Lear's second daughter, and his sons-in-law
I went to see a live broadcast of the National Theatre's current King Lear, starring Simon Russell Beale, on Thursday night. selenak wrote an excellent review when she saw it on stage in February; I don't think I have anything to add on the general performance, though SRB was certainly very good. And as I have mentioned elsewhere, Billy Wiggins (ie Tom Brooke) from His Last Vow played an Edgar who seemed unusually unheroic even when he wasn't being Poor Tom. (There was no duel at the end.)
But most productions of Shakespeare spark off thoughts about the play, whether they're directly inspired by the production or not. In this case, I was hit by two things: Regan's dominating competitive instinct, and the fact that most of the characters think it's a play about men.
Regan I probably noticed more than usual because she was played by the gorgeous Anna Maxwell Martin. What struck me this time round was how she's obsessed with "Anything you can do, I can do better than you can!" - I presume because she's the second sister who's driven by the desire to overtake the first.
Of course, it starts when Lear issues his challenge "Which of you shall we say doth love us most?" After Goneril's done her best, Regan rises to the occasion: "I am made of that self metal as my sister... Only she comes too short!"
When her husband the Duke of Cornwall puts Kent in the stocks, he says: "There shall he sit till noon." Regan jumps in: "Till noon? Till night, my lord, and all night too!"
Though the sisters are co-operating against their father at this stage, it's hardly surprising that Regan responds to Goneril cutting Lear's entourage from one hundred to fifty with "Five-and-twenty!" leading to a bidding war in which she undercuts Goneril's "What need you five-and-twenty, ten or five?" with "What need one?"
She's still competing when her husband puts out Gloucester's eye: "One side will mock another; the other too!" But Cornwall's shot his bolt; he dies when his servant attacks him in disgust at the torture.
And that was where I got a new insight. Unlike Goneril, who openly despises her husband Albany, Regan appears to be satisfied with her marriage to Cornwall. But once she's a widow, she looks round and notices her sister's trying to seduce Edmund. So, obviously, she's got to go one better and marry Edmund. I'm not sure she'd have thought of him otherwise.
Though Regan would probably have had to find another husband anyway, because the other thing that dawned on me during this production was that we think the play is about Lear and his daughters, and Lear thinks it's about him and his daughters, but the male courtiers are all focused on his sons-in-law.
In the very first line of the play, Kent says "I thought the King had more affected the Duke of Albany than Cornwall" and Gloucester replies "It did always seem so to us, but now, in the division of the kingdom, it appears not which of the dukes he values most." Despite the talk about dividing the kingdom, they're trying to work out who will be the next king. This was brought out by the National Theatre production, with six chairs set out for the princesses and their husbands. The microphones are placed in front of the husbands, who have to push them over to their wives when they realise that's what Lear wants; Cordelia has to move the microphone herself, because the chair next to her is empty, but presumably the plan was that, had the ceremony played out as originally intended, either the King of France or the Duke of Burgundy would have filled the seat and made a speech about how he delighted he was with his lovely bride and her lovely lands.
And by the start of Act II, all the gossip is about the likely showdown between the two dukes. "Have you heard of no likely wars toward 'twixt the Dukes of Cornwall and Albany?" It's generally agreed that Albany is the nice guy, but the "fiery" Duke of Cornwall looks the likelier winner until his unexpected death. As it is, Albany's the last man standing, and presumably wins the crown; he usually gets the last lines of the play (though here they were transferred to Edgar) which traditionally go to the new ruler (eg Fortinbras, Malcolm, Richmond, Octavian).
ETA: Anyway, the male focus also explains why Goneril and Regan are both set on Edmund. Quite apart from her sexual frustration, I think Goneril's on the lookout for a stronger, more ambitious husband/champion than the one she's got. Edmund's behaviour towards his father suggests he's ruthless enough for the job, which will start with bumping off Albany. It's made clear that she's checked out Edmund's sexual qualifications and confirmed that there's hot stuff behind the glasses Sam Troughton's wearing in this production, but if she just wanted a lover she could probably pick any pretty boy in her household - Albany doesn't seem the type to fuss about it.
