TABLE OF CONTENT:

INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................
...................................3

CHAPTER I - THE RELATIONSHIP PARENT - CHILD IN RENAISSANCE AND IN

SHAKESPEARE

I.1. The relationship between parents and children in Renaissance England..................................4

I.2. Mother and daughter relationships in Shakespeare...................................................................5

I.3. Fathers and daughters in Shakespeare.......................................................................................6

CHAPTER II - AN ANALYSIS OF PARENT - CHILD RELATIONSHIPS IN

SHAKESPEARE SELECTED PLAYS

II.1. The relationship father - daughter THE TEMPEST.............................................................7

II.2. The relationship parent - child HAMLET............................................................................9

II.3. The relationship father - son in HENRY IV.......................................................................10

II.4. The relationship parent - child in KING LEAR.................................................................12

II.5. The relationship parent - child in ROMEO AND JULIET.................................................14

CONCLUSION............................................................................................
..................................17

BIBLIOGRAPHY.........................................................................................
.................................18
INTRODUCTION
My readings of Shakespeares early histories, comedies, and, tragedies suggest Shakespeare was
particularly attuned to his societys assumptions about, and tensions surrounding, parent-child
relationship, especially father-daughter and father-son relationships and was profoundly skillful
in representing these. With increasing daring and subtle, he traces a fine, wavering line between
conventional, reassuring representations of gender and familial relations of the time and
provocative, unconventional ones.

The goal of this thesis is to explore the way in which Shakespeare used the father-child
relationship in his plays, and so giving to us a better portretization of family in elizabethan age.
Utilizing the societal assumptions about the two sexes, Shakespeare took two separate
approaches to developing the characterization of daughters and sons. While Shakespeare used
very different tools in the father-son relationships than he did in the father-daughter relationships,
the relationships within each gender category show many similarities. Despite a range of
storylines in comedies, tragedies, and histories, there are fundamental elements that pervade all
the child character constructions.

The quality of the relationship between a father and son is central to the character development
of the son. Moreover, the good son is often in some way his fathers protector, either saving
his fathers honor by avenging his wrongful death or literally saving his father from an imminent
threat. Early modern ideologies about masculinity made a sons behavior toward his father an
important signal for the type of a man he was.

Each father-son, father-daughter, mother-daughter and mother-son relationship, examined in this

thesis offers a unique manipulation of this character-construction tool, thus displaying
Shakespeares ability to not only utilize contemporary principles but also to bend them to his
exact purpose. He embraced the signifiers within the social code to control audience perceptions
of his son characters.

Using Edgar and Edmund in King Lear, Hamlet and Laertes in Hamlet, Hal in Henry VI, and
Juliet and her father relationship, we will explain different types of relationship, by Shakespeare.

2
 CHAPTER I

THE RELATIONSHIP PARENT - CHILD IN RENAISSANCE AND IN

SHAKESPEARE

I.1. The relationship between parents and children in Renaissance England

In Renaissance England, the relationship between parents and their children was very different
than what we know today. In modern society, this relationship is an ever-changing one, parents
have to be different things for their children as they grow up, be it a teacher, confidant, a friend,
and even a disciplinarian. In Renaissance England, the parent child relationship was based on the
fifth commandment, which stated, Honor your father and mother but most importantly was
honor your father.

England at this time was a patriarchal society and, Daughters are perhaps the greatest victims
of a patriarchal family and Elizabethan daughters were no exception 1. Prospero and Miranda,
the father and daughter in William Shakespeares The Tempest, are an example of a
relationship between a father and daughter in Renaissance England, however they were slightly
different from the norm of their time.

During this time in England, the father was the head of the household and his wife and children
were to answer to him. A womans status depended upon that of her husband, or if she
remained single, upon that of her family 2. A Girl during this era was always dependent on a
1 Singh, Sarup. Family Relationships in Shakespeare and The Restoration Comedy of Manners. London: Oxford
UP, 1983. Print, Pp 33.

