patriarchal turning away from love in shakespeare's plays

8/11/2019 Patriarchal turning away from love in Shakespeare's plays

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University of Ni

Faculty of Philosophy

English Department

SHAKESPEARE A SPECIAL COURSE

Patriarchal turning away from love in

Shakespeare's plays

Student: Mentor:

Maja Stoj ev 3031 Prof. dr Ljiljana Bogoeva-Sedlar

060/672-09-06

September, 2013

Ni, Serbia


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ContentsAbstract ......................................................................................................................................................... 3

Marija Gimbutas Signs out of Time ........................................................................................................... 5

Donna Reads Goddess Remembered ........................................................................................................... 7

Titus Andronicus ........................................................................................................................................... 8

Julie Taymors Titus ................................................................................................................................... 11

Shakespe ares King Lear ............................................................................................................................ 12

Edward Bonds Lear ................................................................................................................................... 15

Lears Daughters by the Womens Theatre Group ..................................................................................... 16

Romeo and Juliet ......................................................................................................................................... 18

Romeo and Jeannette by Jean Anouilh ....................................................................................................... 21

Conclusion: ................................................................................................................................................. 24

Reference: ................................................................................................................................................... 25


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Abstract :

In this essay I will try to analyze Shakespeares Titus Andronicus, King Lear and Romeo and

Juliet , and contemporary versions of those plays, Julie Taymors movie Titus , Edward Bonds

Lear , the Womens Theatre Groups Lears Daughters and Jean Anouilhs Romeo and Jeannette .

In addition I will try to examine and use documentary about the life of Marija Gimbutas Signs

out of Time and Donna Reads documentary Goddess Remembered and to analyze those plays

properly in order to examine the issue of patriarchal turning away from love. While analyzing the plays I will try to define and analyze the principles and values of patriarchal society and examine

the way they differ from matriarchal set of values.

In the introductory part of the essay I will try to provide some historical facts about matriarchal

societies, their characteristics and customs, as well as their set of values, by using a documentary

about Marija Gimbutas life Signs out of Time. In addition, I will also use a documentary by

Donna Read Goddess Remembered, to show the way in which matriarchal set of values is

replaced by the corrupted patriarchy.

In Titus Andronicus , I will try to define the nature of relationship between parents and their

children in order to examine the issue of the destruction of love. By examining the characters of

Titus and Tamora I will try to define their attitude toward revenge and its influence on

destruction of love between family members. In addition I will try to use Julie Taymors film

Titus in order to portray the vastness of Tamoras de sire for revenge that made her reject her

female principle and become the instrument of patriarchal society.

Similarly, in King Lear I will try to explore the nature of family relations in two different stories

Lears attitude towards his daughters, and Gloucesters attitude towards his sons. By doing so I

will try to examine the way in which different treatment affects the children and how it leads to

turning form love toward greed envy viciousness and violence . In addition, through Lears and

Gloucester s spiritual rebirth, as well as through the characters of Ophelia and Edgar I will try to


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explain that violence, viciousness and deceit are not inborn human characteristic but the

consequence of the corrupted patriarchal society. I will also use modern versions of the play

King Lear to examine the issue of absent mother and its effect on Lears daughters Goneril

Regan and Cordelia.

In Romeo and Juliet I will try to examine the passionate and impulsive love between the two

young lovers, and the way is destroyed due to the rigid principles of the patriarchy. In addition I

will examine Jean Anouilhs modern version of the play, Romeo an d Jeannette which deals with

the similar theme the irreparable damage the society does to the passionate and impulsive love

that overpowers all other emotions, loyalties and values.

In the end, I will try and summarize how the system of love was broken by a system of war,

strength and violence. Where to find the will to preserve our inborn capacity to love, to feel

compassion and justice, love and fellowship, and to try to resist all the influences of the system,

so we could live freely.


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Marija Gimbutas Signs out of Time

We live in the modern age, the age of technology and science. The age in which material

possession is far more important than emotions; the age in which brands and money dictate our

lives; the age in which innocent lives are lost under the pretext of democracy.

We are proud to say that we are civilised, and under civilisation we consider scientific

breakthroughs and technological developments. In addition, we consider all other societies that

are technologically and scientifically underdeveloped, primitive. We have reached the state in

which civilized Man says: I am Self, I am Master, all the rest is other --outside, below,underneath, subservient. I own, I use, I explore, I exploit, I control. What I do is what matters.

What I want is what matter is for. I am that I am, and the rest is women & wilderness, to be used

as I see fit. 1

Striving for progress the modern man has departed from the right values, from love,

understanding, compassion for other peoples suffering and sense for justice. In order to gain

power as much as possible he has disconnected himself from nature and has exploited its

resources for thousands of years. However, when it comes to spiritual development it has to besaid that we, people from the modern age, are far more primitive than the settlements that lived

thousands of years before us.

