Parental Care and Natural Law in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus and King Lear

Parental Care and Natural Law in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus and King Lear

Carlos Ordoñana Guillamón

The development of a character’s relationship with his/her father or his/her children is a resource often used by writers to explain their actions. Natural law dictates that it should be based on the mutual affection and unconditional respect for each other. The breaking of this natural law in father-child relationship is a usual way for writers to develop the inner psychology of their characters and their actions. Specifically, Shakespeare plays with this element in two of his works: Titus Andronicus and King Lear.

The leading roles in Titus Andronicus and King Lear are, in fact, Titus and Lear. They both appear as honorable men, with a respectable position in society and a name to be proud of. It seems that when they leave their “youth” life behind, they have to face a side of life for which they are not prepared for; retirement. For instance, Titus had spent almost all his life among battles, becoming eventually in a very famous person between the people of Rome; on the other hand, Lear is King; he had one of the most powerful positions in society. Their children should be capable of keeping the honor and the family name as high as they, as parents, have raised it during their lives. Their main problem appears when their children do not fulfill their expectations.

Shakespeare plays with both characters and their expectations, making their relationship with their children something problematic that would be fixed in time. This essay is going to deal with the three different stages both relationships go through: rejection, realisation and redemption. Besides, it will explore other characters in both plays that play the role of a father, and the differences and similarities between them and Titus and Lear.

Rejection is the first stage in the development of the relationship between father and son. In both of the plays, one way or another, Titus’ sons and...