2 Masek, Rosemary. Women of England: From Anglo-Saxon Times to the Present. Hamden: Archon Books, 1979.
Print. Pp 141.

3
male figure; it was most likely her father until she was married then it became her husband.
Everything was based on the male line and girls were treated as inferior beings within the
household because they were essentially being raised to be good future wives.

In this male-centered society, women were held at a lesser status, and always had to answer to
her father. A man had complete control over his family; they were considered his property to do
with as he pleased. His sons inherited this lands and titles, but his daughters were sold off to live
in another mans household when they married. Boys were educated to take over for their
fathers, girls were taught skills to help then run their own households and please their husbands.
Fathers chose their daughters husbands for them, which usually had nothing to do with love, the
concept on which marriage is based on today.

Marriage in Renaissance England was based on political power and social climbing. In the
words of Susan Dwyer Amussens words the family and the sate were inextricably intertwined in
the minds of English women and men of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; as a
consequence, we cannot understand politics (as conventionally defined) without understanding
the politics of the family3. Fathers tried to marry their daughters off to acquire more land, titles
and increase social status, but they also had to provide a dowry for their daughter. A dowry could
include anything from money to land, and the larger the dowry the more desirable the girl was to
her future husband and his family. Girls had little to no say in the matter and most likely did not
meet her husband until their wedding day.

3 McBride, Kari B. Domestic Arrangements in Early Modern England. Pittsburgh: Duquesnes UP, 2002. Print. Pp 1.

4
I.2. Mother and daughter relationships in Shakespeare

While the representations of mother-daughter relationships throughout Shakespeares works vary

and have been discussed in brief, we hope to explain why it is Shakespeare seems hesitant to
frame a relationship that is about to be broken because most of the daughters in Shakespeares
works are around marrying age. This we will review in such works as Henry V, Romeo &
Juliet, The tempest, Hamlet, and King lear to discuss the representations of mother-daughter
relationships within these different works. It is more common to find fathers and daughters and
mothers and sons, but mothers specifically seem to be missing in very different ways.. Some
mothers are never mentioned, some are ghosts, others give birth, die, and come back to life, and
there are also instances of stage directions for a mothers entrance, but no mother.

Shakespearean expertise and interest in gender diferent studies throught the years are sure to
provide not only an interesting perspective, but a thorough analysis of this particular relationship.

I.3. Fathers and daughters in Shakespeare

Critics have long recognized the centrality of family relationships in Shakespeares drama, but
the shifting affections of fathers and daughters has attracted a great deal of scholarly attention
only in recent decades. The focus of the critical literature has primarily centered on a few early
romantic comedies, the late romances, and King Lear, in which daughters struggle to negotiate a
passage into adulthood and marriage with their fathers blessing, while the fathers struggle to
relinquish these young women to other men - their future husbands.

The earlier appraisals, dating to the 1970s and early 1980s, are typically more sympathetic to the
fathers, finding the struggles between them and their daughters to be among the expected hurdles
of normal family life, even if the particular plots in which they appear are atypical for
Shakespeare. The later readings, however, are more likely to find a tyrannical possessiveness in
excess of normal parental affection in the fathers behavior - or, as the case may be, a
capriciousness, coldness, or disloyalty unwarranted by the daughters exemplary conduct. While
some critics discern an incestuous desire for the daughter in the fathers motivation, others see

5
the fathers possessiveness as a love corrupted by the power a patriarchal society confers on him.
In these cases, the daughter takes on the aspect of a heroine, becoming the focal point of the play
she inhabits.

As Shakespearean fathers came under less indulgent scrutiny, other father-daughter relationships
began to attract more attention. In the most recent scholarly literature, Juliet and old Capulet,
Ophelia and Polonius, and Desdemona and Brabantio move to the whims of patriarchy, willingly
or not. To the extent that these daughters are helpless to change the terms of their fate, their
tragedies have come to be presented as indictments of sexist oppression. The question that lies
just under the surface of such analyses, then, concerns a post-modernist critical evaluation of
Shakespeare, as some feminist scholars claim him to be a proto-feminist, while others assert that
he remains within a tradition of patriarchy.