In order to achieve spiritual redemption, we have to reconnect with the right values and look into

the past to find the right answers. Similarly to Shakespeares characters, we have to gain a clear

vision of our mistakes so that we can correct them while it is still possible.

Signs out of Time is a documentary on Lithuanian archaeologist Marija Gimbutas, whose

scientific theories have caused a great debate among archaeologists, theologists and even

1 Ursula Le Guin, Women/Wildness, in Judith Plant


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philosophers. Her theories are deep and complex but, simply put, they paint a new picture of the

earliest layers of Western Culture. 2

Maria Gimbutas believed that the origins of the Western culture lie in a p eaceful Goddess

culture. In the documentary about her life, Marija Gimbutas talks about the settlements that

existed in the regions of todays Eastern Europe. Those settlements achieved a high level of

civilisation and culture long before any written documents were ever made. She talks about a

time period marked by peaceful settlements that lived in unity with nature. The main deity was

female, the giver of life, wielder of death and regeneratrix 3. She was a mother and a goddess

the symbol of fertility. The Gods and Goddesses were in the centre of the settlements everyday

life and evidence for such statement lies in the rich legacy of paintings and pottery sculptures of

figurines depicting those Gods and Goddesses. Gimbutas also states that the Great Goddess

represented the forces of nature and that through her people connected with seasonal changes,

the rhythms of the moon, and all the other processes that take place in both life and death. Inaddition, she states that women had high social status and had a very powerful influence in such

communities considering the fact that they were the ones who invented pottery, agriculture and

weaving.

In the documentary, Maria Gimbutas also states that during that period there was no evidence of

organized warfare, either individuals fighting against each other or group of people fighting

against each other. There were no wars, no violence, only peace, harmony and love toward

nature and the Great Goddess.

However, Marija Gimbutas states that the radical change in the religion of Old Europe had taken

place when the Indo-European tribes from Russia invaded these settlements. The horseback

riding people 4 came and swept away matriarchal tribes, which did not have weapons to fight

back, only tools for agriculture and hunting. Along with the weapons, those tribes brought

hierarchy, male domination and ultimately, new deity the Sun God. Soon the peaceful

settlements were completely overpowered by violent nomad tribes who brought the new type of

culture, the culture in which power is more valued than love; culture of weapons and violence;culture in which militarism is the only valid way of solving a conflict; the culture we live in

today.

2 Signs Out of Time-Maria Gimbutas3 Signs Out of Time-Maria Gimbutas4 Signs Out of Time-Maria Gimbutas


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Even though matriarchal settlements were swept away by violent Russian tribes, they lasted

longer than some of the empires that came later, precisely because of the fact that their religion

was based on love, compassion and innate sense of justice. However, patriarchal shift from love

to power, from peace to violence, has brought us in the state we are today.

Donna Reads Goddess Remembered

In her documentary, Donna Read also deals with the problem of patriarchy. At the very

beginning of the documentary Dona Read states, that the problem of the modern man is that he

has replaced the nurturer with the conqueror as a symbol to be respected 5. The Great goddess

has been forgotten as the modern civilisation strives toward the progress. However, this progress

is a destructive one. Once beloved and respected nature now represents only the resource for the

industrial growth and development. The values of patriarchy that are deeply rooted in almost all

spheres of human life education, politics and even family, made modern men completely forget

the values that once were. The Great Goddess , the creator of all , who insisted on love, truth and

kindness, was replaced by a male god who praises power violence and war.

In addition, Dona Read states that the arrival of Christianity also influenced the banishment of

the Earth Goddess. The people started believing in a new religion, in which centre is the male

God and his son Jesus, his mother is the prominent figure but it is nothing like the fertile Earth

mother 6 . In other words, the image of the Earth Goddess was perverted. She was twisted from

the symbol of fertility and the giver of life into an empty vessel, a simple instrument for creation.

However, Donna Read also adds that some rituals, which can be traced back to the period of the

Great Goddess, are preserved even today. One of them is the ritual of remembering the dead or

even Halloween, but they are now considered trivial and most of their significance is lost. This

means that the principles and values of the matriarchy are not completely forgotten but are cast

aside. However, there are people who still try to rediscover the power of the female principle; the

power that has been supressed for thousands of years during the patriarchy. One such group, a

group of women activists who gather in order to rediscover the power of the female principle, is

presented in the documentary itself. Its simply women in the neighbourhood who might meet

once a month with the full moon or the new moon to celebrate the things that happen in their

5 Donna Read Goddess Remembered6 Donna Read Goddess Remembered


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lives and the lives of their children and their family, or to mark the passages of the Sun, the

Moon, the Earth, to celebrate the Earths holly days and its our creativity, its our expression

of who we are, what we feel and how we relate to the Earth and to the people we love. 7

It can be said that, throughout the history, many great writers tried to warn their audience about

the negative influence of the manmade institutions and William Shakespeare is certainly among

them. It has to be said that Shakespeare does not only present us with the final outcome

patriarchal society, but rather demonstrates the transition from love to power, from peace to

violence. As Edward Bond explains in the preface of his play Lear , we are all born with need for

love and creation, and we respond aggressively when we are constantly deprived of our physical

and emotional needs. And if we are constantly deprived of our physical and threatened in this

way we live in a constant state of aggression. 8And this is precisely what Shakespeare portrays in

his plays.

