? A good daughter should be proud of her parents. A good parent should respect

the feelings and opinions of their children.

It is my submission that Susan and her father, Mr. King should have handled this situation more

delicately and wisely. It would be better for them to effectively consider their situations before

passing judgement and taking dire actions against each other. It was clear that unless

institutional changes happened in the country, people would continue dying in the hospital. It is

quite a traumatizing situation for the people working in the hospital. It was therefore

imperative that Mr. King understood what her daughter was going through and be a bit

conscious of her sensitivities. She would not be comfortable to see him praising a country and a

government that denied affordable and quality healthcare for its people. The neglect of the
people really messed her up and she needed the government to improve the quality of

healthcare in the country.

Conclusion.

Having considered the cause of the conflict between a father and his daughter in the two plays,

it is clear that family relationships and family conflict for a central theme in these plays. It is

clear that all the other themes have developed against the backdrop of family conflict and

family relationships. These plays give a deeper understanding of the impact of family

relationships on the lives of individuals. Families play a pivotal role in the development of

people. They offer support and a sense of belonging for individuals. In these two plays, we see

two daughters who are disinherited and lose their support base and sense of belonging because

of their beliefs. These plays are a wakeup call for family members to be better to each other

and offer support rather than reject their kin just because of ideological and philosophical

differences.

References

Keeffe, Barrie. King of England. Methuen Drama, 1988.

Shakespeare, William, and G. K. Hunter. King Lear. Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 1996.