CHAPTER II

AN ANALYSIS OF PARENT - CHILD RELATIONSHIPS IN

SHAKESPEARE SELECTED PLAYS

II.1. The relationship father - daughter THE TEMPEST

Prospero and Miranda, however, have a slightly different kind of relationship for their time.
Prospero has to be everything for Miranda because she has no known mother and since they are
on an unihinhabited island, she could not have been sent to a household of a relative, which was
common place during this time. Prospero is both a father and a mother to her and all his

6
actions are motivated by only one desire: to secure a happy future for her 4. Prospero even tells
her at one point in the play I have done nothing but in care of thee, of thee, my dear 5. This
relationship of Prospero caring for Miranda as both mother and father with out even female
servants to help and doing everything with genuine concern for her well being was rare, for this
time especially in the upper classes of society.

Even though Prospero genuinely cares for his daughter, and takes care of her as both mother and
father, this is still a traditional renaissance relationship between a father and a daughter. Prospero
is in complete control of Miranda; he has raised her in his image and like most fathers of his day
demands respect. Obey, and be attentive6 he commands her when he telling her the story about
they came to the island. Also like the fathers of this time, Prospero decides and chooses who
Miranda is going to marry. Prospero has decided that Miranda will marry Ferdinand and because
he is the only other man besides her father and Caliban, Ferdinand immediately enthralls
4 Singh, Sarup. Family Relationships in Shakespeare and The Restoration Comedy of Manners. London: Oxford
UP, 1983. Print. Pp 52.

5 Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson, 2009. Print. (Act I, Scene 2, Lines 16-17).

6Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson, 2009. Print. (Act I, Scene 2, Line 39).

7
Miranda. The young lovers Ferdinand and Miranda are characterized very economically.
Mirandas modesty and innocence are appropriate to the romantic situation in which she is
placed-that of never having a young man beforeFerdinand, a pampered prince, gladly
undergoes servitude and labor for his love7. Prospero also controls the speed at which their
relationship progresses, by accusing Ferdinand of only pretending to be the Prince of Naples and
makes him haul wood; this act only further exemplifies Prosperos power and control over his
daughter. But Miranda, in her own way, can rebel against this control: in her own way
Ferdinand and Miranda resist what they suppose to be Prosperos will in their complete love
for each other, and are rewarded after their ordeal of wood carrying, by the masque8.

In the modern, day this would not be the case; daughters are treated as equals and allowed to
choose who they want to marry or even if they want to get married at all. Fathers in todays
society are still protective of their daughters and are still involved in lot of their decisions, but the
girls are allowed exponentially more freedom than in the past. But, times are very different now;
we have very different problems that the women of the past could never even have fathomed.
Yet, at the same time a lot of issues with fathers are same, the struggle for freedom and rebellions
against an overprotective parent they very similar to the issues teenage girls and their fathers face

7 Smith, Hallett, ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Tempest. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1969.
Print, Pp 5-6.

8 Smith, Hallett, ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Tempest. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1969.
Print. Pp 4.

8
today. The only difference is today there are laws that will protect children in extreme case that
the daughters of yesterday could never even dream of.

The bond between a father and daughter is very important in the life of a girl; it can affect her
whole way of looking at life, and today it is treated with the care it deserves. Prospero also, to
some extent, treated it in this way, by looking out for Mirandas happiness, but, without
relinquishing the control that the Renaissance social norms dictated. Yet, most daughters were
not so lucky, always having to submit to their fathers will no matter what it was. I, for one, am
extremely grateful that this is no longer the case and women today are allowed to make their own
decisions in life.

II.2. The relationship parent child HAMLET

Hamlet, of the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is a young man with many distinctive
characteristics. He is the loving and beloved son of Hamlet, the deceased King of Denmark. He
is talented in many ways, as actor, athlete, and scholar. Prince Hamlet draws upon many of his
talents as he goes through a remarkable metamorphosis, changing from an average, responsible,
young Prince to an apparently mad, raging son intent upon avenging his fathers untimely death.