Through his plays Shakespeare also tries to depict the destructive nature of a society based on the

patriarchal values; the society that praises war, violence, cruelty and greed. It seems like

Shakespeare tries to show us, through his greedy, vicious and ruthless characters, what happens

when one rejects the female principle, and advises us that we must not turn away from

compassion and love, whether it is romantic love or love for a friend or a family member.

Titus Andronicus

Always mentioned as one of the most violent Shakespeares plays ever written; Titus Andronicus

represents a clear example of what patriarchal society is capable of doing to an individual.

Precisely this relation between the society and the individuals, as well as the way individuals

treat each other within society can be used to show patriarchal turning away from love, and

turning to revenge, treachery and violence.

In this play patriarchal society is portrayed as a society that praises values such as hatred,

vengeance, indifference to other peoples suffering; a society in which women are oppressed and

considered a piece of property, a society in which there is no place for love, compassion and

understanding.

7 Donna Read Goddess Remembered 8 Edward Bond, Lear, Introduction


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The play begins with the arrival of Titus Andronicus, a great Roman general who has spent the

last ten years and lost twenty- one sons vanquishing Romes enemies. Titus enters to great

celebration, followed by four living sons. In addition, he brings with him the captives - Tamora,

Queen of the Goths, her three sons, and Aaron the Moore.

The acts of cruelty begin almost immediately in Titus Andronicus: Tamoras entrance as a

chained prisoner represents an act of humiliation and shows that people are not treated as human

beings but as a piece of propert y. This act is followed by the execution of Tamoras eldest son.

He is ritually sacrificed in exchange for Titus dead sons and in disregard of Tamoras pleas for

his life:

Tamora: Victorious Titus, rue the tears I shed,

A mothers tears in passion f or her son,

And if thy sons were ever dear to thee,

O, think my son to be as dear to me!

Thrice noble Titus, Spare my first born son. 9

In spite of Tamoras prayers for mercy Titus shows no compassion and kills her son. This act of

killing a womans child in front of her represents the act of immeasurable cruelty and is far

worse than killing Tamora, because by killing a child, one of the most unbreakable and sacred

bonds - mothers love is violated and broken. In addition this act also proves that the praising

the principles of the unjust, manipulating society and respecting a ritual is far more important

than compassion, love and saving a life of another human being, and that is precisely what made

Tamora reject her female principle and pervert her sense of justice and love into revenge and

violence.

Unfortunately these are not the only acts of cruelty in the play. After his arrival in Rome, Titus is

offered to become the emperor of Rome. However he refuses it and states that Saturninus should

be the emperor because he is the eldest son of the late emperor. In order to pay respects and

return the favor, Saturninus takes Lavinia, Titus only daughter, as his empress even though she

is already betrothed to Bassianus. It is important to note that Lavinia is not even acknowledged

in this agreement and has no real say in the matter which is irrefutable evidence of the

oppression of women in patriarchal society.

9 William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus


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However, Bassianus takes her away, with the help of Lavinia's four brothers. Titus feels

dishonored by his children, and after a quarrel breaks out, he kills one of his sons. This does not

only proves that principles of the society are more important than love and personal happiness,

but also shows that not only for Titus, but for the whole society, honor and preserving a public

image are values that go beyond love for ones children. The principles of Roman society are so

deeply rooted in Titus that he even refuses to bury his child in a family tomb as, for him, his son

is a traitor.

Titus: No, foolish Tribune, no; no son of mine-

Nor thou, nor these, confederates in the deed

That hath dishonoured all our family;

Unworthy brother and unworthy sons!

.Traitors, away! He rests not in this tomb. 10

As previously stated, because of the maltreatment and injustice she has suffered, Tamora turned

from loving and caring mother, and woman above all, into a vicious avenger. Her desire for

revenge is so great that she allows her sons to rape and mutilate Lavinia. These acts are so

horrible and far worse from death because the patriarchy of her society has crated in Lavinia a

belief that, without her virginity, without her purity, he is completely worthless. It is because of

the principles of the patriarchy that Titus kills his daughter because of the supposed shame she

incurred after the rape and mutilation.