Whereas Regan, in addition to competing with her older sister, is looking to replace her late husband with someone who resembles him, rather than someone completely different. And it was Cornwall who appointed Edmund Earl of Gloucester in place of his father, effectively if unintentionally endorsing him as husband material.
So, politically, Edmund is the obvious choice for both of them.
Also posted on Dreamwidth, with
comments.
But most productions of Shakespeare spark off thoughts about the play, whether they're directly inspired by the production or not. In this case, I was hit by two things: Regan's dominating competitive instinct, and the fact that most of the characters think it's a play about men.
Regan I probably noticed more than usual because she was played by the gorgeous Anna Maxwell Martin. What struck me this time round was how she's obsessed with "Anything you can do, I can do better than you can!" - I presume because she's the second sister who's driven by the desire to overtake the first.
Of course, it starts when Lear issues his challenge "Which of you shall we say doth love us most?" After Goneril's done her best, Regan rises to the occasion: "I am made of that self metal as my sister... Only she comes too short!"
When her husband the Duke of Cornwall puts Kent in the stocks, he says: "There shall he sit till noon." Regan jumps in: "Till noon? Till night, my lord, and all night too!"
Though the sisters are co-operating against their father at this stage, it's hardly surprising that Regan responds to Goneril cutting Lear's entourage from one hundred to fifty with "Five-and-twenty!" leading to a bidding war in which she undercuts Goneril's "What need you five-and-twenty, ten or five?" with "What need one?"
She's still competing when her husband puts out Gloucester's eye: "One side will mock another; the other too!" But Cornwall's shot his bolt; he dies when his servant attacks him in disgust at the torture.
And that was where I got a new insight. Unlike Goneril, who openly despises her husband Albany, Regan appears to be satisfied with her marriage to Cornwall. But once she's a widow, she looks round and notices her sister's trying to seduce Edmund. So, obviously, she's got to go one better and marry Edmund. I'm not sure she'd have thought of him otherwise.
Though Regan would probably have had to find another husband anyway, because the other thing that dawned on me during this production was that we think the play is about Lear and his daughters, and Lear thinks it's about him and his daughters, but the male courtiers are all focused on his sons-in-law.
In the very first line of the play, Kent says "I thought the King had more affected the Duke of Albany than Cornwall" and Gloucester replies "It did always seem so to us, but now, in the division of the kingdom, it appears not which of the dukes he values most." Despite the talk about dividing the kingdom, they're trying to work out who will be the next king. This was brought out by the National Theatre production, with six chairs set out for the princesses and their husbands. The microphones are placed in front of the husbands, who have to push them over to their wives when they realise that's what Lear wants; Cordelia has to move the microphone herself, because the chair next to her is empty, but presumably the plan was that, had the ceremony played out as originally intended, either the King of France or the Duke of Burgundy would have filled the seat and made a speech about how he delighted he was with his lovely bride and her lovely lands.
And by the start of Act II, all the gossip is about the likely showdown between the two dukes. "Have you heard of no likely wars toward 'twixt the Dukes of Cornwall and Albany?" It's generally agreed that Albany is the nice guy, but the "fiery" Duke of Cornwall looks the likelier winner until his unexpected death. As it is, Albany's the last man standing, and presumably wins the crown; he usually gets the last lines of the play (though here they were transferred to Edgar) which traditionally go to the new ruler (eg Fortinbras, Malcolm, Richmond, Octavian).
ETA: Anyway, the male focus also explains why Goneril and Regan are both set on Edmund. Quite apart from her sexual frustration, I think Goneril's on the lookout for a stronger, more ambitious husband/champion than the one she's got. Edmund's behaviour towards his father suggests he's ruthless enough for the job, which will start with bumping off Albany. It's made clear that she's checked out Edmund's sexual qualifications and confirmed that there's hot stuff behind the glasses Sam Troughton's wearing in this production, but if she just wanted a lover she could probably pick any pretty boy in her household - Albany doesn't seem the type to fuss about it.
Whereas Regan, in addition to competing with her older sister, is looking to replace her late husband with someone who resembles him, rather than someone completely different. And it was Cornwall who appointed Edmund Earl of Gloucester in place of his father, effectively if unintentionally endorsing him as husband material.
So, politically, Edmund is the obvious choice for both of them.
Also posted on Dreamwidth, with
comments.