In the beginning of Hamlet, the Prince behaves as any normal person would following the death
of a loved one. Not only is this a loved one, but an extra special someone; it is his loving father
whom he adored. Hamlet is grief stricken, depressed, and even angry that his mother remarried
so soon after his fathers death.9 Having witnessed how his father had treated his mother with
great love and respect, Hamlet cannot understand how his mother could shorten the grieving
period so greatly to marry someone like Uncle Claudius. He is incapable of rationalizing her
deeds and he is obsessed by her actions.

9 Johnson, Samuel. Preface to Shakespeare. Etext. 16 Oct. 2004. 24 Oct. 2008

<http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au. pp 21.

9
Throughout the play Hamlet is in constant conflict with himself. An appearance of a ghost
claiming to be his father, I am thy fathers spirit10 aggravates his grief, nearly causing him to
commit suicide and leaving him deeply disgusted and angered. Upon speaking with his ghost-
father, Hamlet learns that his uncle-stepfather killed Hamlet the King. The serpent that did
sting thy fathers life Now wears his crown 11 Hamlet is beside himself and becomes obsessed
with plotting and planning revenge for the death of his father.

Hamlet struggles constantly, trying to decide how he should go about avenging the loss of his
father to his deceitful uncle-stepfather. Planning to kill him isnt easy. Hamlet is given many
opportunities to kill Claudius, but keeps stalling for time to be certain the ghost had spoken the
truth about the murder. Finally, Hamlet decides upon a plan. the plays the thing/Wherein Ill
catch the conscience of the King12. He will stage a performance for the King that would actually
be a reenactment of his fathers murder. The play he chooses to reenact is entitled The Murder

10
Shakespeare The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark 1992, scholar edition. ( I.v.14)

11
Shakespeare The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark 1992, scholar edition.( I.v.45-46)

12
Shakespeare The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark 1992, scholar edition. (II.ii.612-613)

10
of Gonzago13 with a few changes made to accommodate Hamlets new lines and actions
reflecting Claudius murdering his father. Upon seeing Claudiuss crazy behavior during and
following Hamlets play, Hamlet realizes that his ghost-father had spoken the truth. This provides
all the reassurance needed for Hamlet to carry out his plot to kill Claudius.

Hamlet appears insane throughout the play, but only to the unwary eye. As I perchance
hereafter shall think meet To put an antic position on. He has put on this act to throw off his
uncles spies. Though Hamlet is obviously intelligent, his character uses his talents as he evolves
through many changes from a normal young prince to a grief-stricken, loving son of a beloved
father to an apparently madman. Any son who possesses such intense feelings and goes to such
great lengths to avenge his father bears testimony to an endearing father-son relationship. A son
must have utmost respect and undying love for his father to carry out such a vigorous retaliation.
Hamlet gives his life in the pursuit of justice, as he knows it. What more could a ghost ask of
anyone?

II.3. Father and son in KING HENRY IV

The treatment of children throughout the middle ages, and the treatment of Hal from King Henry
IV, by William Shakespeare, is quite similar. Children were fairly unnoticed, just as Hal is by his
father, King Henry.

King Henry really did care about his son, but at the same time, was very aggravated by him.
Harry, or Hal, was a really free, charismatic young guy, with no regards for nobility at the time,
though he was the prince. He could care less about the throne, and concentrated more on just
living. He is a young man of great abilities and violent passions14. This in turn drives his
father nuts, as he wants him to be more like Harry Percy. This is well known as the king says

13
Shakespeare The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark 1992, scholar edition. (I.v.196-197)

11
then would I have this his Harry [Percy], and he mine 15. The King wants to switch his son
with Percy, or Hotspur, because he is a war leader. He has won many battles, and done so well in
life, while be the exact same age at Hal.

The fact that King Henry doesnt like him, ultimately seems the whole reason of Hals big plan.
He wants to hang around with low life losers because he wants to impress his father when the
time is right. He will show them that he is a great ruler. It is sad because all he wants to do is
impress King Henry, and Henry doesnt care. Redeeming time when men think least I will,
says Hal, meaning that he will, do just that 16. He will in time be who he is supposed to be 17. In
14
Johnson, Samuel. Preface to Shakespeare. Etext. 16 Oct. 2004. 24 Oct. 2008
<http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au. pp 24.