Saturninus: Because the girl should not survive her shame,

Titus Die, die, Lavinia, and thy shame with thee;

And with thy shame thy father's sorrow die !11

Additionally, Tamoras reacti on to her newborn son is yet another instance that represents

patriarchal departure from love. Once caring and loving mother who pleaded Titus to spare the

life of her child, now is a heartless empress who sacrificed her baby in order to preserve her

posit ion in the society. It can be said that her despair over Alarbus death made her focus only onrevenge which, in turn, resulted in her having a lack of maternal affection for the newborn. It can

be said that with the loss of her firstborn Tamora gets disconnected from love and enters the

10 William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus 11

William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus


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realm of vicious and cruel patriarchy. This is quite pessimistic since the only one who was able

to feel and express genuine feelings becomes the instrument of patriarchy.

Even though Titus successfully avenged his children, the play ends in somewhat pessimistic

manner. Lucius, the new emperor of Rome, decides to start his rule with violence and cruelty

proving that nothing has changed, that there is no hope for spiritual salvation of Rome. By

burying Aaron alive, Lucius proves that he has already accepted the principles of his society and

that the actions of cruelty and viciousness will be continued, just under the different ruler.

Julie Taymors Titus

In 1999, Julie Taymor was the first woman to direct a film version of Shakespeares Titus

Andronicus. Her adaptation of the play Titus Andronicus bears a strong resemblance with the

original itself, with the exception of a different beginning and the end.

Julie Taymors Titus begins with a little boy sitting at the kitchen table playing with his toy

soldiers, with the TV working in the background. The boy has a paper bag on his head with holes

only for his eyes and mouth. Suddenly his play becomes violent, and he starts decapitating his

toy soldiers, spilling food over them, drowning them in milk, and most importantly covering

them with ketchup which clearly represents blood. His chaotic and violent game is suddenly

interrupted by an explosion. A man dressed as a Roman soldier appears and takes the boy away,

and suddenly the setting is changed they appear at the Coliseum.

As the crowd is cheering, the soldiers march in to announce the arrival of the great general Titus

Andronicus. What is interesting in the scene of Titus arrival is the mixture of ancient and

modern. Namely, some soldiers arrive on horses, while the others are riding motorbikes. In

addition, some of them are caring wooden spears with them, while the others are caring

automatic guns. This mixture of modern and new present in the opening scene may represent the

fact that the principles of patriarchy havent changed since the ancient times. Namely, it is

evident that the boy plays violently with his toys, meaning that, children are taught to praise

violence from the earliest childhood as it is the only way of showing strength and power, at least

according to patriarchal society. An important element here represents the fact that TV set is

playing in the background representing the long-lasting tradition of patriarchal society to instil

certain values and set of rules in children.


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It can be said that the one thing that is slightly different is the character of Tamora, since her lust

for revenge and hatred toward Titus is even greater in the film. Her transformation from a mother

to a ruthless empress is seen in the scene where Tamora stands face to face with Titus with the

decapitated bodies and body parts flowing between them, meaning that she renounced her female

principle based on love and accepted the principles of patriarchal society.

Perhaps the greatest difference between the original play and the film is the ending. As

previously said, the film begins with a boy playing with his toys. Throughout the first half of the

film the boy has the role of a spectator. As the film progresses the audience realize that the boy is

actually young Lucius, Titus grandson. The film ends with a scene in which young Lucius takes

the black child, Tamoras and Aarons son, and walk toward a sunrise. As oppose d to the very

pessimistic ending of the play, the film ends in a more optimistic manner. Two children, young

Lucius and the black child, represent hope for better future. In other words, the ending suggests

that humanity can be saved if we reconnect with our female principle that has been supressed forso long and return to the right values, to love and compassion and ultimately, to nature.

Shakespeares King Lear

Similarly to Titus Andronicus , the issue of patriarchal destruction of love can be explored

through the relationship between family members. In this play Shakespeare presents us with the

way love is undermined and ultimately destroyed by greed, deception cruelty and misjudgement.

The play opens with the old king, Lear, who wants to withdraw from the throne and divide his

kingdom among his three daughters. In order to do so, he demands from his daughter to compete

in their declaration of their love for him. Regan and Goneril speak eloquently of the love they

hold for their father in order to gain the best parts of the kingdom. However they are not honest,

and speak falsely in other to appear the most loving and by doing so, they accept the pattern of

behavior prescribed by the society. In other words, by using deceit and flattery to gain property

they learn that the deeds and feelings are not important in the society they live in. On the other

hand, Cordelia refuses to flatter her father and simply states that her love cannot be expressed by

words:

Cordelia : Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave

My heart into my mouth: I love your majesty


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According to my bond; nor more nor less .12

Even though her father gives her one more chance to speak, and change her mind, Cordelia

remains true to herself, and most importantly, remains faithful to the love she feels for her father.

