If compromise existed in Shakespeare's tragedy, much of the tragedy could have been avoided. The story begins with a lack of compromise: when Lear asks his three daughters to quantify their love for him, his youngest, and favorite, won't do it. While his two older daughters fall all over themselves to come up with the most grandiose explantions about how much they love their father, (all of which is a lie, by the way,) Cordelia tells her father that "she cannot heave her heart into her mouth." She simply will not put an amount to how much she loves her father. Thus, the trouble begins. Throughout the novel, the other sisters and Lear are battling over power, over what Lear will be allowed to do even though he isn't technically king anymore. Lear wants to bring 100 knights with him wherever he goes; his daughters want him to bring none. They cannot reach a compromise. The daughters are warring over who should receive the largest share of the kingdom, and Gonerial ends up killing Regan rather than share the kingdom like they were instructed to.
Each of these examples lead me to believe, that at least in this story, compromise doesn't exist. Period. Each character had to have what they wanted at all costs. No one could just humor those around them, they did what was best for them, throwing their loved ones to the wolves. I wonder if Shakespeare was making a commentary on compromise? Did he think that it never existed? Or was he worried, that even then, compromise was going by the wayside?
I don't think compromises have never existed. I know they exist today. But I also know that people are increasingly reluctant to use them in everyday life, WE WANT WHAT WE WANT! This makes me nervous for mankind...at some point, isn't this going to turn into a global problem that must be solved? Or has it already?
Perhaps Shakespeare can still teach us something afterall...
Kaeli, your question, "Did compromise ever exist?" is so profound and relevant to today's world, especially regarding our current political climate. But even the word "compromise" itself is provocative. I think about people compromising their values, for example, and I wonder whether or not Raskolnikov has compromised his own values beyond saving...
ReplyDelete