15

Singh, Sarup. Family Relationships in Shakespeare and The Restoration Comedy of Manners. London: Oxford UP,
1983. Print . 375.

16

Johnson, Samuel. Preface to Shakespeare. Etext. 16 Oct. 2004. 24 Oct. 2008

<http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au. pp 23.

17

Singh, Sarup. Family Relationships in Shakespeare and The Restoration Comedy of Manners. London: Oxford UP,
1983. Print , 377.

12
the end, his father does like him better, as Harry proved that he is something pretty good. He kills
Hotspur, despite Falstaffs lie of saying he finished him off. Hal goes on to be a great ruler and
King, surprising them all as he hoped to do.

The treatment of children, though not very welcoming at the earliest ages, has gotten better of the
last hundreds of years. At this day and age, parents do a lot for their children, hoping for the best
outcome, and best child ever. While it was sort of similar in the Renaissance, parents did not care
for their children the same as they do now18. Renaissance parents were harsh, they hardly noticed
them, and they didnt really have a role in their childs life. It wasnt until the child was older that
a mother or father would be around. In King Henry IV, it was rather the same. King Henry did
not care very much for his son, as he wanted Hal to be Hotspur, a fiery military man.

II.4. The relationship parent child in KING LEAR

At the heart of King Lear lies the relationship between father and child. Central to this filial
theme is the conflict between mans law and natures law. Their law is man-made, and it focuses
on the individual, not the good of the community. Tragedy unfolds as two carefully interwoven
and parallel stories explore the abandonment of natural order and the unnatural betrayal of parent
and child.

In the primary plot, Lear betrays his youngest daughter and is betrayed by his two oldest
daughters. In almost identical fashion, the subplot reveals another father, Gloucester, who betrays
his older legitimate son and who is betrayed by his younger illegitimate son. In both cases, the

18

Johnson, Samuel. Preface to Shakespeare. Etext. 16 Oct. 2004. 24 Oct. 2008

<http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au. pp 21.

13
natural filial relationship between father and children is destroyed through a lack of awareness, a
renunciation of basic fairness and natural order, and hasty judgment based on emotions. By the
plays end, the abandonment of natural order leaves the stage littered with the dead bodies of
fathers and their children.

In a similar father-child relationship, the opening scene of King Lear positions Gloucester as a
thoughtless parent. The audiences introduction to this second father has him speaking of
Edmunds birth in a derogatory manner. Although Gloucester says that he loves both Edmund
and Edgar equally, society does not regard the two as equal, and neither does Gloucester, whose
love is limited to words and not actions of equality. According to natures law, Edmund is as
much Gloucesters son as Edgar is; but according to man's law of primogeniture, Edmund is not
recognized as Gloucesters heir.

Gloucester rejects natural law and a parents love for his child when he is easily convinced that
Edgar, the son he claims to love so much, has betrayed him. Gloucester also puts his faith in
Edmunds command of persuasive language, when he rejects the love his eldest son has always
shown him. With this move, the earl demonstrates that he can be swayed by eloquence, a man-
made construct for easy persuasion, which causes him to reject natural law and the bond between
father and child.

Edmund both ignores and embraces natural law. By betraying his father to Cornwall and Regan,
Edmunds self-serving course of action abandons natures order and instead foreshadows the
neo-Darwinist argument for survival of the strongest individual. His ability to survive and win is
not based on competitive strategies or healthy family relationships; instead, Edmund will take
what he desires by deceiving those who trust and love him.

Edmunds greed favors natural law over mans law because natural law doesnt care that Edmund
is illegitimate. He claims nature as his ally because he is a natural offspring, and because

14
man's law neglects to recognize his rights of inheritance. 19 But, nature only serves Edmund as a
convenient excuse for his actions. His actions against his brother and father are more a facet of
greed than any reliance on natural law.