She is the only sister who believes that true love must not be expressed by words but by actions

and refuses to betray her principles in order to gain material possession. However, Lears

reaction to Cordelias speech is outrage. For him , Cordelia has broken the rules and refused therole of obedient daughter prescribed to her by the patriarch of her society. Therefore, he disowns

her and divides the property between Regan and Goneril. He is clearly more satisfied with false

words of Rega n and Goneril than with Cordelias honesty. This is clear evidence that in this

society love is not associated with true, genuine feelings but with shallow and superficial words.

It seems that the only person who is able to feel and understand real love is disrespected not only

by her father but by the whole society, with the exception of Earl of Kent and King of France.

The fact that King of France recognized Cordelias virtue and married her shows that there is still

hope for the society they live in, but only if they turn to right values such as love, justice and

compassion.

It is important to say that Cordelia was Lears favourite daughter, and perhaps precisely because

of that she was able to feel and express true love. And even after her father disowned her she

continued to love him, and did everything in her power to save him from the greed of her sisters.

However, Regan and Goneril did not receive that kind of love and therefore developed a

mechanism to get what they wanted using flattery and deceit.

There is one more story of the dysfunctional relationship between parents and their children

present in the play. This is a story about the Earl of Gloucester and his two sons Edmund and

Edgar. Edmund is an illegitimate son, a bustard son born out of wedlock, and Edgar is

Gloucesters heir. Once again we can see that children are treated differently by their father

because of the principles of patriarchal society.

Edmund: Thou, nature, art my goddess. To thy law

My services are bound. Wherefore should I

Stand in the plague of custom and permit

The curiosity of nations to deprive me

12 William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, King Lear


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For that I am some twelve or fourteen moonshines

Lag of a brother? Why bastard? Wherefore base? 13 The two sons are given different treatment only because one of them is born out of wedlock and

is a bastard in the eyes of patriarchal law. Therefore, only Edgar is considered Gloucesters heir

and is to inherit everything after his fathers death. Similar to Regan and Goneril, Edmund is

deprived of the love of his father and therefore is incapable of feeling love and compassion

toward other people. Not only does he become incapable of love and compassion but also feels

resentment towards his father and brother. He wants do ruin Edgar by showing his father a

forged letter suggesting that the two of them should kill Gloucester and share the inheritance.

Gloucester believes him and sets out to find and kill Edgar. Again, Gloucester makes the same

mistake as Lear believes in empty words of a child he loves less, rather than in actions of a

child capable of feeling and expressing genuine feelings.

Throughout the whole play Edmund keeps manipulating and deceiving people. He manipulates

Goneril and Regan who fall in love with him and ultimately destroy each other over their love

for Edmund. It can be said that because of everything he has done in order to achieve his goals

Edmund is the main villain in the play.

As the plot develops, both Lear and Gloucester learn the real truth and repent for their mistakes.

Lear goes mad and after the storm he survives, he becomes completely different person, humble

and compassionate. He realises that he has been unjust to Cordelia and that she is the only one

who loved him truly. In order to right his wrongs he goes to Cordelia to ask her for her

forgiveness. Once again she shows her love toward Lear and forgives him everything. It can be

said that her forgiveness represents the ultimate act of love in the play. However Lears deeds do

not go unpunished. Cordelia dies as the victim of Lears self ish behaviour at the beginning of the

play. Similarly, Gloucester discovers Edmunds treachery, and as a result, Edmund takes his

eyesight. Gloucester decides to kill himself, but his son Edgar saves him as he takes him to an

imaginary cliff. For Gloucester, the imaginary fall represents an awakening experience and

results in spiritual rebirth.

13 William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, King Lear


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Lears and Gloucesters spiritual rebirth proves that people are capable of love, compassion and

forgiveness and that they are not born evil or deceitful. Manipulation, envy and cruelty are a

consequence of the principles of patriarchal society; they are not inborn human characteristics.

Edward Bonds Lear

Lear represents a contemporary version of King Lear, written by Edward Bond. The play opens

with King Lear constructing the wall around his kingdom in order to protect it from his enemies.

However, an accident occurs in which one of the workers die. Lear arrives at the spot to

investigate the accident and accuses one of the workers of treason and orders his execution. It is

clear that the acts of cruelty start immediately, at the beginning of the play. Even though his

daughters, Bodice and Fontanelle oppose to the execution, Lear remains insensitive and does not

change his decision stating:

Lear : Im not free to be kind or merciful. I must build the fortress .14

At the beginning of the play, both Bodice and Fontanelle appear virtuous and reasonable, since

they beg their father to spare the workers life. However very soon they turn out to be as

insensitive and as vicious as their father. Similarly to Regan and Goneril, being deprived of love

and compassion, they turned to cruelty and violence. It can be said that due to the lack of the

mother figure in the play, they inherited their fathers pattern of behaviour. They turn against

him by marring his sworn enemies and plot against him in order to rob him of his kingdom. In

addition they imprison him and prove him to be insane. Soon after, they turn against their

husbands and eventually, against each other. Both of them make plans to kill their husbands and

marry Warrington, Lears servant. After their plans fall through, Fontanelle captures Warrington

and orders an awful torture on him:

Fontanelle : O yes, tears and blood. I wish my father was here. I wish he could see him. Look at his hands! Look at them going! What's he praying

or clutching? Smash his hands! Kill his hands! Kill his feet! Jumpon it all of it! Look at his hands like boiling crabs! Kill it! Killall of it! Kill him inside! Make him dead! Father! Father! I want to

sit on his lungs! 15

14 Edward Bond, Lear 15

Edward Bond, Lear


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their passion for art. Unlike the daughters from the Shakespeares play who are either vicious or

silent, each of these daughters has her own wishes and plans. Goneril wishes to establish her

identity as a painter, Regan as a sculptor and Cordelia as a writer. They spend their time in an

isolated tower and because both of their parents are absent, they are taken care of by a Nanny.

She tells them different myths and stories about prefect families, thus creating an idyllic picture

of family life that is far from the truth. They also spend time with an androgynous Fool who is

the narrator of the play.

In the meantime, King Lear travels around the countryside on the sporting circuit. Their mother

spends her time inspecting the kingdom's accounting books and waiting for Lears return.

Throughout the play it becomes evident that the absence of the parents is the cause for

princesses development into greedy and vicious monsters.

The parents do not pay any attention to their daughters. Their absence is emphasized by the fact

that their characters are portrayed by the small puppets controlled and spoken for by the Fool.

The mothers only concern is to wait for her husband so that they could produce a male heir. The

father never visits them, although they catch a glimpse of him through the window, only to

witness his affair with another woman on the day of the ir mothers funeral.

Goneril : How can he? Today?

Regan: He's disgusting!

Anyone can see him. Not just us. Doesn't he care?

Goneril Do you think he will marry her?

Regan: I dont know.

Goneril : If he does, he will have a son. I know it. He will try until he does. Iwill never be Queen. 17

It is evident that the lack of love resulted in Goneril and Regans hatred of their father. Being

deprived of parental love and understanding they turned into malicious and deceitful women able

to appreciate only one thing material possessions. It can be said that the purpose of the play is

to depict the reason for Regans and Gonerils transformation which is opposed to Shakespeares

play in which they are simply described the way they are.

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Romeo and Juliet

In Romeo and Juliet, one of the most famous love tragedies of all times, Shakespeare presents

the way in which passionate love between two young lovers is destroyed due to the rigid

principles of patriarchal society and the tragic outcome is presented at the very beginning of the

play.

The violence and resentment between families in patriarchal society are visible immediately at

the beginning of the play. The play opens with the two servants of the house of Capulet walking

down the streets of Verona discussing the vastness of their resentment toward the house of

Montague. The two of them talk about killing Montague men and raping their wives. Soon after,

one of them notices the rival servants and the conflict escalates into a fight. While Benvolio, one

of the members of the Montague family tries to calm down the servants, Tybalt encourages the

fight.

Tybalt : I hate the word peace like I hate hell, all Montagues, and you. Lets go at it, coward! 18

We clearly see that Tybalt represents the perfect representative of patriarchal society, and we can

detect unnecessary violence that is deeply rooted in Verona. In patriarchal society honour

represents one of the most important values, and it has to be defended no matter what. In most

cases, the men in patriarchal society defend their honour or honour of their families, through

violence as it is the ultimate way of showing power. Tybalts preoccupation with honour is sogreat that it will ultimately lead him to death.

In order to explain the tragic destruction of love between Romeo and Juliet it is important to

define the nature of their love. At the beginning of the play Romeo is portrayed as a young

passionate boy suffering because of the unrequited love he feels toward Rosaline. However it

seems like this love is not the true one but more of an example of an unrequited love from the

contemporary love poetry. Juliet, on the other hand is portrayed as an obedient and respectful

daughter. Since she was raised by the nurse, she never had the chance to learn something abouttrue love, because the society she lives in praises only marriage with interest. She understands

her responsibility as a daughter, and her place in a male-dominated world. Her submissive nature

18 William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet


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Another act of disobedience for the sake of love takes place when Juliet learns about the

marriage plans her parents made with Paris. She refuses to marry Paris and thus refuses the role

of obedient daughter prescribed to her by society, even though she is threatened to be disowned

if she does not follow her fathers order into marrying the man of his choice.

Juliet I pray you, tell my lord and father, madam,

I will not marry yet. And when I do, I swear

It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate,

Rather than Paris. These are news indeed! 21

The ultimate evidence of the vastness of their love takes place after Juliets decision to

take a sleeping potion in order to escape her destiny and marriage with Paris. Due to the

unfortunate series of events, Father J ohn fails to deliver the letter about Juliets plan to Romeo,

and Romeo, devastated by her death, decides to kill himself and spend the eternity with his lover.