Gloucester also acts against nature in rejecting Edgar without sufficient proof of his wrongdoing;
thus Gloucester shares responsibility for the actions that follow, just as Lears love test results in
his rejection of Cordelia. Both men are easily fooled and consequently, they both reject natural
law and their children. Both act without deliberation, with hasty responses that ultimately betray
their descendants.

At the plays conclusion, Goneril and Regans abandonment of natural order and their
subscription to evil has finally destroyed them. The audience learns early in the final scene that
Goneril has poisoned Regan and killed herself. Their deaths are a result of unnatural competition,
both for power and for love. But Lear is the one who set in motion the need to establish strength
through competition, when he pitted sister against sister in the love test.

For the audience, the generational conflict between parent and child is an expected part of life.
We grow impatient with our parents and they with us. We attempt to control our children, and
they rebel. When Goneril complains that Lear and his men are disruptive and out of control, we
can empathize, recognizing that our own parent's visits can extend too long or that our children's
friends can be quite noisy. Shakespeares examination of natural order is central to our own lives,
and that is one of the enduring qualities of King Lear.

II.5. The relationship parent - child in ROMEO AND JULIET

Elizabethan children were considered their parents property and must obey whatever their
parents said; this was usually the father as women in the past would also have to follow the strict
19

Johnson, Samuel. Preface to Shakespeare. Etext. 16 Oct. 2004. 24 Oct. 2008

<http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au. pp

15
rules of their husbands. As well as that, children, in rich families, were often forced to marry
whom they were instructed to; primarily for money. This is well reflected in Romeo and Juliet,
play of Shakespeare.

From the Act One, Scene Two Lord Capulet, Juliets father, is consulting Paris after he asked for
Juliets hand in marriage. Capulet believes that his daughter is too young to marry. Capulet says
An she agree, within her scope of choice lies my consent and fair according voice he is saying
that Paris has his approval but it is up to Juliet to make the final decision. The way Capulet
handles the situation with Paris shows the love and kindness he feels for his daughter. Capulet
allows Juliet to decide if she wants to marry this man. This wouldnt have happened very often in
Elizabethan times as the richer families often married for wealth not love and here Capulet is
asking, not telling, Juliet to marry this wealthy man. He doesnt treat her as a piece of furniture
and wants her to be happy with the person she marries, She is the hopeful lady of my earth
Capulet has lost his previous children and only wants the best for his only daughter.

Then, in Act Three, Scene Four, Capulet arranges Juliets and Paris wedding saying she shall
be married to this noble earl. Capulet arranges this marriage without his daughters consent
because he believes it will help to bring his daughter out of her depressive state, which he thinks
is caused by the death of her cousin Tybalt but in reality its because of Romeo being exiled from
Verona. The sentence Capulet says shows how kind he is to his daughter; Capulet could have
chosen the wealthiest man he could get his hands on, however he chooses a noble suitor for his
daughter to marry. This once again shows that Capulet doesnt want to use his daughter for
money and actually wants his daughter to be happy with the one she marries.

So far Capulet has been presented as the figure head of the perfect father, given the Elizabethan
era, however there is a moment when his attitude towards his daughter changes. In Act Three,
Scene Five Capulet has just been informed by his wife that Juliet has refused to marry Paris.
Capulet then responds with Is she not proud? Doth she not count her blest? Capulet then goes

16
on to tell her that he will throw her out and never look upon her again. 20 Now, Capulets
exclamation could be seen by many to be harsh and unfair, however, given the era the play was
written children did as their parents instructed and never had anything else to say on the matter.
Capulet asks several questions one after another not waiting for an answer, this suggests that he
is panicking and has no idea how he is meant to handle this; this could very well likely be the
first time his daughter has defied him. So, given the plays era, Capulets outrage is completely
understandable, he is shocked, panicked and appalled at Juliets behaviour as children never
defied their parents, particularly their fathers.