Juliet, shattered over his suicide decides to join Romeo in death.

Romeo : Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide.

Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on

The dashing rocks thy seasick, weary bark.

Heres to my love! 22

The love between Romeo and Juliet was energetic, impulsive and passionate, the love that

overpowers all other values, loyalties and emotions and precisely because of that, it had to be

destroyed. It can be said that Romeo and Juliet were not the victims of their love but the victims

of the rigid norms of the society they lived in.

Even though the play ends with the tragic death of two young and passionate lovers, it is not

completely pessimistic. After the death of their children, both families, Capulet and Montague,

decide to make piece and put the old feud behind them. They recognized their mistakes and

decided to build the statues of Romeo and Juliet in order to pay tribute to the greatness of their

20 William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet 21 William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet 22 William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet


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love. This ending suggest that the hope for moral salvation lies in turning away from violence

and returning to the values such as compassion, justice and ultimately to love and understanding.

Romeo and Jeannette by Jean Anouilh

Jean Anouilhs Romeo and Jeannette is a contemporary version of Shakespeares Romeo and

Juliet . Even though the two stories are not completely the same, the authors examine and depict

the same theme the way principles of a society damage a true, passionate and impulsive love.

The biggest difference in the play is the fact that Romeo, who is in this play named Fredric, is

already engaged to Juliet. However he desperately falls in love with her sister, Jeannette.

Immediately at the beginning of the play we can see the clash between classes and the values

they believe in. Juliets family belongs to the lower class and Fredric and his mother are

members of the upper class. In addition, Juliets brother, father and even sister do not explicitly

follow the rules prescribed to them by the society. It can be said that through them, the author

criticises the corrupted society they live in. Namely, the father states that he believes in a

marriage based on love and that everybody deserves happiness no matter what. In addition, he

also states that, in the society they live in, people are striving for domination, not love and that

submission to authority is much more praised than compassion and understanding. On the other

hand, Fredrics mother represents a perfect pawn of the system. According to her, the only

important thing in life is submission to authority and nothing else. She strongly believes that

people should follow the rules and values of the society they live in. She is a perfect example of

destructive influence of patriarchy on women.

Mother: The most important thing is to be a worker. To be serious. 23

Even though Juliet and her family belong to the lower class she is well dressed and she behaves

according to the values of the upper class. She shares her mothers -in-law disgust with the

ugliness of the house. It is clearly visible that Juliet is a respective member of society since she is

preoccupied with the conventional issues, such as the preparing the lunch or cleaning the house.

The principles of the society she lives in are so deeply rooted in her that she is afraid of anything

23 Jean Anouilh, Romeo and Jeannette


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that can make her passionate. She is afraid of impulsive emotions and wants to preserve the

routine.

Juliet : The same old things, going on day in, day out like the ticking ofthe clock 24

It can be said that Juliet completely accepted the role of a housewife prescribed to her by the

society.

Similarly to Juliet, Fredric is also portrayed as the respective member of the society. Upon their

arrival, when the brother meets Fredric he states hath even though he is well educated and rich he

is concerned with conventions as Juliet, and therefore does not know how to be happy and live

properly.

Lucien: You seem like well-educated type, as they call it. I like you a lot.

Frank, loyal, honest clear, go-ahead, and all the rest of it. A proper little soldier. 25

On the other hand, Jeanette is portrayed as an impulsive and passionate person. The way she

reacts when she finds out that Fredrics mother has killed her chick Leon is the true example of

her passionate nature. In addition, she has a bad reputation in the neighbourhood because of her

sexuality and inner desire to find true love. It is precisely her unconventional nature what made

Fredric fall madly in love with her. The love he experiences changes him and he feels alive for

the first time.

Fredric: So it was possible. I feel as though I were drinking water. Howthirsty I was. 26

Similarly to Romeo and Juliet, when Fredric and Jeannette fall in love they too start breaking the

rules of the society they live in. Fredric leaves Juliet and decides to run away to the abandoned

summer house with Jeannette. However, very soon they realise that they belong to different

worlds.

When Jeannettes brother tries to dissuade her to marry Fredric, she assures h im of the vastness

of the love she has for him. She even cuts her wrists to prove her love for Fredric. On the other

24 Jean Anouilh, Romeo and Jeannette 25 Jean Anouilh, Romeo and Jeannette 26 Jean Anouilh, Romeo and Jeannette


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hand, Fredric does not seem so sure and upon receiving the news of Juliets poisoning he

immediately leaves Jeannette and returns to Juliet. We can clearly see that Fredric is not

completely changed and that values and conventions of the society still matter to him.

Heartbroken, Jeannette marries her previous lover, and Fredric decides to stay with Juliet.

As in the original play, the ultimate act of love lies in the tragic death of two passionate lovers.