Now I shall move onto the topic of Juliets mother, Lady Capulet. In Act One, Scene Three Lady
Capulet opens the scene with Nurse wheres my daughter? Call her forth to me. The way Lady
Capulet refers to Juliet as her daughter in this way almost sounds as if she is calling Juliet some
sort of object; its almost like Lady Capulet is asking the Nurse to bring her a pair of shoes she
misplaced. She doesnt speak as if she loves her daughter at all, if she did she might have said
something like Nurse where is Juliet? Could you ask her to come to me? The fact that she
doesnt speak to her in this way highlights further how the relationships between parent and child
worked in Shakespearian times; parents did treat their children as objects.

The third scene in Act One focuses heavily on Juliets relationship with both her mother and the
Nurse. In this scene Lady Capulet refers to Juliet as daughter and Juliet to her as madam. This
does show how Elizabethan children had to talk to their parents but the strict formality of how
they talk to one another suggests that there is no mother-daughter relationship. They dont refer
to each other as mother or Juliet. However, as I said before, this could be down to how
children had to speak and act toward their parents in Shakespearian times, however I believe it
comes down to the lack of relationship between the two and my next point elaborates this further.

20

Johnson, Samuel. Preface to Shakespeare. Etext. 16 Oct. 2004. 24 Oct. 2008

<http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au. pp

17
Shakespeare used the topic of parent-child relationships heavily in Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeares goal that he set out to do was to educate the Elizabethan and modern eras that the
way things were, were wrong. The star-crossed lovers were destined to die as a way to show that
the way parents were treating their children as objects was ultimately going to end in despair; if
not for their children then for themselves. The Montagues and Capulets lost their children
because of the way they had been treated and I believe Shakespeare wanted his audiences, then
and into the far future, to reconsider how they are treating their own children.

18
CONCLUSION

Yet our society exists not within the rows and columns of a classification chart, but within a
universal narrative. Every parent and every child lives in a world of subjectivity and shifting
values, a place where these parent-child relationships are infinitely diverse and functionally
impossible to be classified. Literature reveals this.

Shakespeare was fascinated by the relationship between fathers and daughters, for this primal
bond of domination and defiance structures twenty-one of his comedies, tragedies, and
romances. Shedding new light on the complex father-daughter bond, character, and motivation, it
makes a major contribution to literary studies. In a conflict that is at once social and
interpersonal, Shakespeare's fathers demand hierarchical obedience while their daughters affirm
the new, more personal values upheld by Renaissance humanists and Puritans. In this analysis of
this compelling relationship, I examined the underlying psychological tensions as well as the
changing concepts of marriage and the family during Shakespeare's time. The logic of
Shakespeare's plays repudiates stereotypes, showing how women like Ophelia and Desdemona
are destroyed by conforming to the passive Renaissance ideal. Shakespeare's balanced characters
thus reconcile the polarities within themselves and bring greater harmony to their world.

Also, some of Shakespeare's most memorable male characters, such as Hamlet, Prince Hal, and
Edgar, are defined by their relationships with their fathers. In Fathers and Sons in Shakespeare,
Fred B. Tromlys demonstrate that these relationships are far more complicated than most critics
have assumed. While Shakespearean sons often act as their fathers steadfast defenders, they
simultaneously resist paternal encroachment on their autonomy, tempering vigorous loyalty with
subtle hostility.

Introductory this two chapters draw on both Freudian psychology and Elizabethan family history
to frame the issue of filial ambivalence in Shakespeare ti expand the father-son relationships in
plays that span Shakespeare's entire career. The conclusion explores Shakespeares relationship
with his own father and its effect on his fictional depictions of life as a son. Through careful
scrutiny of word and deed, the scholarship in Fathers and Sons in Shakespeare reveals the
complex attitude Shakespeare's sons harbour towards their fathers.

19
BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Bevington, David. The Necessary Shakespeare. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Pearson
Education, Inc., 2005. 373-411.
2. Hanawalt, Barbara. "The Ties that Bound: Peasant Families in Medieval England."
Oxford University Press (1986).
3. Hughes, Rachelle. Medieval and Renaissance Parenting. (2008).
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