Because of her restless spirit Jeannette decides that she does not want to accept the rigid life and

the role of housewife she suggests that she and Fredric commit suicide. Fredric is reluctant,

stating that death is not the right solution, but Jeannette stays true to her love and kills herself.

Unable to endure the pain and suffering Fredric immediately commits suicide.

It is important to state that characters in this play have quite different attitude toward love.

Lucien is a true pessimist in the play. He is a drunkard who spends all his time drinking and

reading books at home. Because his wife has left him, he is completely disappointed with women

and life in general. He is so embittered that he does not want to give love a second chance and

states that for him, the escape to the primitive societies far away from the white mens culture

where there is no idea of love, represents the only way of salvation . His idea to run to the Ivory

Coast is very significant since it suggest that the love is conventionalised by the white mans

culture. In contemporary society, love does not stand for wild and impulsive emotions but for the

rigid set of rules and conventions instilled in people through destructive institutions such as

education and family. In order to redeem the true, inner self and to return to true values, one has

to return to nature.


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Conclusion:

Through his plays and his corrupted characters Shakespeare tries to portray the way in which

humanity renounced the female principle during the process of transition from matriarchal

principles and values to that of the patriarchy. Through greedy vicious ruthless Tamora,Shakespeare depicts what happens when one rejects the milk of human kindness for the sake of

revenge, power and domination. He tries to shows us how a woman, a mother, rejects her female

principle based on love and justice and enters the realm of cruel patriarchy. Through tragic

destinies of Cordelia, Romeo and Juliet, he depicts the way in which the ones able to experience

true genuine feelings are destroyed by the rigid set of values. However, through Lears and

Gloucesters spiritual rebirth Shakespeare points out that hatred, greed and viciousness are not

inborn human characteristics, and that everyone can reach spiritual salvation if they recognize

their mistakes and turn to the supressed parts of their being.

In addition, Shakespeare inspires us to question the structures of the society we live in. He tries

to make us understand that we live in a world in which people have accepted certain social

norms not because something is hidden from them but because those norms are presented as

natural and normal by the system. Through institutions such as education, politics and even

family, the system prescribes certain set of values and a way of behaviour, and even though these

institutions appear independent at first sight, they are all patriarchal. They praise the value ofindividual which prepares a person for competitive way of life. They teach of acquiring wealth

and possessions and endorse competition. They prepare a person to react in these socially

desirable ways and at the same time pretend to be neutral, objective and to treat every person as

an individual and everybody as equal.

However, Shakespeare also points out that the spiritual rebirth and self-regeneration is possible.

In order to reach spiritual rebirth, we have to reconnect with the innermost parts of our being.

We have to search deep into our souls in order to find something that we have supressed and

forgotten. We have to realise that we are not powerless and unable to change anything, as we are

told from the very beginning of our childhood. We have to find the power to achieve spiritual

regeneration and make a significant change in the society we live in. And this power does not lie

in violence or material possession but in love, compassion for other peoples suffering, respect


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and responsibility for the planet. The ultimate aim of Shakespeares tragedies, as well as the

literature in general, is to put us in motion. To make us recognize our mistakes, to have

compassion for misfortunes and sufferings of other people, to inspire us to help others and re-

establish our long lost sense of connectedness.

Orwells character Wilson is a true examp le of how people can resist the machinery of the brutal

and abusive society if they reconnect with the most private part of their being our inner self.

After severe mental and physical pressure he has undergone Winston is able to relieve his pain

by dre aming of his mother [] Winston woke up with the word Shakespeare on his lips .27

His dreams here represent his ideals, his morality, and his soul. Through his dreams and

memories he is trying to preserve what he can of those ideals, and in his dreams he has visions of

his mother and his sister on a ship that is about to sink. This metaphorically represents that those

ideals are sinking deeper and deeper in his subconsciousness and can be lost forever.

Winstons mother died loving him and that was very unusual in a society where people only die

for a party, for something that is abstract, impersonal. Shakespeare is here used as a part of this

realm of salvation and he is important in Winstons dreams as his mother or sister. By dreaming

of his mothers sa crifice, and her love, Winston tries to escape this machinery of abusive society

that tries to transform him in its pawn.

Reference:

1) Ursula Le Guin, Women/Wildness, in Judith Plant

27 George Orwell. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Chapter 3


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2) Signs out of Time, a documentary about Marija Gimbutas

3) Donna Read, Goddess Remembered

4) Edward Bond, Lear , Introduction

5) William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus,

Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 1996

6) Julie Taymor, Titus , Clear Blue Sky Productions, 1999

7) William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, King Lear, Wordsworth

Editions Ltd, 1996

8) Edward Bond, Lear

9) William Shakespeare, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 1996

10) Jean Anouilh Romeo and Jeannette

patriarchal turning away from love in shakespeare's plays

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